A DRY LAWN DUE TO DROUGHT: WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. A yellowed lawn? Possible causes

The causes of a yellowing lawn may vary from season to season, just as they vary depending on the type of care the lawn is given and the climate.

Generally speaking, a yellowed lawn may be due to the wrong use of a fertiliser or lack of it: more specifically, in winter, a lawn may turn yellow as a result of an error in autumn fertilisation. In winter, it’s essential for a lawn to be given the right nutrients: potassium and nitrogen must never be missing.
Also in winter, the weather and in particular thermal influences may affect the health of grass. Winter temperatures risk freezing a lawn (preventing proper photosynthesis), plants may become dehydrated by cold wind, and ice can tear plant tissue, severely damaging a lawn. Furthermore, in winter quick fluctuations in temperature create the risk of interrupting the natural dormancy of a lawn.
The reasons for a yellowing lawn can naturally also include possible diseases or pests, which need to be tackled in a more targeted and specific manner depending on the situation at hand.

2. Grass cutting management in summer

Since a low cut lawn is more exposed to damage from dryness and overheating, during the summer it is advisable to increase the cutting height by a few millimetres (e.g. from 3 cm to 3.5 cm), without exaggerating: lawns that are kept too high may lead to problems caused by diseases and the build up of thatch.
How often should a lawn be cut in summer?
The cutting frequency should be based pretty much on the seasonal trend and therefore on the growth that will actually occur. A lawn mower is recommended for doing this.
At certain times of the summer, with high temperatures limiting the growth of grass, it will be perfectly normal to suspend any cutting.

3. How to treat a lawn that is dry because of drought

Before deciding to completely re-do a lawn, it’s a good idea to consider regenerating the existing lawn by restoring and filling in any yellowed or bare areas. To do so, you need to choose months with mild temperatures and good rainfall. When you have lawn that is definitely not compact, in which you can see every little clod, you can start aerating it. This will also involve an operation deeper down to break up the crust that builds up on the ground when it’s heavily compacted by the repeated tread of people or animals. This operation can be carried out by machines that, while removing any thatch, plough through the soil, penetrating it by a few centimetres. Then it needs to be scarified in order to remove any dead grass. Larger grass-free areas that can be seen after scarifying can be easily restored afterwards.