lawn edging Does concrete kill lawn grass - can't establish an lawn edge

[readiescards]

My gravel drive is edged with bricks sat on a concrete footing.  The lawn grass that is over the concrete has died and been replaced once.  It establishes ok but then as the roots get longer and reach the concrete it turns yellow (after which last time it died off).

 

It is like the concrete is poison to the grass. 

 

Looking for ideas please on how to get this grass to stay alive please.

[PeterW]

It’s not dying due to the concrete, it’s just too thin to support the root bed 

[Onoff]

I've exactly the same issue on my curved front path.

 

 

Drives SWMBO nuts so I've left it like it...

[lizzie]

There is very little you can do about this, you need the concrete for the edge but the grass cannot establish roots in such shallow soil.  If you look around most places have the same.  Just live with it for now and the grass may knit across a bit in time but it will always be a slightly balder patch than the rest.

[Temp]

Possibly exacerbated by the very dry summer we had? See how it goes next year.

[Ferdinand]

What about tapping a vertical edging in at the inner edge of the haunch, then fill the 'trough' you have created with the same gravel.

 

You could use something such as slates or edging tiles.

 

I suspect that the concrete, in addition to taking up rootspace, may also be sucking any water that does get there away - just as the soil always dries out at the bottom of walls.There might be a benefit in painting the concrete with some sort of paint-on-DPM, or even lining with plastic sheet.

 

Another thing you could try would be to grow something that flops over the edge, such as one of the hardy ground cover flowery cushion things your grandma had along the edge of her path, and create a narrow border there. Have a look around the locality. I'm trying to remember the name of the one with bluey-purple flowers that we still have, but I can't rmember the name. This one: (update: aubretia)

 

 

I guess that something Alpine or Rockery might match the conditions. Or you could even use something like Thyme, or a creeping conifer.

 

Or what about planting it in a deep gutter set into the ground if you need to keep control? 

 

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pmapinterest/border-plants/?lp=true

 

F

 

Edited October 30, 2018 by Ferdinand

[readiescards]

Cheers all, yep the soil depth is thin on that edge I just assumed the roots would try to spread out and fine the deeper soil.

I'll give the concrete painting a go in one place and try again too.

 

[Bored Shopper]

As already stated, it's the shallowness of the soil level which is not enough to firmly establish grass.

ALSO bear in mind that concrete may retain heat in sunshine / hot weather, and it effectively burns out the edges. Quite a common problem. 

[scottishjohn]

yes the lime in the cement will not be good for growth ,but that will change over time as it washs out

I made my lawn edging exactly the same to save having to use strimmer --but cut back the cement when still not fully set closer to brick edging. so i had full brick depth 

but i did make soil level at lot higher ,basically 10mm below brick level and did not have all that gravel rubble ,then turfed it -

If seeding i would have filled soil right up to brick level -seeded and rolled --

the gravel +rubble  will drain very quick in dry times compared to rest of area i can see in picture

  the fact that the level of the turf seems to be below the brick level is amplifying the lack of soil  for roots 

maybe top fill the grass with fine compost  and raise up the turf  level is simple answer now

 grass will grow up through it .

not as though its a bowling green --or a lawn  its just grass  ,

IF  it is lawn type grass then  not cut short enough 

,thats why its so coarse looking --but sort out the level before cutting shorter or you will kill it.

shorter you cut it the more watering it will need.

you could always  convert a thin strip next to it into a border?

 

 

[Mulberry View]

I know this is an old post, but we suffered from this and in the exact same circumstances. It got better year on year and after about 3-4 seasons, was OK, the grass had become strong enough to survive up to the edges.

[ProDave]

Obviously it must be wetter up here, as we have the opposite issue, how to stop the grass growing over the paved surface and needing trimming back.

[Carrerahill]

On 30/10/2018 at 14:29, readiescards said:

My gravel drive is edged with bricks sat on a concrete footing.  The lawn grass that is over the concrete has died and been replaced once.  It establishes ok but then as the roots get longer and reach the concrete it turns yellow (after which last time it died off).

 

It is like the concrete is poison to the grass. 

 

Looking for ideas please on how to get this grass to stay alive please.

Lack of water/nutrition causing that.

[Mulberry View]

On 20/07/2020 at 11:13, ProDave said:

Obviously it must be wetter up here, as we have the opposite issue, how to stop the grass growing over the paved surface and needing trimming back.

 

I think it's down to a combination of the acid content of freshly laid cement/concrete and the haunching interfering with the depth of the soil at the edges. Eventually, the acid dissipates and the roots become longer/stronger and once they have, the problem goes away.

 

I imagine you'd have the problem wherever you are but if the climate is wetter, I guess it'll recover quicker.

 

The main problem with ours was that we edged with square 'pavers' that were only about 60-70mm thick, so we had to come close to the surface to provide a good haunch. Even with the best effort to work around it, the inch or two of width right at the edge only had about an inch or two of soil depth. Better thought out, we'd have used deeper edging stones, which would have left the concrete much deeper, with a thicker soil bed on top and would have provided a better chance.

[readiescards]

This issue was two years ago and in a number of places (and with the multiple additions of extra top soil and seed) we finally have the grass up to the edging stones.  Still some patches needing further attention though