Autumn lawn feed & winter lawn care

September into October for most of the UK, while there is still enough soil warmth for the grass to take the nutrients up. The further north you are, the earlier. Later than the end of October and you are mostly feeding the following spring.

No, and we will not pretend otherwise — none of these products is a moss treatment. What they do address are the conditions moss favours: compacted ground, water sitting on the surface, poor drainage and, sometimes, acidity. Fix the drainage and the compaction and you change the environment moss is thriving in. That is a slower answer than a moss treatment and a more durable one.

Better not to. Halving a high-nitrogen feed still puts nitrogen down at the wrong time of year; it just puts less of it. The ratio is the point, not the quantity.

Liquid gypsum and the wetting agent, before anything else. Feeding a lawn that cannot drain is money spent on the wrong problem. The full set of clay amendments is in clay soil improvers.

Everything else for the lawn, including the spring and summer feeds, is in lawn care.

No — that is a common mix-up. A proper autumn lawn feed is low in nitrogen and potash-led, so the grass hardens for winter instead of pushing soft leaf. Phosphate is for rooting and establishment; it is not what defines an autumn feed. If a bag reads high in phosphate and still carries a summer-style nitrogen load, it is not doing the autumn job.

Spring feeds are high in nitrogen to drive leafy growth and colour. Autumn feeds carry less nitrogen and more potassium, which helps grass harden off for winter instead of putting on soft growth that cold, wet weather and disease damage. A spring feed used in autumn tends to produce lush, vulnerable grass just as conditions turn against it.

Yes. Across most of the UK, early to mid October is still fine for an autumn feed, provided the grass is growing and the soil is moist rather than frozen or waterlogged. Grass slows sharply once soil temperature drops to around 5–6°C, after which a feed has little to work on. The milder south and west can usually feed later than the north.

Very little. Grass hardly grows between late November and February, so nitrogen applied then is mostly wasted or washed through. What does make sense in winter is anything that does not depend on growth: lime where a soil test shows acidity, and gypsum on clay that lies wet. Save the main feed for spring.

September is the main window for lawn renovation: scarify, aerate, overseed bare patches, then apply an autumn feed so roots can establish before winter. The soil is still warm and autumn rain usually returns, which suits new seed. On compacted clay, apply gypsum after aerating so it can work down the holes.

September, or early October in mild areas, suits most UK lawns. The grass is still growing strongly enough to recover and fill in before winter. Scarify, then overseed thin patches and follow with an autumn feed. Leave it much later and the lawn may stay bare and muddy until spring. Light raking in spring is fine, but heavy scarifying is best kept for autumn.

No. Leave it slightly longer than in summer, around 4–5 cm for most garden lawns, by raising the mower for the last few cuts. Longer leaves capture more of the weak winter light and protect the growing point from frost. Very long grass can mat down and invite disease, so keep trimming lightly whenever it grows and the surface is dry enough to walk on.

Avoid mowing when the ground is frozen, frosty or waterlogged. Walking on frosted grass breaks the frozen blades and leaves brown footprints; mowing soft, wet ground compacts the soil and tears the turf. In mild spells, when the grass is growing and the surface is firm, a light trim with the blades set high does no harm.

Look for one with less nitrogen than a spring feed and a good share of potassium, ideally with something that helps the soil as well as the leaf. On lawns that lie wet over winter, a feed paired with gypsum, such as our Autumn Lawn Feed for Clay, works on drainage at the same time. Apply it in early autumn while the grass is still growing.

It is an American term for getting grass ready for winter. In practice it means a final autumn feed with modest nitrogen and good potassium, raising the mower height, clearing leaves, and fixing compaction or drainage. In the UK these jobs fall in September and October. The aim is a lawn that goes into winter with healthy roots rather than soft top growth.

Yes. A layer of fallen leaves blocks light, holds moisture against the grass and can turn it yellow within a couple of weeks. Rake or mow them up regularly through autumn. Collected leaves rot down into leaf mould, which makes an excellent mulch for borders a year or two later.

For a lawn that is thin, worn or on poor soil, yes: an autumn feed helps the grass build roots and recover from summer before winter. A dense, healthy lawn on good soil that was fed in spring and summer may manage without, especially if the clippings are left on. If you only feed once a year, spring gives the larger visible return.

Yes, once rain has softened the ground. Hollow-tining removes small cores of soil, relieving compaction so air, water and feed reach the roots; on clay, applying gypsum or brushing in a top-dressing afterwards helps keep the holes open. Spiking with a garden fork helps less but is better than nothing. Avoid aerating when the ground is waterlogged or frozen.

Usually not; autumn rain does the job. The exceptions are newly sown seed, which must not dry out in its first few weeks, and dry spells straight after renovation. If rain runs off the surface rather than soaking in, the soil has turned water-repellent over summer, and a wetting agent helps it re-wet.