How to Get a Greener Lawn in 10 Simple Steps

How to Get a Greener Lawn in 10 Simple Steps

A lush green lawn is a sight to behold – and the envy of every neighbour. However, it takes more than just watering and mowing to achieve that perfect green lawn. With the right care and attention, it is possible to transform even the most lacklustre lawn into a verdant oasis. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with 10 simple steps to get a greener lawn.

Step 1: Know Your Lawn

Before you start any lawn care routine, it’s essential to understand your lawn grass type. Different types of grass require different types of care. In Perth, the most common grass types are Couch, Buffalo, and Kikuyu. Understanding your lawn type will help you determine the best watering and fertilising schedule.

Step 2: Water Your Lawn Correctly

close up details of automatic lawn pop-up sprinkler

In Perth, watering your lawn is crucial. During the hot summer months, it’s important to give your lawn enough water to prevent it from drying out. However, it’s equally important not to overwater. Overwatering can lead to root rot and other fungal diseases. As a rule of thumb, water your lawn deeply once or twice a week rather than lightly every day. Make sure to check with your local reticulation company to be sure your gardens and lawns are getting the water coverage and amount they need!

Step 3: Fertilise Your Lawn

Fertilising your lawn is essential to ensure it remains healthy and green. It’s best to fertilise your lawn in the spring and summer months, when the grass is actively growing. Choose a fertiliser that is suitable for your lawn type and avoid using too much fertiliser as it can burn your lawn.

Step 4: Mow Your Lawn Regularly

Here are some lawn mowing tips for a healthy lawn. Mowing your lawn is necessary to keep it looking neat and tidy. However, it’s important not to cut your lawn too short as this can cause stress to the grass and make it more susceptible to disease. In Perth, it’s recommended to keep your lawn between 2.5 to 4 cm in height.

Step 5: Aerate Your Lawn

Aerating your lawn is an essential step in maintaining a healthy lawn. Aerating helps to improve water and nutrient uptake, reduces soil compaction, and promotes deeper root growth. In Perth, it’s recommended to aerate your lawn in autumn or spring.

Step 6: Control Weeds

Weeds can quickly take over your lawn and cause it to look unsightly. It’s important to remove weeds regularly and use a selective herbicide to prevent them from coming back. Be careful when choosing a herbicide as some can damage your lawn. It’s important to know the best methods for weeding lawns to keep them healthy and vibrant.

Step 7: Repair Bald Patches

Bald patches in your lawn can be caused by a variety of factors, including pests, disease, and poor soil conditions. It’s important to address the underlying issue before repairing the patch. Once you’ve identified the problem, reseed the area with a grass seed suitable for your lawn type.

dead grass spot lawn

Step 8: Provide Shade

In Perth, the hot sun can quickly dry out your lawn, causing it to turn brown. Providing shade to your lawn can help prevent it from drying out. Plant trees or install a shade sail to provide your lawn with the necessary shade. A good tip is to plant ground cover instead of lawn in areas which get zero sunlight, like at the base of trees, rather than trying to keep a lawn alive without sunlight amid roots and debris.

Step 9: Remove Lawn Clippings

Leaving lawn clippings on your lawn can prevent sunlight and air from reaching the grass, causing it to turn yellow. It’s important to remove lawn clippings regularly and dispose of them correctly.

Step 10: Hire The Experts

gardener mowing front yard lawn care

Achieving a green lawn takes time and effort. By following these 10 simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to a lush, green lawn.

If you’re struggling to get your lawn looking green and lush, it’s worth seeking professional help. Our garden and lawn care experts in Perth can help you keep your lawns and gardens looking healthy and lush with our garden maintenance services in Perth.

Contact us on 08 6263 4645 today to book in a service – your lawn and garden will thank you for it!

Want more expert lawn care tips

Here are our answers to some frequently asked questions about getting a greener lawn in Perth:

Q: What type of fertiliser should I use for my lawn in Perth?

A: The type of fertiliser you use will depend on your lawn type. In general, a slow-release fertiliser with a balanced NPK ratio is suitable for most lawns in Perth. It’s best to fertilise your lawn in the spring and summer months when the grass is actively growing.

Q: Can I mow my lawn when it’s wet?

A: It’s not recommended to mow your lawn when it’s wet. Wet grass can clog up your lawn mower and make it harder to cut your lawn evenly. It’s best to wait until your lawn is dry before mowing.

Q: How can I tell if my lawn needs aeration?

