How to take care of my new lawn in?
So, you’ve just had a vibrant new carpet of lawn (otherwise known as roll on turf) laid down, and you absolutely love it!
But now of course the worry is – how do you look after it so it grows healthy and doesn’t give up on you – especially in those first few weeks.
We get asked this question by concerned clients all the time, so here we will outline the best practices in taking care of your new lawn.
Watering
This is massively important and if not done properly can cause serious damage to your beautiful new turf.
Take into consideration the attention that your new lawn will need and make sure that you don’t have any holidays planned for the first 2-3 weeks after installation – imagine having a reticulation breakdown and returning to a dead lawn!
Instant lawns, lawn runners (stolons) and seeded lawn need at least a daily watering for the first 2 weeks while establishing roots, which means you need to check with your contractor for their recommendations, as well as having a quality reticulation system installed and set accordingly. Ensure you know who to contact if your system has any problems – you don’t want to be forced to water by hand!
Watering exemptions are available with a new lawn install, for up to 45 days in summer and 35 days in winter, so make sure you have applied for an exemption here.
Once the lawn is established watering restrictions apply for both residential and commercial gardens so be sure to check your watering days here.
In order to save water you can try to reduce amount of water applied but make sure to monitor how the lawn looks – if it is dry and wilting increase watering. If you see brown patches check the retic straight away to see if it is simply missing that spot, or if the problem is with the lawn itself.
Mowing
Avoid this until you are sure the lawn has taken and its root systems are well established. Check this by gently lifting up on the corner of a turf roll, if it pulls upward leave the mowing for another week or so, if it doesn’t move then it is ready to mow. This may be within the first 2 weeks for instant lawns so organise a gardener to come around if you don’t have time yourself. If your lawn has been watered too much it may have grown exponentially, resulting in a quickly over-grown lawn. When this happens, never cut it right down straight away, cut to around a third of its height to slowly get it back to your ideal length.
Be careful not to cut off too much for the first few mowing’s, cut high until 2-3 months after it’s fully established.
Fertilising
Check if your landscaper provides turf that has already been fertilised, often the case with instant turf, or if they can include a fertiliser when planting. Ask for a 2-month slow release fertiliser, then apply again every 2 months except in Winter June-August. It is very important to apply fertilizer in April to give your lawn an extra boost during winter, as well as at the end of August to help with spring recovery.
Look out for…
Weeds – This indicates a maintenance problem so ensure you have a regular watering, mowing and fertilising system in place
Brown Patches – Like we mentioned before, this can indicates a retic problem and needs to be checked immediately before it’s too late and the lawn dies. It could also be a pest problem or a problem with the soil itself – read this to help identify causes for bare or brown patches.
The only way to be sure your lawn will survive is by constant attention and care for the first few weeks – if you aren’t able to be there then make sure you find a reliable garden and retic expert to check on your lawn and keep your irrigation system operating perfectly.
Want some help with that? We have experts available for everything from lawn selection and installation, to reticulation system install and setup, to lawn care and general garden maintenance – find out how we can make (and keep!) your garden beautiful!