Blog / Lawns

Summer lawn care through a Canterbury dry spell

Canterbury summers test lawns: free-draining soils, weeks without rain, and nor'westers that strip moisture in an afternoon. The single best summer habit is raising the cut — mowing high shades the soil, deepens roots and crowds out weeds. Scalped summer lawns brown first and recover last.

Water deeply and rarely rather than briefly and often. One good overnight soak a week beats daily sprinkles that keep roots at the surface; early morning is second best. If water restrictions bite, let the lawn go brown with confidence — established ryegrass and fescue bounce back with autumn rain while shallow-rooted lawns do not.

Skip the summer fertiliser until rain returns, keep foot traffic off baked lawns where you can, and leave clippings on the lawn as free mulch. Come March, a hollow-tine aeration and overseed repairs whatever the summer took.

General guidance only. Call 03 381 1008 to put the mowing on someone else's round.