A: If your lawn is looking thin or patchy, it may need aerating. You can also perform a soil compaction test by pushing a garden fork into the ground. If the fork doesn’t go in easily, it’s likely that your soil is compacted and in need of aeration.

Q: How do I repair bald patches in my lawn?

A: Bald patches in your lawn can be caused by a variety of factors, including pests, disease, and poor soil conditions. Once you’ve identified the problem, reseed the area with a grass seed suitable for your lawn type. Keep the area moist until the grass seed has germinated and established.

Q: How can I prevent weeds from growing in my lawn?

A: Regular mowing and fertilising can help prevent weeds from growing in your lawn. However, it’s also important to remove weeds regularly and use a selective herbicide to prevent them from coming back.

Q: How can I provide shade for my lawn?

A: Planting trees or installing a shade sail can provide your lawn with the necessary shade. However, it’s important not to plant trees too close to your lawn as their roots can compete with your grass for water and nutrients.

Q: Do I need professional help to get a greener lawn?

A: While it’s possible to achieve a green lawn on your own, seeking professional help can save you time and effort. Lawn care experts in Perth can provide you with a personalised lawn care plan and recommend the best products for your lawn type. They can also help diagnose and treat any issues with your lawn.

What is Pruning? Everything You Need to Know

What is Pruning? Everything You Need to Know

Whether you are a keen gardener with the greenest of thumbs, or just starting out on your gardening journey, if you want a healthy, beautiful and thriving garden, pruning is a vital skill to learn.

Pruning is an important gardening practice that can help to maintain the health, shape, and productivity of plants, as well as improve their appearance. This applies to many plants; from trees to shrubs and other plants and flowers.

What is Pruning?

At it’s most basic level, pruning is what we call the task of cutting back or removing certain parts of a plant, such as branches, stems, or leaves. Critical for garden health, without proper pruning, your shrubs, bushes, trees and plants will not have the maintenance and support they need to thrive.

Knowing when to prune, depending on the season and temperature, and how to prune, for example, when to just give a light trim and when to really cut it back, is important for any garden proud homeowner.

Benefits of Pruning?

Pruning is important for a number of reasons. Critically, because, when done incorrectly, it can have a serious impact on the health, look and growth of your plants. At worst, improper pruning can kill a plant altogether or permantenly stunt it’s growth. So keep reading to learn how to do it right!

Some of the many benefits of pruning include:

Rose pruning perth

Promote Growth

Firstly, it can help to promote the growth of new branches, leaves, and flowers. By removing dead, damaged, or diseased parts of a plant, you can encourage new growth and help the plant to remain healthy and productive. Pruning fruit trees encourages increased productivity and improves growth rates season upon season. In other hedges and shrubs, it increase growth by encouraging new shoots, helping plants grow taller and stronger. And in flowering plants, pruning improves growth and makes sure that they will continue to flower.

Prevent Disease

Pruning can be strategically applied to remove any parts of the plant that are dead, damaged, or infected with disease. This helps to prevent the spread of disease or pests to other parts of the plant, and allows the plant to focus its energy on healthy growth. While cutting it right back may sometimes be needed and not look great – it will be worth it to save it in the long run.

Aesthetics

No one likes an untidy bush… straggly, overgrown hedges and plants make the entire garden look untidy and un-cared for, while shaped, maintained plants give the whole garden a lift!

Pruning can be used to train and control plants to help them grow to the desired size, hight and shape to suit your garden design. From shrubs that are pruned into round balls or vines that are trained to grow in the right directions, pruning will definitely improve the astheics of your garden.

Safety

Especially important in winter, pruning also allows you to remove dead or heavy branches and limbs which might otherwise fall and injure unsuspecting passersby. From risks of stong winds or heavy rains, or very dry periods where dead branches grow brittle, careful pruning keeps your garden safe. It also helps to deter pests or vermin by eliminating potential breeding grounds or hiding places for pests, and increasing air circulation can make it more difficult for them to thrive. Additionally, pruning can help to prevent branches from touching nearby structures, which can provide a pathway for pests to enter your home or garden.

Protects Property

Not just increasing garden safety for people, pruning helps protect your property from falling limbs on cars or your house, prevent branches scratching windows or car paint, and even stop branches or heavy leaves from clogging up your drains causing more work.

Thick and overgrown shrubs can even collect dirt and create mould/scum patches on the edges of paths or driveways that take pressure cleaning or heavy scrubbing to remove. It’s always better to keep things tidy and under control.

