Help your lawn out of the winter doldrums

After quite a mild and dry January your lawn will soon be screaming out for a tonic to lift it out of the winter doldrums.

The start of the RBS Six Nations Rugby is always a good timely focus of remembering your lawn does exist and could do with some TLC at this time of the year.  The rugby pitch at Murrayfield in Scotland suffers from colder growing conditions than say The Millenium Stadium in Wales and the Grounds Staff at both stadium will be hoping for warmer climes to establish the playing surface and aid recovery after a gruelling match. 

Just ahead of the Murrayfield Scotland Vs England match last weekend, the pitch would have been sprayed with soluble iron to provide some colour for the cameras and much needed vigour for the turf grass plants.

The lawn's surface and ground may still be a little frozen so not a lot you can do to a lawn currently until the frost comes out of the ground for good. Knowledge and preparation are everything!  The best things you can do to a winter bound lawn is, only when the grass starts to naturally colour up with some warmer temperatures, is to make an application of a spring lawn fertiliser and some Soluble Iron.

Iron can be applied as a granule, or as a foliar spray.  Iron will produce a really rapid green up.  Only some Iron products have the added benefit of moss control and they are not to be confused. For chlorophyll synthesis – the level of iron available to the plant influences turf grass colour.  Discolouration may occur when there is a deficiency of this element.

It has been proven that available iron improves the autumn and winter colour of some turf grass species, and tends to reduce the effects of cold temperature.  In fact, many fertiliser mixtures now have a small amount of iron added for these reasons.  Iron helps reduce respiration processes and enhances root development when applied prior to periods of stress, particularly in the plants that have ample available nitrogen. 

The Soluble Iron available from The Lawn Shop will dissolve really easily in a little tepid water and not only kill and retard moss at the full rate, soluble iron applied at half the moss rate will provide a rapid green up of any lawn or turf area, giving a much needed boost to the visual of the area when there is little opportunity for growth.

If the worm casts are active, apply CastClear lawn worm cast suppressant which will in it's own right colour up the turf grasses a few days following application.  It will also get rid of those pesky worm casts without killing or harming the worms.  Check out if there is a CastClear stockist near you.