How to — 5 min read
How to Prepare a Melbourne Lawn for Summer
A month-by-month plan to get Victorian turf through summer — aeration, mowing height, feeding and watering under restrictions.
Published 2 May 2026
Key takeaways
- Lawns fail in January because of what wasn't done in September.
- Raising your mowing height before summer is the single highest-impact change.
- Two deep soaks a week beat daily light watering, every time.
- Core aeration matters most on Melbourne's newer clay-based estate blocks.
Heat is the visible cause of a burnt-out Melbourne lawn. Shallow roots and a compacted profile are the real ones — and both are fixed in spring, not in the middle of a heatwave.
September: Open the Soil Up
- Scarify or dethatch to clear the mat of dead material sitting on the surface.
- Core aerate if the soil is compacted — most new-estate lawns on clay are.
- Top-dress low spots with a sandy loam and level the surface.
October–November: Feed and Raise the Blade
Apply a slow-release fertiliser and raise the mowing height by a notch or two. Longer leaf shades the soil, holds moisture and drives deeper roots. Cutting short before summer is the most common mistake we see across Melbourne.
December–February: Water Deeply, Not Often
Two long soaks a week, early in the morning, will out-perform daily sprinkling every time. Shallow watering trains roots to stay at the surface, which is exactly what kills a lawn in a 40-degree week. Check your local water corporation's current restrictions before setting a schedule.
Keep the blade sharp
A blunt blade tears the leaf instead of cutting it. Those torn tips brown off within a day and make a healthy lawn look stressed. Sharpen or replace blades at the start of summer.
What to Do If It's Already Struggling
- Stop mowing until it recovers, or raise the height to the maximum setting.
- Wetting agent on hydrophobic patches, then a deep soak.
- Hold off on fertiliser during a heatwave — feed once the weather breaks.
- Reseed or re-turf bare patches in autumn rather than mid-summer.
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Frequently asked questions
- How high should I mow my lawn in a Melbourne summer?
- Raise it. For couch and kikuyu aim for 30–40mm through summer, and for buffalo 40–50mm. Longer leaf shades the soil and keeps roots cooler.
- When is the best time to lay new turf in Melbourne?
- Autumn and spring. Turf laid in mid-summer needs constant water to establish and often struggles under restrictions.
- How often should I water a new lawn?
- Daily for the first two weeks, then taper to deep soaks every few days over the following month as roots knit into the soil.
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