Improve light

Tree pruning and removal

Some of your other plants or even lawn might suffer if your garden isn’t pruned back regularly. Thick or tall growth can reduce sunlight from getting to the lower areas and plants in your garden, reducing their health and growth chances by limiting their sun and air intake. Pruning decreases the competition between your plants for the nutrients they need to thrive.

Aids Reticulation

If your garden relies on an irrigation system to get the water it needs, garden overgrowth is one of your reticulation systems biggest problems. If hedges and plants aren’t pruned back regularly, they can block a sprinklers water coverage, causing dry patches in your lawns or stopping certain plants from getting any water at all.

Now that you know what pruning is and how important it is for your garden, let’s go a little deeper and learn more about the different types of pruning techniques to use.

Types of Pruning?

There are a few different types of pruning you can use, depending on the season and the type of plant; types of pruning will also differ depending on if it’s for trees, shrubs, fruit plants or flowers.

Types of Tree Pruning

At Perth Gardening Experts, we cann’t help with any major tree pruning – only for smaller trees under 3m in height – for anything higher, you’ll need to get an arborist involved. We’ll give you some tips here, but always make sure that you feel confident and safe – and never prune any heavy or large branches above your head!

Thinning

hand pruning tree branches perth

Thinning involves selectively removing branches from the crown to increase light penetration and air circulation, reduce wind resistance, and promote new growth. Done correctly, thinning can open up the canopy of a plant and allow more air and sunlight to reach the inner branches and leaves. This can reduce the risk of fungal diseases and promote healthy growth. Especially important in fruit tree pruning, it will improve the production of your fruit trees.

Lifting / Raising

This type of pruning involves removing the lower branches of the tree, and is usually done to provide clearance for buildings, vehicles, and pedestrians above paths, streets and walkways.

Reduction

This pruning involves removing the upper branches of the tree to reduce the overall height or spread of the tree. This is usually to prevent the tree from interfering with power lines or structures, or to reduce the weight of the canopy to prevent breakage. To avoid having to apply this technique, it is important to stay on top of pruning the tree to train it as it grows – rather than having to do a big cutback later.

Shaping

This is usually the reason you get a garden maintenance company or arbourist in – when you want to shape the tree to suit a garden design, the space or improve the overall look. Common shapes are natural, spherical round styles, or keeping the bottom of the tree cut in a straight line for a very tidy look.

Structural

Often done in the early stages of a young tree’s growth, structual pruning is used to improve the structure and stability of the tree, training from a young age to growth thicker where needed and promote the right shape for it to grow into.

Types of Shrub Pruning

At Perth Gardening Experts, we have experience in all types of shrub pruning, whether it’s for shape, improving the overall look, improving health or more. So if you decide that, after reading our blog, you want some help – just give us a call.

Maintenance

Something we are particularly passionate about, maintenance pruning involves removing dead or diseased branches of your shrub, and shaping the shrub to maintain its size and shape. This type of pruning is the key to keeping your garden looking great – year round.

Renewal / Growth

This pruning is applied when you need to cut back the entire shrub to stimulate new growth and rejuvenate the plant. This is typically done in older shrubs or those that have become overgrown.

Pruning for Fruit Trees, Bushes and Plants, and Flowers

Now we’ve covered how to prune trees and shrubs, it’s now time to look at how to prune fruiting and flowering trees, bushes, plants and flowers such as roses to promote growth of the flowers and fruit.

If you know anything about plants and flowers, you’ll know there are hundreds of varieties and best practice pruning methods will differ based on the variety, the season and your location, so we’ll only be able to give a basic overview in this blog to get you started.

closeup thorn bush with berries

Pruning Fruiting Trees and Bushes

The best time to prune fruiting trees and bushes in Perth is during the plant’s dormant season, which is typically in winter. Pruning during this time helps the plant to focus its energy on new growth in the spring and summer, and it also reduces the risk of damaging the plant’s fruit production.

Here are some tips on pruning fruit trees:

  1. Remove dead and diseased wood: As you prune, look for any dead or diseased wood and remove it. This will prevent the spread of disease and encourage healthy growth.
  2. Thin out overcrowded branches: If your tree or bush has too many branches, it’s important to thin them out to allow for better air circulation and light penetration. This will promote better fruit production.
  3. Cut back to outward-facing buds: When making cuts, be sure to cut back to an outward-facing bud. This will encourage new growth to grow outward, which will help keep the plant from becoming too dense.
  4. Prune to promote fruit production: Finally, be sure to prune in a way that promotes fruit production. This may mean cutting back some branches more than others to encourage fruiting spurs to form.

