How to Repair Your Lawn After Frost and Snow

As beautiful as a white-coated garden can be to wake up to, severe frost can cause serious problems underneath the sparkling surface. A slight frost that instantly melts as the sun rises won’t cause too much damage. It also won’t trick your lawn into dormancy (especially when the UK has a random cold snap in April).

But when it remains extremely cold for a long period, freezing temperatures can impact your turf, soil, and grass roots, as well as the health, resilience, and growth of your lovely lawn. In this article, we cover how frost and snow can damage your lawn, provide tips for dealing with frosty turf, and explain how to repair your lawn after a harsh winter.

How Does Frost Damage Turf?

Frost brings freezing temperatures, snow, low rainfall, strong winds and little sunshine. This combination can stunt your lawn’s growth and cause serious damage to the blades and roots, impacting the condition of your lawn when spring comes around. Other ways frost and snow can damage your turf include:

• Lowering your soil temperature
• Halting germination and growth
• Leaving grass blades brittle and weak
• Discolouring grass
• Frost burn
• Stunting growth, resulting in patchy grass
• Water pooling as frost and snow melts
• Increased risk of lawn diseases
• Snow compaction, which can suffocate grass

6 Ways To Fix Frost Burnt Lawns

1. Remove snow and debris

If you have piles of snow, these need to be removed as quickly as possible. Snow not only blocks sunlight from reaching your lawn but can also suffocate your grass, resulting in dead spots. As the snow melts, it can also cause water pooling if your soil’s drainage isn’t up to scratch.

If you spot any of these issues once removing the snow, aerating the area will allow your grass to breathe and let oxygen and water reach the roots. Clearing up your lawn will also create a nicer, tidier outdoor space – even if it’s too cold to use!

2. Look for bare patches

Bare patches in your lawn are areas that have struggled to access vital nutrients to keep grass resilient throughout winter. There’s a strong chance that the root is in good condition, so you can easily regrow the area. Applying a winter fertiliser will encourage stronger roots, healthy growth, and a brighter appearance.

3. Check for weeds

While we’ve been cosied up inside, weeds have been exploring your lawn in search of a weak spot to anchor in. If you correctly protected your lawn in December, it should be strong enough to fight off these pesky plants. But if you do spot a small weed infestation, remove these by hand and apply weed killer.

4. Overseed struggling areas

If you’ve spotted thinning or bare patches post-frost and snow, you can repair these areas by overseeding and fertilising. If the ground is frozen (below 6 degrees), we recommend pausing overseeding, as your efforts will be wasted. Once the soil temperature reaches 6 degrees, seeds will begin germinating, and the growing process starts.

How to overseed your lawn:

• Remove any debris, weeds and dead grass.
• Scarify the area to remove any build-up of thatch.
• Evenly spread grass seed by hand onto the area – 35g per m2 of grass seed should suffice.
• Gentle press the seeds into the ground and lightly water.
• You can add a layer of topsoil to help the seeds stay in place, protecting them from the elements.
• Corner the area off to avoid pets from disturbing the seeds.

5. Add fertiliser

A winter or spring fertiliser can also work wonders for your lawn post-snow. Pick the correct type of fertiliser depending on the issues caused by the frost and snow. For example, if your grass has weakened, our Nourish autumn/winter fertiliser will strengthen root systems, promote thicker growth and provide key nutrients for healthy grass. If your lawn is thinning or struggling to grow, opt for our Envy spring/summer fertiliser, which boosts growth, produces stronger grass blades, and prepares your lawn for spring.

6. Apply topsoil

If you have exposed areas of soil, an additional layer of high-quality topsoil can help protect your soil and the grass roots from further freezing temperatures, rain and wind. Better yet, if you’ve applied grass seed, adding a layer of topsoil can help keep your seeds in place and protect them from the elements.

What Does Frost Damage Look Like On Grass?

Frost damage on grass can appear in many ways, such as:

• A thin white layer – yes, a frosty lawn can look beautiful, but this is the biggest sign of potential frost damage, especially if it doesn’t clear quickly.
• Brown or yellow patches – freezing temperatures can change the cells within your grass blade, discolouring it to brown or yellow.
• Stunted growth – although grass growth is slow in winter, frost can stop roots from accessing essential nutrients that encourage healthy growth.
• Weak grass – similarly, nutrient-deficient grass will have a brittle texture and can easily break, damaging the grass blades and stressing the turf.

Turf Tips For Frost and Snow

• Remove snow piles
• Avoid walking on frosty grass
• Don’t mow your lawn
• Remove any dew which could freeze
• Aerate compacted soil
• Prepare areas to seed and fertilise once temperatures pick up
• Add topsoil to protect bare patches
• Check drainage – pooling water will freeze and cause more damage

Will Grass Come Back After Freezing?

Repairing a lawn after severe frost or snow is achievable. It requires attention to detail, patience and good lawn care, all of which can help restore your lawn and increase its resilience for future winters. If you need any further turf advice, check out our blog section or get in touch with our friendly customer service team.

For our landscapers, be sure to check out our George Davies Trade Account to aid with future orders.

Further Helpful Articles

Is Frost Bad for Lawns?

What Temperature Is Too Cold to Fertilise Lawns?

Can Fertilising Turf in Winter Help