Hi all,

I have recently moved into a new house (used to be my Grandmothers -
inner-city Brisbane) and out the back there is a beautful (in summer)
Frangipani and a lovely lawn.

Well, the lawn used to be lovely, but with all the rain we had over summer
the ground got really soggy, and as a result, the ground underneath the
Frangipani is now rock hard and the grass is very 'thin' and patchy!

Towards the end of summer, when I noticed it was getting bad, I started to
put grass clippings over the area and I didn't cut it as low and I have also
put some lime over the area and watered that in.

Amazingly in the last few weeks some grass has returned (maybe because the
sun can get through the Frangipani?), but the ground is still rock hard and
cracked!

The roots of the Frangipani are coming through the soil in this area also,
so I can't really turn the soil too much!

Any ideas on what I could do? Should I be watering the affected area
regularly? I don't water any of my lawn, and apart from affected area, in
general the lawn is lovely and green! (I am in inner-city Brisbane).

Thanks in advance!
Mick

"MC" none wrote in message ...
Hi all,
SNIP

Any ideas on what I could do? Should I be watering the affected area
regularly? I don't water any of my lawn, and apart from affected area, in
general the lawn is lovely and green! (I am in inner-city Brisbane).

If the soil has a high clay structure you could try spreading gypsum, then
watering in, but I am not sure if that will harm the frangipani.
Don't put any more lawn clippings there if frangipan roots are showing. That
will possibly damage them.
As aerating the area could also damage the roots, I would suggest putting
down some top soil, (inch thick) and planting runners from the existing lawn
in it, then watering. Or even get the cheap lawn seed mix from kmart that
has a high ration of rygrass seed in it, as this is good for shaded summer
areas, but does need water.
Failing that, try some topsoil, then mulch an area around it.
Thanks in advance!
Mick