How Does Frost Affect My Lawn?

Adelaide has been glowing with sunshine and clear, starry nights and that means we’re seeing how frost affects our lawn. While we love the chilly charm, the frost and its effects are an unmistakable part of it.

Frost is a major contributor to colour loss in lawns during winter. In this blog, we’ll explore why this happens, the effects of frost on your lawn, and what you can do to minimize them.

Let’s start by answering: What is frost, and when does it occur?

Frost occurs when dew on your lawn freezes, usually in the early morning. As temperatures drop, the moisture inside each grass blade freezes and expands, causing the cell walls to rupture and damage the turf. Consequently, this leads to that unwelcome discolouration.

In South Australia, we experience ‘radiation frost.’ This happens when the ground and ambient air cool down due to heat loss to the atmosphere, causing frost. These frosts often occur when temperatures drop to 0 degrees Celsius or below and is particularly common under clear skies and with little or no wind—just like the frosty conditions we’ve seen in Adelaide recently.

Cold-Season vs Warm-Season Lawns

Cold-season grasses have a natural defence against frost: IRI proteins (Ice Re-crystallisation Inhibition). Think of these proteins as a built-in antifreeze that helps the grass retain its colour even in frosty conditions. However, warm-season grasses like buffalo, couch, kikuyu, and zoysia lack this protein and are therefore much more susceptible to frost damage if temperatures plummet. The degree of discolouration will depend on how cold it gets. As a result, warm-season grasses will show the effects of frost more prominently.

How Can I Help My Lawn During the Frosty Months?

We have now explained how frost affects your lawn. Here are some tips to help reduce the effects of frost on your lawn:

Fertilise in autumn: While fertilising won’t stop discolouration, it will make your lawn more cold-tolerant and help it bounce back faster in spring. It’s like giving your lawn a bit of extra strength to face the winter. For this, we suggest our Akers Winter Blend – the perfect winter fertiliser. Learn more about this product here.
Water your lawn just after dawn: Watering your lawn right after dawn helps melt the frost quickly, meaning your lawn spends less time frozen. This can reduce colour loss. If you have an automatic watering system, consider setting it to come on briefly in the morning if frost is forecasted. Interested in irrigation? Contact us here or visit our online store to explore a wide variety of watering solutions.

Stay off the lawn during frost: Walking on frost-covered grass can cause the blades to break, leading to more damage. This includes mowing. If you need to mow, we suggest you wait until the frost has melted.
Trim the tips: After frost damage, it’s a good idea to trim the tips of the leaves. The frost often causes the tips to turn brown, and removing them will help eliminate the discoloration.

How Can I Improve the Appearance of a Frost-Damaged Lawn?

To restore your lawn’s colour after frost damage, consider applying Lawn Solutions ColourGuard Plus. This natural green pigment is sprayed onto the lawn and absorbed into the grass blades. The best time to apply it is before those frosty mornings hit. You can order this game-changing product on our online store and get it delivered to your door. Order it today here.

Here’s the Good News

Frost will affect your lawn, but it won’t kill it—just give it a temporary case of the blues. Frost is a temporary issue that will resolve itself come spring. With a little care and these tips, your lawn will be ready to green up and thrive when the warmer weather arrives.

If you have any questions or need help in understanding what your lawn needs, contact us – we’ll be happy to help!
Email: enquiries@akersoflawnsa.com.au
Ph: (08) 8326 3255
Request a Quote: You can request a FREE, no obligation quote here.

For additional lawn care tips and advice, explore our other blogs here.