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Will frost damage my lawn?

One of the best things about spring is seeing your lawn unveiled after the dreariness of winter. However, this pleasure can be dampened if you discover frost damage which has left your pride and joy looking less than beautiful. Winter damage is a common problem, but this doesn’t mean that all is lost as at some point it is inevitable that our lawns will become frozen.

Believe it or not, frost can actually be quite helpful to your lawn, by helping to produce a stronger root structure as the cells in the grass adapt to being frozen. In general, grass is very hardy and in most circumstances is not damaged by frost. However, damage will most certainly occur if it is walked on while still frozen.

Here are our top tips on how to care for your frozen lawn:

• Try to avoid walking on your frozen lawn. Frost literally freezes the grass, so it becomes rigid. If walked on, the leaf cells rupture and damage the individual blades of grass. This leaves unsightly footprints across your lawn, which will be noticeable when it thaws out and can take months to disappear completely.
• No Mowing! Never mow when there is frost on the lawn or the ground is frozen.
• Do not apply any lawn treatments. Treatments such as fertiliser and weed killer should not be applied when there is frost on the lawn.
• Check for Heave. As spring arrives it is a good idea to check for frost heave. This is a swelling of the soil, which is caused by the ground expanding when the water in the soil freezes. In extreme cases, the uplifting of frost heave can cause a major disturbance and the effects can even be seen on roads and pavements. Sometimes a light roll in the spring is all that is required, although in most cases the ground in your garden will settle back naturally.