Q&A Lawns: Ryegrass

Last year I had a beautiful lawn, but the hot summer sun scorched it in a couple of places. I purchased the hardwearing grass seed which contained ryegrass and I have regretted it ever since.

 

I am having to mow my lawn twice as often now, as the seedheads on the ryegrass really spoil the lawn. How can I overcome this problem, apart from having to relay new turf or mowing my lawn three or four times a week! Any advice would be much appreciated.
Dana Wilde (14.06.07)

Liz Dobbs: It sounds like the seed you purchased had a ryegrass variety in it that wasn't suitable. Some grass seed types are agricultural, i.e. for feeding animals, and bred to shoot up quickly to provide bulk. There are special dwarf rye grass varieties bred for lawns that stay fairly short, but branch out so they form a dense sward. Sadly, the information given on packets is often sparse.