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Even well-intentioned gardeners make mistakes that damage their lawns. Many problems stem from doing too much rather than too little, or doing the right thing at the wrong time. Here are the most common lawn care mistakes and how to avoid them.
Cutting Too Short
This is the single most damaging mistake home gardeners make. Scalping the lawn weakens grass, encourages weeds, and makes your lawn vulnerable to drought.
Grass produces energy through its leaves. Remove too much leaf area and the plant can’t photosynthesise effectively. It draws on root reserves, weakening the entire plant.
Short grass also exposes soil to sunlight, allowing weed seeds to germinate. Moss thrives in the gaps left by weakened grass.
Most lawns should be maintained at 25-40mm. Only formal lawns with fine grasses tolerate closer cutting, and even then not below 15-20mm. See our guide to mowing heights for specific recommendations.
Never remove more than one-third of the grass blade in a single cut. If your lawn has grown long, reduce height gradually over several mowings.
Mowing Too Infrequently
The flip side of cutting too short is letting grass grow too long between cuts. This forces you to remove excessive growth at once, stressing the lawn.
During peak growing season (April-September), most lawns need cutting weekly. Some need twice-weekly mowing in May and June when growth is fastest.
Letting grass grow long then cutting it short shocks the plants. They turn yellow, growth stalls, and weeds take advantage of the weakened turf.
Little and often is the golden rule. Regular light cuts keep grass healthy and dense. See our guide on how often to mow for seasonal schedules.
Using a Blunt Mower Blade
A dull blade tears grass rather than cutting it cleanly. Torn tips turn brown, giving the lawn a greyish hue and creating entry points for disease.
Check your blade at the start of each season and sharpen as needed. Most blades need sharpening twice per year for typical use. Our guide to sharpening mower blades covers the process.
Signs of a blunt blade include ragged grass tips, uneven cut height, and the mower struggling through grass it normally handles easily.
Over-Fertilising
More is not better with lawn feed. Excessive fertiliser causes rapid, weak growth that’s vulnerable to disease. In severe cases, it burns grass completely.
Follow product application rates precisely. Use a calibrated spreader for even distribution. Overlap passes slightly but don’t double-dose any area.
Uneven application creates stripes: lush green where feed landed, pale yellow where it didn’t, and brown scorched patches where too much accumulated.
If you suspect over-fertilising, water heavily immediately to dilute and flush the excess. See our guide to fixing fertiliser burn for recovery steps.
Under-Feeding
The opposite mistake is equally common. Many gardeners never feed their lawn, expecting it to thrive on rainfall alone.
Grass is hungry. It needs regular nutrition to maintain dense, healthy growth. Unfed lawns become thin, pale, and dominated by weeds and moss.
A minimum of two feeds per year (spring and autumn) makes a noticeable difference. Four seasonal feeds produces the best results. Follow our complete feeding schedule for year-round nutrition.
Feeding at the Wrong Time
Timing matters as much as feeding itself. High-nitrogen spring feed applied in autumn promotes soft growth that winter kills. Autumn feed applied in spring wastes the potassium meant to harden grass for winter.
Spring feeds (March-April) should be high in nitrogen to promote leafy growth.
Summer feeds (June-July) need balanced nutrition with iron for colour.
Autumn feeds (September-October) require low nitrogen and high potassium to strengthen roots.
Winter feeds (November-December) should focus on iron and minimal nitrogen.
Using the wrong seasonal feed doesn’t just waste money—it can actively harm your lawn. Our lawn care calendar helps you keep track of what to do when.
Watering Wrong
Light, frequent watering encourages shallow rooting. Grass becomes dependent on constant moisture and struggles when you skip a day.
Deep, infrequent watering trains roots to grow down seeking moisture. These deeper roots access water unavailable to shallow-rooted grass, providing natural drought resistance.
When you do water, apply 20-25mm and then let the lawn dry out before watering again. This might mean watering once or twice weekly rather than daily.
Water early morning when possible. Evening watering leaves grass damp overnight, encouraging fungal disease. Midday watering in sunshine wastes water to evaporation.
Ignoring Soil Compaction
Heavy use, clay soil, and lack of maintenance all cause compaction. Compacted soil prevents water, air, and nutrients reaching grass roots.
Signs include water pooling after rain, moss thriving while grass struggles, and hard soil you can barely push a fork into.
Annual aeration relieves compaction and revitalises struggling lawns. Autumn is the ideal time. See our guide to aerating your lawn for techniques.
Scarifying at the Wrong Time
Scarification is brutal. It rips out thatch and moss, leaving the lawn looking devastated. Done at the wrong time, grass can’t recover.
Never scarify during summer heat or winter cold. Grass needs active growth to heal the damage.
Early autumn (September) is ideal: soil is warm, grass is growing, and there’s time to recover before winter. Spring (April-May) is the second-best option.
Neglecting Moss Until It Takes Over
Moss is a symptom, not the cause. It appears where conditions favour it: shade, compaction, poor drainage, acidity, or weak grass.
Killing moss without addressing underlying problems provides temporary results at best. The moss returns within a season.
Effective moss control combines treatment (ferrous sulphate or lawn sand) with improving conditions: aerate compacted soil, improve drainage, reduce shade where possible, and feed grass to help it compete. See our comprehensive guide to getting rid of moss.
Expecting Instant Results
Lawn improvement takes time. Grass grows slowly, recovers gradually, and improvements compound over seasons rather than weeks.
A renovation this autumn will show results by next spring. Consistent feeding improves density over a full year. Correcting years of neglect takes multiple seasons of proper care.
Patience and consistency beat intensive short-term efforts. Small improvements maintained over time transform lawns more effectively than dramatic one-off interventions.
The Simple Path to Success
Avoiding these mistakes is straightforward:
Mow regularly at the right height with a sharp blade.
Feed four times yearly with appropriate seasonal products.
Water deeply but infrequently when needed.
Aerate annually in autumn.
Address problems when they’re small rather than waiting until they’re overwhelming.
Consistency trumps intensity. Regular, moderate care produces better results than occasional heroic efforts. For more guidance, browse our comprehensive lawn care resource.
Our Year Round Bundle takes the guesswork out of feeding. Four seasonal treatments delivered at the right time, with the right formulation for each season. Just apply when it arrives.