For deciduous fruit trees like apples, pears, and peaches, it’s best to prune them during their winter dormancy, usually from late June to early August in Perth. For evergreen fruit trees like citrus, you can prune them throughout the year, but the best time is right after the fruit has been harvested, typically in late winter to early spring.

It’s important to note that pruning timing can vary depending on the specific variety of fruiting tree or bush you have, as well as the local climate conditions. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to do some research or consult with a local gardening expert to find the best pruning schedule and more information on pruning fruit trees in Perth.

Pruning Flowering Bushes and Plants

The best time to prune flowering bushes and plants in Perth, Australia depends on the specific plant species, but a general rule of thumb is to prune after flowering has finished. This ensures that you don’t accidentally remove any flower buds that have formed for the upcoming season.

Here are some tips on how to prune flowering bushes and plants in Perth:

  1. Choose the right tools: For smaller flowering plants, pruning shears or hand-held loppers may be sufficient. For larger bushes, a pruning saw may be necessary. Make sure your tools are sharp and clean to prevent damaging the plant.
  2. Remove dead or diseased wood: As you prune, look for any dead or diseased wood and remove it. This will help prevent the spread of disease and promote healthy growth.
  3. Cut back to healthy growth: When making cuts, be sure to cut back to a healthy growth point, such as a bud or lateral branch. Avoid cutting back too much at once, as this can weaken the plant.
  4. Don’t over-prune: It’s important not to over-prune flowering bushes and plants, as this can lead to reduced flowering or even death of the plant. Only prune what is necessary to promote healthy growth and shape the plant.

Examples of flowering bushes that require pruning include roses, hydrangeas, and lilacs, which should be pruned after flowering. Other plants, like hibiscus, can be pruned in late winter or early spring before new growth begins.

Pruning Roses

The best time to prune roses in Perth, Australia is in winter, during their dormant season. The ideal time to prune is after the last frost of the season and before new growth appears, which is usually between June and August.

If you are growing roses in Perth, here are some tips on how to prune them:

  1. Choose the right time: As mentioned earlier, the best time to prune roses is in winter, during their dormant season. Wait until after the last frost of the season and before new growth appears, which is usually between June and August in Perth, Australia.
  2. Identify the canes: Look for the main canes or stems of the rose bush. You’ll want to keep the strongest and healthiest ones and remove the weak or diseased ones.
  3. Remove dead and diseased wood: Using sharp, clean pruning shears, cut out any dead, damaged, or diseased wood. Be sure to cut back to healthy wood.
  4. Shape the plant: Prune to shape the plant and encourage an open, airy structure that allows good airflow and sunlight penetration. Cut back to a leaf node that faces the direction you want new growth to go.
  5. Cut back to an outward-facing bud: When making cuts, cut back to an outward-facing bud to encourage new growth to grow outward, which will help keep the plant from becoming too dense.
  6. Clean up green waste: Once you’ve finished pruning, remove all debris from around the plant to help prevent the spread of disease.
  7. Fertilize and water: After pruning, fertilize the plant with a balanced fertilizer to help promote new growth, and water the plant thoroughly to help it recover and encourage new growth.

It’s important not to over-prune roses, as this can weaken the plant and reduce its ability to produce flowers. Only prune what is necessary to promote healthy growth and maintain the desired shape of the plant. By following these steps and pruning during the dormant season, you can help promote healthy growth, encourage abundant flowering, and maintain the overall health of your rose bushes.

Best Time To Prune

Garden pruning shears

The best time to prune plants varies depending on the type of plant. In general, plants can be pruned when they are dormant, which is typically during the winter months when the plant has lost its leaves and is not actively growing.

However, some plants should not be pruned during the winter, such as those that bloom in the spring, because pruning during the winter can remove the buds that would have produced the flowers. These plants should be pruned immediately after they finish flowering, which is usually in the late spring or early summer.

For plants that are grown for their foliage, such as shrubs and hedges, it’s best to prune them in the late winter or early spring before new growth begins. This allows the plant to produce new growth that will fill in the areas that were pruned.

In general, it’s important to research the specific plant you want to prune and understand its growth habits, flowering time, and preferred pruning time. This will ensure that you prune the plant at the right time and in the right way to promote healthy growth and flowering.

Conclusion

Proper pruning is crucial to keep your trees, shrubs and plants healthy, tidy and attractive and to encourage flowers and fruit. You can see by now hoe important it is to do it not just at the right time, but in the right way to protect and increase the health and beauty of your plants.

