Autumn Blog

April 24, 2026

Autumn Lawn Care in Western Australia | Applerich

Why autumn matters

Autumn is the most important season for your lawn. In Western Australia, March to May brings warm days, cooler nights and the first real rain after summer. Your lawn is still actively growing, which means it absorbs everything you give it. Whatever you do now sets your lawn up for the next six months. Do it right and your lawn will stay healthy, green and weed-free all the way through winter and into spring.

Your autumn checklist

🛡️ Apply pre-emergent

✂️ Raise your mowing height

🌿 Feed your lawn

💧 Adjust your watering

🌬️ Aerate if needed

🍂 Keep leaves off the lawn

Apply a pre-emergent herbicide

Autumn is prime time for winter grass and other cool-season weeds to start germinating. The trick is to stop them before they appear. A pre-emergent herbicide creates a barrier in the soil that kills weed seeds as they try to sprout, so they never make it to the surface. Once you can see weeds, it is too late for a pre-emergent.

        Apply now, in March or April, before the cool weather arrives and weed seeds start germinating.
      

Raise your mowing height

As the days get shorter and cooler, your lawn has less sunlight to work with. Longer grass blades capture more of that light and send more energy down to the roots, keeping your lawn stronger and healthier through the cooler months. Mowing too low in autumn is one of the most common mistakes homeowners make.

Raise your mower a couple of notches

You do not need to measure exactly. Just go a notch or two higher than your summer setting.

Keep it consistent

Maintain this taller height for all of your mows through autumn and winter.

Never take off more than a third at once

Cutting too much in a single mow stresses the lawn. Little and often is better.

        Taller grass shades the soil, which helps suppress weeds naturally and keeps roots protected from cold snaps.
      

Sharpen your mower blades before winter Do not mow wet grass Mow less frequently as growth slows

Feed your lawn

Autumn fertilising is arguably the most important feed of the whole year. Your lawn is still growing and actively taking up nutrients, which means anything you apply now will be put to good use. A good autumn feed builds a strong root system that keeps the lawn anchored and resilient through winter.

At Applerich we recommend applying your feed in early autumn, then again six to eight weeks later for best results.

Always apply fertiliser to damp soil and water it in well after. Applying to a dry lawn in warm conditions can burn the grass.

Adjust your watering

As temperatures drop and WA starts to see autumn rain, your lawn needs far less water than it did over summer. Overwatering in autumn is a common cause of fungal disease. Pull back your irrigation schedule and let nature do more of the work. Water deeply but less often, and always in the morning, not the evening.

Water in the morning only Cut back frequency as rain increases Avoid watering in the evening

Aerate if your lawn is compacted

After a long summer of foot traffic, backyard cricket and hot weather, the soil under your lawn can become hard and compacted. This stops water, air and nutrients from getting down to the roots. Autumn is a great time to aerate because the lawn is still actively growing and will recover quickly.

Use a garden fork or lawn aerator

Push the fork about 10 to 15cm into the soil across the entire lawn, spacing holes about 10 to 15cm apart.

Do it on moist soil

Aerating dry, rock-hard soil is difficult and less effective. Water the lawn the day before if needed.

Apply your pre-emergent after, not before

Aerating after applying a pre-emergent breaks the weed barrier. Always aerate first, then apply Spartan.

Keep leaves off the lawn

If you have trees nearby, fallen leaves will start to build up on your lawn through autumn. A thin layer is not a big deal, but a thick covering blocks sunlight and traps moisture, which can cause the grass underneath to yellow and die. Give the lawn a regular rake or blow them off every week or two.

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