Johnsons says autumn lawn seed sales have broken all records in the past three months as consumers looked to repair lawns damaged by prolonged baking summer weather.

One of the hottest and driest summers on record left lawns so parched and brown that demand for lawn seed far outstripped typical demand for the time of year.

Higher than average temperatures in September and early October saw Johnsons bring forward deliveries. For six weeks from mid-September, staff were packing deliveries seven days a week.

This demand spanned all Johnsons’ ranges and and sizes, including the new and improved Luxury Lawn, as well as Shady Place, Lawn Thickener, General Purpose, Quick Fix and After Moss.

Johnsons’ latest launch, Super Smart Lawn Feed, has enjoyed strong pre-season orders following Glee. Super Smart contains a unique bacteria that fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere to grass roots, combined with soluble mycorrhizal fungi to boost the root system and seaweed extract for micronutrients.

“After a long cold winter directly followed by a prolonged heatwave, lawns were put under a lot of strain this year, turning them into dry, arid tinderboxes,” Johnsons consumer manager Guy Jenkins said “However, since the autumn bank holiday, we have seen ideal seed sowing weather and consumers have been taking advantage of the warmer soil conditions to recover their lawns. Garden centres have enjoyed a very good season for lawn seed, and for Johnsons its seen our best autumn sales ever.”