Lawn Repair

Killing An Invading Grass Species

With so many different lawn varieties being available, sometimes our lawns can become invaded by another unwanted grass variety. For many, it can become annoying and aesthetically ugly to look at when our well cared for lawn is suddenly overtaken.

How It Occurs

Lawn invasion can occur from several sources:

Lawn Seeds: seeds that are brought onto the properties from older style un-hybridized lawn varieties, seed travel occurs by wind, bird waste, the fur of animals, and clothing of people.
A Prior Lawn: for newly laid lawns, the previous lawn may not have been killed properly prior to the laying of the new lawn, and begins to re-emerge from it's runners or seeds.
A Neighbouring Lawn: A neighbours lawn may be creeping into your lawn.

Thatch In Buffalo Lawns

Thatching in Buffalo lawns can become a major problem over time, and more so than any other lawn variety. Buffalo produces thick stemmed runners (stolons) which become thatch as they die. Before dying, and with proper lawn care, each stolon produces the next generation of stolons, these new stolons grow above the old ones, and that’s how a green lawn is continually maintained.

Due to the thickness of the stems, the thatch layer in Buffalo lawns can continue to build on top of each other and significantly raise the height of the lawn. The process can continue for decades where the thatch layer can raise to 20 centimetres thick. The result is that the roots no longer live in the soil, they live in the old thatch layer which doesn’t contain nutrients, and cannot hold onto water. The problem continues where the lawn may be many centimetres above the surrounding path or outdoor area.

Repairing A Hard Lawn

Hard Lawns and Compacted Soils

Lawns and more correctly, the soils beneath them, can become hard over time due to a variety of reasons. These can include vehicles being driven over them, regular walkways or other normal human traffic, drought, or even lack of a proper maintenance and lawn care routine.

It can be expected that all lawns which are used regularly by people will eventually become compacted resulting in reduced lawn health.