Does top dressing improve your lawn ?

Many home gardeners believe they need to top dress their lawn.  Do you need to do this ? .  Well it comes down to a number of factors,  and in some cases it is required.   The major reason you would want to top dress your lawn is to fill dips and level the lawn surface.   This is the best reason to top dress and will improve the lawn in the long run.  However, there is no need to top dress otherwise.  Top dressing a lawn that does not need it can actually create more problems.  Top dressing a lawn that does not need levelling will only create a deeper thatch layer (layer of roots) which reduces the vigour of your lawn.  It will also benefit weeds, as the open soil will allow weeds to get established.  

What do you top dress your lawn with ?

If you are trying to level your lawn to take out dips etc,  then you will need to top dress.  Only top dress those areas which need levelling.  The best soil to use when top dressing your lawn is normally sold as "lawn sand" or "top dressing mix".  What is in the mix will vary depending on your region, however, it is normally just sand, sand and clay, or sand with a little organic matter.  Any of these will do the job,  however, we find that the sand and clay mixtures are the best as they hold moisture will to allow grass to cover over vacant areas.  Sand clay mixtures are also called sandy loams.  

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What types of lawn can you top dress

The only types of lawns which are normally top dressed are running lawns like Couch and Kikuyu and also to a point Buffalo.  These are all types of lawn which will run into the top dressed areas or growth through it.  For other types of lawn like Fesues and Rye grass (basically most seed grown lawns) it is best not to top dress them, but use other approaches.   Fescues and Rye grass are tufting types of lawn,  they do not spread by runners.  This means that if you do have a dip in your lawn which you have top dressed, you will need to re-seed or replant the spot where you top-dress.. 

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how to grow good grass,lawn, turf under trees

Growing lawn & turf under trees can always be a problem.  However there are ways that you can grow lawn under trees in most situations.  It comes down to a number of factors mainly to do with soil type, lawn type and soil moisture. 

Firstly have a look at the variety of grass you presently have, is it a variety that will grow under trees or take shade ?  Most varieties of Couch will not grow under trees.  If you have Kikuyu it will but only in a open, semi shade situation.  Kikuyu will still grow in about 50% shade to some extent.  If you have buffalo some of the newer varieties such as Sir Walter and Shade Master will also grow to some extent under trees to around 50% shade.  

Next check your soil around the tree, is it dry or not draining.  You may be able to improve the soil by adding organic matter (cow or sheep manure) or remove the soil and add and improved soil mix.  You normally do not have to remove much around 10 to 15cm of top soil.  Trees tend to draw up mositure around their root zone so making the soil dry, however most of this occurs deeper in the soil.  By improving the very top of the soil zone you can increase the mositure holding capacity of the soil.   Most lawn types only draw mositure from the top 15 cm of the soil.  Plant some runners from the lawn and water well.

If your lawn is still not growing the next option is to use a different grass around the tree.  There are may seed grown varieties which will grow well under trees where running varieties won't.  But be aware that they will look different to the lawn you already have.  This will mean a different leaf and possibly colour of grass.  You can purchase packs of seed call "shade mixture" which have a combination of grass seeds suitable for growing under trees or in shady spots.  Most varieties which will grow under trees are Rye grass or Fescues which will take a good amount of shade.  They are not running varieties, so be aware that a good spread of seed is required to get coverage.   

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