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If it was me Shelley i would give the customer 2 options. A, mow it back to a reasonable height and autumn lawn feed it a week later to try and bring it back to something like a lawn. B, returf it all. Obviously the latter is a more expensive job, so you would need to consult with the customer whether they want a quick fix of the returf or the slow method of mowing and weed/feeding when it would probably be next year before any dramatic results will be noticeable.The lawn will repair itself over time if its kept adequately fed and cut.
Can we see a picture of the whole lawn?
the creeping thing is polygonum aviculare (knotgrass) and the sedge is carex pendula...there is actually very little of the original turf species there at all - I would be thinking about why it has died back, and given these species a chance to germinate. What was the lawn laid on? Has it ever grown well? Is there adequate drainage? It doesn't look like it has been mown regularly this season at least. Assuming the soil conditions are reasonable, I would be tempted to start afresh - spray everything off with glypho, rotovate everything well, and sow/turf again. A selective weedkiller would leave very little behind (as theres so little grass) and still leave you with that thick thatch of the failed, dying turf that would prevent succesful establishment of any new lawn from seed.
Classic signs of lawn neglect i'm afraid without wanting to be critical. Depending on the lawn size it would be better to deal with the issues that are apparent from the attached images & not re-turf. There is still some grass which is a start. The weed is knott grass which is found on compacted soil. The soil needs hollow tine aeration to relieve the compaction, but first needs spraying with a broad leaved weed killer to remove the weed issue. Hollow tine two weeks after depending on time of year & then scarify with a professional machine to remove dead weed,moss (apparent in one photo) & thatch (the dead grass). This will leave the lawn patchy, but an over seed would help thicken it & a gentle nitrogen balanced fertiliser eg Marathon autumn will aid recovery. Due to the combination of mechanical needs as well as spraying, seeding & fetiliser, it may be cheaper to hire in a lawn company, preferably an independent not a franchise with some local knowledge. You could have a cracking lawn in 6 weeks from the first spray depending on growing conditions.
www.pro-grass.com
Brian Harrison said:
duncan ross said:
6 weeks coming into the winter is a very hopefully timescale and something that probably isn't going to be achievable
Better to tell the client it will take some with remedial work and this time next year the lawn can be transformed into something that resembles a lawn again. If they follow a plan by yourself with proper cultural methods the lawn will improve well within the given timescale.
You may have a bit of a job on your hands with this one, depending on budget it may be best to kill it off and start again. Either re-turfing or hard scarification / aeration / overseeding.
You may also want to look at drainage.
I would go on to explain that if the cultural methods such as Fertilising / weed control / aeration / scarification will be required not just now but also in the future and point out if they don't there would be a good chance of the same thing happening two or three years down the line if they didn't follow your plan...
In situations like this I tell the client the best course of action is to create the best conditions for the grass types they want in the lawn depending on usage of course or nature will take its course.
Robbie said:
that's brilliant help- thanks all for your suggestions. I will give them the options (and a price to re do it properly!).