The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has issued a Saturday warning to anyone with a lawn, saying recent rain is "not quite enough" to repair the damage caused by the drought and heatwave summer. The charity advises waiting a few more weeks, and if patches do not green up, gardeners can sort the problem with two simple steps: spreading lawn top dressing and reseeding the bare areas.
Horticultural experts are seeing a rush of inquiries and grass seed sales as gardeners try to repair the "hammering" lawns received during the summer. The RHS said visits to the lawn advice pages on its website were up 90% year-on-year in the past week, while the retail arm of the charity is reporting a 575% increase on grass seed sales compared to the same time last year.
North-south divide in lawn recovery
One of the charity's advisers, Nick Turrell, said there was a north/south divide in the state of the nation's lawns, with many of those in the north back to where they were before the drought left grass parched and brown. While lawns in the south are also starting to green up, it is still a patchy affair for most.
Mr Turrell said: "Although we've had some rain, it's still not quite enough, so my advice is to give it a few more weeks in the hope we get more rain – if we do, nine times out of 10 the lawn will come back. And if after a few weeks the patches don't green up, simply spread some lawn top dressing and re-seed the patches. This can still be done in October."
Record hot summer and its impact
The advice comes after the UK saw another record hot summer, with successive heatwaves and drought declared for much of England and all of Wales, alongside prolonged dry weather in northern England, and hosepipe bans for millions of customers.
Guy Barter, RHS chief horticulturist, said: "Lawns took a hammering in 2026 – possibly their worst year ever. Where they weren't subject to considerable use over the summer, green swards will have returned or be beginning to but many will need some TLC before autumn sets in and lower light levels and cold render it impossible to sow seed."
He said turf was an alternative quick fix, but good quality lawn turf was in short supply as many were remedying their lawns. "Our advice would be to watch and wait, be ready to sow before mid-October if things haven't revived as hoped, or take the opportunity to explore an alternative option for 2027." He suggested: "Wildflower meadows can be planted now, provide visual interest and environmental benefit and of course require little upkeep even during drought conditions."
Autumn maintenance and alternatives
The RHS said drought-stressed lawns should respond to standard autumn maintenance, including raking, aerating and applying a top dressing, and be in good position to withstand drought if it hits again in 2027. Reseeding should be done as soon as possible before November, or in mid-spring, while turfing can be done from October through to next April.
But the experts also say gardeners "need not rush" to make the whole lawn uniformly green. Leigh Hunt, principal adviser at the RHS, said: "Accepting some seasonal browning, mowing a little higher, reducing wear during drought and repairing only genuinely bare areas may produce a more resilient lawn without relying on heavy watering."
The RHS suggests people look at their lawns in a different light, consider devoting at least part of it to meadow plants, with seeds, potted or plug wildflowers, or leave some of the lawn unmown next year so lawn weeds can grow and flower. Where lawns are needed all year round, the charity suggests reseeding or turfing and tending some of the space, and leaving the rest to be worn by pets and children – while woodchip play areas are an option if space allows.
