There are a number of reasons lawns can become unhealthy. Sometimes harsh summer heat or winter frost can cause your lawn to deteriorate. Other times, it might just be lacking a little TLC.

The good news is that there’s a few really simple steps you can take to revive your lawn and get it looking as luscious and green as the professionals’.

Whether you’re new to lawn care or just want to brush up on the basics, check out our 6 top tips to repairing an unhealthy lawn.

Also check out LawnPride's comprehensive Renovation Guide.

Remove weeds

The first step to repairing your lawn is assessing and removing any weeds that might have appeared over the season.

It’s really important that this step is completed first, otherwise you’ll likely encourage them to grow and spread.

Depending on the size of your lawn, you may be able to remove weeds by hand. If you choose this method, make sure to pull them out at the roots to ensure they won’t grow back.

For larger lawns or lawns with significant weed problems, we recommend applying a high-quality herbicide like Bow and Arrow or BroadForce MA

If you’ve got Buffalo Turf (or you’re not sure what type of lawn you’ve got), you’ll want to stick with either of these products, which is safe to use on all lawn types.

You can also combine with a Soil Wetting Agent and apply with specialised Spray Equipment for more even coverage.

Remove Thatch

Thatch is a pesky layer of organic matter that builds up at the base (but above the root system) of your lawn.

While a small layer of thatch is considered beneficial for your lawn, any more than a centimetre should be removed. This is because it can block nutrients from reaching the roots and can trap moisture, leading to the growth of fungus.

To remove thatch, grab a rake and start from one corner of your lawn by pushing down almost to the roots and pulling long strokes until the area has been fully covered.

Let it breathe

Especially for lawns that receive high traffic or are regularly used for BBQ’s and entertaining, soil can become compact. When this happens, your lawn roots are unable to receive enough oxygen, water and nutrients.

To avoid this, it’s important to loosen the soil with either an aerator or pitchfork. This allows your lawn to breathe and enables it to better absorb nutrients.

Nourish with lawn fertiliser

For those of you new to lawn care, fertiliser is probably the most important product to have in your shed. Not only does it add extra nutrients to encourage healthy plant growth, but it also works to improve the colour and density, too.

For patchy or dead grasses, we recommend choosing LawnPride Groturf which provides an upfront boost of nitrogen for enhanced growth and colour.

If your lawn is a little brown but otherwise healthy, LawnPride Maintain is a great choice for getting and maintaining a healthy deep green colour.

Water, water, water

Watering your lawn regularly is so important to giving it the nutrients it needs to thrive.

Depending on your climate and water restrictions, aim to give your lawn deep water applications 2 times a week. This teaches your lawn to send the roots deeper making your lawn more drought resistant. Frequent watering will create shorter root systems, meaning your lawn will learn to only survive with frequent watering. It is always recommended in any location to use a soil wetting agent like Hydramaxx as a liquid or Hydramaxx G as a granular formulation. Providing better water retention. Less watering, and a smaller water bill each month.

Mow your lawn regularly

As with cutting your hair, mowing your lawn is really important to encourage healthy growth and to remove any dead ends.

To ensure you’re mowing correctly, make sure to service your lawn mower at least a couple of times per year and adjust the length to suit the season – higher in winter and lower in summer.

And that’s it! We hope you have as much fun reviving your lawn as we do. LawnPride has a comprehensive Renovation Guide for you to follow this Spring/Summer season. If you’ve got any questions regarding a specific concern you have with your lawn, shoot us an email on info@lawnpride.com.au or browse our complete range of lawn care products here.