Autumn Lawn Care Guide

As we enter the later months of the year and temperatures begin to cool, autumn is the perfect time to focus on your lawn. Autumn lawn care is essential for setting your grass up for success through winter and into the following spring. At TopGrass, we offer affordable services such as scarification, aeration, and overseeding, all tailored for effective lawn care in autumn.

Whether you’re looking for evergreen autumn lawn care or expert autumn lawn care advice, our team is here to help. We specialise in helping homeowners across the Midlands and South East with autumn lawn care services that encourage healthy root growth and restore lawn vitality after summer stress.

Please read ahead for some autumn lawn care tips from TopGrass, your go-to guide for the best autumn care and lawn practices to keep your grass green, strong, and beautiful all year round.

Autumn Scarification

After a long spring and summer period your lawn will start to build up a layer of thatch, which is dead organic material, like grass, that builds up between the soil and the growing grass. The thicker the thatch layer the more this will impede vital nutrients and moisture from reaching the root zone of the grass plant. TopGrass provides a number of lawn renovation packages that are tailored towards your lawn's specific needs.

Scarifying your lawn in autumn

Autumn provides the optimum conditions for renovation work, as rainfall is more consistent whilst soil temperatures are still warm enough for germination.
Autumn scarification allows time for your lawn to recover before the following spring.
We apply a Pre-Renovation Treatment before our autumn scarification services, as this is a moss control that helps to stop the spread of moss spores when scarified.

Autumn Aeration

After a dry summer period, your lawn would have become more compact as a result. This is exacerbated if your lawn has a lot of footfall, from parties or children playing on the lawn. The autumn provides a perfect opportunity for lawn aeration as the ground will be softer and easier for the aerator to penetrate holes into.

Top autumn aeration tips

Aeration provides easier access for nutrients and moisture to reach the root zone of the grass.
We recommend aeration at least once a year to help ease the compaction of your lawn.
You can take a DIY approach to aeration by using a garden fork to stab evenly spaced holes into your lawn. A hole depth of 2-3 inches is ideal.

Autumn lawn feed

Many lawns bounce back naturally after the stresses of summer, regaining their lush green look by spring without needing any extra help. However, if your lawn looks tired or patchy, an autumn lawn feed can give it the boost it needs. Be sure to use a product specifically designed for autumn use; these formulations are lower in nitrogen and focus on strengthening roots rather than encouraging rapid leaf growth. Strong roots now mean a healthier, greener lawn come spring.

Autumn Moss Control

When autumn arrives, you may notice moss starting to creep back into your lawn. This is because the wetter weather and milder temperatures encourage and help moss to thrive. This is why one of the most important autumn lawn care treatments you can have to keep on top of moss levels is a moss inhibitor. Our Late Season Treatment and End of Season Treatment both provide this type of lawn care treatment!

How to keep on top of moss in your lawn

Regular fertilisation of your lawn will help to encourage grass growth, which will in turn help to prevent moss from flourishing.
If you have moss treatment applied to your lawn, once the moss has turned black, you should get out and rake it up to remove the moss and stop it from spreading further.
Top Tip: A moss treatment will inhibit the growth and stop the spread of moss. There is no treatment on the market that will kill the moss in your lawn. It always needs to be removed physically either through scarification or raking.

Keep Mowing Your Lawn!

You may think you can stop mowing your lawn by the time autumn rolls around as temperatures start to drop but this is actually incorrect. Autumn temperatures are still at a level in which grass can grow. We recommend that you mow your grass on a higher level than spring or summer at 2-2.5 inches.

Autumn lawn mowing tips

Make sure your mower blades are sharp so as not to tear the grass.
Set your mower to 2-2.5 inches so that your grass is long enough to withstand the cooler temperatures.
Do not cut your lawn below 2 inches, as this will weaken the grass.
If you have a particularly mossy lawn, make sure the height of the mower is at least ½ inch above the moss height.

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Keep Leaves off Your Lawn

Regularly removing leaves from your lawn during the autumn is one of the most important aspects of lawn maintenance during this period. If leaves are left to blanket your lawn this will restrict vital nutrients, as well as sunlight and moisture, from reaching your grass roots.

Top tips to remove leaves from your lawn

The easiest method to clear up leaves is using a trusted rake.
Collected leaves can be a great addition to your compost bin, adding a great nutrient source when broken down.
Fallen leaves can be shredded to create leaf mulch, which can then be added to your borders to suppress weed growth.
Leaf vacuums provide an easy and efficient way to collect leaves from your lawn.

Need help improving your lawn this autumn?

From affordable lawn care plans to complete grass maintenance packages, TopGrass is your trusted choice for professional lawn treatment services this spring.

We offer everything from local grass care to best-in-class seasonal treatments tailored to UK conditions.

Get a Free Online Quote for your Lawn Right Now

Seasonal Lawn Care Guides

Prepare your lawn for a healthy growing season this spring

To keep your lawn looking lush year-round, it’s important to start strong in the spring. Discover seasonal tips on fertilisation, early weed prevention and tailoring your mowing schedule in our dedicated guide.

Read our Spring Lawn Care Guide for UK Lawns

Prepare your lawn for a healthy growing season this summer

If you want to keep your lawn looking green and healthy throughout the year, it is essential to keep on top of it during those hot, dry summer months. Discover seasonal tips on fertilisation, watering and keeping on top of weeds in our dedicated guide.

Read our Summer Lawn Care Guide for UK Lawns

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