Britain is renowned around the world for its wonderful, deep green, stripey lawns That is, until drought and prolonged dry periods occur in summer and the green, green grass at home turns into a bleached, brown hayfield.
One of the predicted outcomes of climate change is hotter, drier summers and, as a result, more and prolonged heatwaves. This will affect all the plants we grow in the garden and on our choice of new plants to grow. And, of course, it will have a significant effect on our lawns.
Luckily, during most droughts and heatwaves, although the grass looks brown and “dead”, the grass has just become dormant, and most grasses will bounce back in autumn.
So, what should we do with our lawns during these hot, parched conditions, especially to help them recover afterwards?
To water or not to water
Hot temperatures and heatwaves will adversely affect the growth of most of the grass species we currently grow in our lawns, but the main effect is the lack of water.
Signs of water stress start as soon as the top 10cm (4in) of soil dries out. The grass loses its springiness, which is when, if you’re going to, you should start watering. The next stage is a change of colour from bright green to grey-green, which means start watering without delay. But you need to decide whether watering the lawn is a good use of resources and follow the guidelines regarding hosepipe bans.
Bear in mind that, on average, a typical lawn uses 24.5-litres/sq m (4½ gallons per sq yd) per week in summer. This means that you need to apply this amount to keep it green and growing. Applying much less than this will have little beneficial effect on the grass, and applying more is simply a waste of water and can also adversely affect the grass growth.
If you’re unable or unwilling to add this amount, then there’s very little point watering the lawn at all. And once the grass starts to turn brown, it’s certainly not worth bothering.
One exception to this is newly laid lawns from turf or created from seed. Without watering, the new grasses are unlikely to survive and turf sections will shrink, creating a very patchy new lawn.
To make any watering you do work harder, use Richard’s Premium Wetting Agent. This makes “water wetter”, and water and nutrients much more easily absorbed by the soil, more water is retained, and you use less water.
Feeding
If the grass is dry and parched, then there is no point in feeding it, unless you are going to water the lawn. And certainly don’t use granular feeds, limit yourself to liquid feeds, such as Lawn Magic. But even then, you will need to water the lawn.
As Richard Jackson says on the Lawn Magic page on the website:
“As Lawn Magic is a liquid feed, it works best in moist soil so the nutrients can reach and feed the grass roots. When hot weather/heatwave or periods of dry weather are predicted, completely soak the lawn within an hour after applying Lawn Magic. Alternatively, if this isn’t possible, thoroughly soak the lawn immediately before applying Lawn Magic. Watering and feeding during hot weather are best done in the late evening.”
Mowing
Once the lawn has turned brown, the grasses won’t be growing and won’t need any cutting. But if it does remain green, raise the height of cut to one of the highest settings, so you’re literally only removing the tips of the grass leaves. This will avoid weakening the grass further and encourage deeper rooting. You can leave the clippings in place, rather than collecting them, as they will act as a mulch and slow down the evaporation of water from the soil surface. But only do this with these “tippings”, otherwise larger clippings will smother the grass and cause damage.
Weeds
Sadly, while the lawn is brown or even when it’s not growing strongly due to heat stress, many common lawn weeds will still carry on growing strongly. That’s because they either have long taproots (like dandelions) that can reach water lower in the soil profile, or they’re generally more drought resistant (like clovers). This means they can easily take over the lawn while the grass is struggling and become much more of a problem going forward when the lawn is recovering.
It’s a good idea to deal with them to stop them taking over. If you can’t dig them out or otherwise physically remove them (weed pullers are excellent for dealing with weeds like dandelions), then use a spot treatment lawn weedkiller. Personally, I think the best one is Vitax Lawn Clear.
Recovery
The good news is that come the cooler, wetter conditions in autumn, most grasses will spring back into life as if nothing had happened in the summer.
To aid recovery, the lawn should be given a good feed, and as Lawn Magic is applied in water, it’s a great choice for aiding recovery.
There are bound to be areas where the grass has completely died and these should be raked over to make a seedbed and fresh grass seed, such as Triple Use Grass Seed, mixed with compost should be applied to these areas. Don’t forget to water in well afterwards and until the new grass is well established.
Another outcome of a brown lawn is a build-up of thatch – the layer of dead turf material sitting at the base of the grasses. While some thatch is desirable, as it provides a mulching layer, excess thatch prevents healthy grass growth. This should be raked out with a spring-tine rake, or it will adversely affect the new grass growth and lawn recovery.
However, if we get a drier autumn and winter than we would expect, lawns may not recover as well or as quickly as they should. This means we need to take precautions in the future to help our lawns survive better. This includes regular and correct mowing and feeding to strengthen the grass. You can read more here.
The plastic alternative
As looking after a lawn can be an intensive, year-round operation, let alone what it turns into in a hot, dry summer, many homeowners are turning to artificial turf for their gardens. While these can look good and obviously do away with the majority of upkeep, they have numerous drawbacks.
The first one is the obvious one and that is they’re made from plastics and in this era where we’re all trying to reduce our reliance on plastic, covering our gardens in it sticks out as a bad idea like a sore thumb. But other cons for artificial turf are:
- It doesn’t last as long as natural grass, with a lifespan of seven to 15 years. After this time, it ends up in landfill.
- It can get very hot in extreme heat – too hot to stand on.
- Being made from plastic, which is not a natural material, it doesn’t provide a home or food source for wildlife and reduces the biodiversity of your garden. Reduction in wildlife and decreased biodiversity are becoming very serious problems.
- It can reduce or prevent natural water flow, leading to increased problems with run-off, waterlogging and flooding.
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