If the thought of tackling your own plant and shrub pruning seems too stressful and you want to call in the experts, you can always get in touch with our team at Perth Gardening Experts on 08 6263 4645. We’ll take care of it for you throughout the year to make sure your plants grow healthy, stay in beautiful shape and look amazing in every season.

Hire a Gardener to Perform Garden Maintenance Services

Hire a Gardener to Perform Garden Maintenance Services

Taking care of your lawn and gardens requires more than just getting the kid down the street to mow  and weed every other week.

But having a yard that’s the envy of the neighborhood doesn’t have to mean giving up every weekend to roll in the dirt.

Hiring garden maintenance services can make all the difference in taming and maintaining your lawn — even if you do have a green thumb.

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Guide to Garden Fertilisers

Guide to Garden Fertilisers

Nature does an amazing job of self-nurturing and uses incredibly smart and well-honed systems to keep things green and growing. But our carefully designed home gardens tend to work outside nature with our desire to have them green year-round and use of plants which aren’t native to our location. So sometimes nature needs a little help to provide the nutrients needed to maintain a healthy garden (especially when all leaves and green wastes are removed on a regular basis to maintain a tidy garden)

The Why’s and How’s of Fertilising your garden in Perth.

One of the effective ways to do this is by using the right fertilisers as part of our regular gardening activities.

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Companion Planting Guide

Companion Planting Guide

Many gardeners are discovering that by using companion planting they can discourage garden pests with the additional benefit of not harming helpful insects such as bees and ladybugs. Through their odours or root secretions some herbs and flowers are able to deter pests naturally as well as improving growth and flavour.

Companion Planting

Many herbs and flowers are natural insect repellents that can keep your garden pest free and eliminate or reduce the need for potentially harmful pesticides.

Companion planting is the ultimate way to bring the balance of nature into your garden. When choosing what to grow in your garden, just do your best to match the suitable herb with the suitable plant when planting and the results will follow.

tomato and basil plants gardening

Companion Plants That Grow Well Together

BASIL: Plant with tomatoes to improve growth and flavour and to repel flies and mosquitoes. Do not plant near rue.

BEE BALM (Oswego): Plant with tomatoes to improve growth and flavour.

BORAGE: Companion plant for tomatoes, squash and strawberries. Deters tomato worms.

CARAWAY: Good for loosening compacted soil

CATNIP: Deters flea beetles.

CAMOMILE: Improves the flavour of cabbages and onions.

CHERVIL: Companion to radishes for improved growth and flavour.

CHIVES: Improves growth and flavour of carrots.

DILL: Improves growth and health of cabbage. Do not plant near carrots.

FENNEL: Most plants dislike it. Plant by itself.

FLAX: Plant with carrots, and potatoes.

GARLIC: Plant near roses to repel aphids.

HORSERADISH: Plant in the potato patch to keep away potato bugs.

HYSSOP: Companion plant to cabbage and grapes, deters cabbage moths. Do not plant near radishes.

MARIGOLDS (Calendula): The workhorse of pest deterrents. Keeps the soil free of nematodes; discourages many insects. Plant freely throughout the garden.

MARJORAM: Improves the flavour of all vegetables.

MINT: Deters white cabbage moths and improves the health of cabbage and tomatoes.

NASTURTIUMS: Plant with tomatoes, radishes, cabbage, cucumbers, and under fruit trees. Deters aphids and pests of the curcurbit family.

PARSLEY: Plant with tomatoes and asparagus.

PEPPERMINT: Repels white cabbage moths.

PETUNIAS: They repel the asparagus beetle, tomato worm and general garden pests. Also, a good companion to tomatoes, but plant everywhere.

PURSLANE: This edible weed makes good ground cover in the corn.

ROSEMARY: Companion plant to cabbage, beans, carrots and sage. Deters cabbage moths, bean beetles, and carrot flies.

RUE: Deters Japanese beetles in roses and raspberries.

SAGE: Companion plant with rosemary, cabbage and carrots to deter cabbage moths, beetles, carrot flies. Do not plant near cucumbers.

SOUTHERNWOOD: Plant with cabbage, and here and there in the garden.

SUMMER SAVORY: Plant with beans and onions to improve growth and flavour. Discourages cabbage moths.

TANSY: Plant with fruit trees, roses and raspberries. Deters flying insects, Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and ants.

TARRAGON: Plant throughout the garden as not many pests like this one.

THYME: Deters cabbage worms.

WORMWOOD: Keeps animals out of the garden when planted as a border.

If you need some help in determining the right plants for your garden, or assistance in maintaining your gardens just contact the team at Perth Landscaping and Gardening for a free quote.