When To Plant A New Lawn

The Best Time To Establish A New Lawn?

Best Time Of The Year To Plant A New Lawn

If you're considering laying a new lawn from roll-on turf, or from seed for that matter, the best time of the year to begin starting a new lawn will be at a time when the weather is neither too hot, nor too cold. The lawn will need to be in it's active growing season as well.

The active growing season for turf will usually be between Spring and Autumn for warm season grasses. While it's possible to have a day at 18C in both Winter and Spring, the lawn will still be semi-dormant in Winter and actively growing in Spring, this is due to the soil temperature which is most responsible for determining whether a lawn is actively growing, or surviving in a state of semi-dormancy.

From this, we can see that there is little point in starting to grow a new lawn when the climate is determining that lawns are either already in, or about to go into dormancy or semi-dormancy.

This is because the lawn will need to be actively growing in order to establish a new root system in it's new environment. If the lawn were in a state of dormancy, then no root system would be established.

Equally as important, is to ensure that new lawns are not planted at a time of year when the weather is so hot, that even an established lawn would struggle to survive. The new lawn will most certainly go into an immediate stress and die.

Planting a New Lawn In Summer

Overall, this is not the time of year to plant a new roll on lawn, or seed lawn, but there are small windows of opportunity available. This will usually present itself at the very beginning of Summer. Provided the homeowner has the ability to supply adequate water to the lawn during it's establishment, then temperatures should remain mild enough that the new lawn can establish itself prior to the real heat of Summer arriving.

It is vital that new lawns be kept "wet" at all times during their establishment, the hotter the weather, the more often a new lawn will need watering during this period. This can be up to 4 waterings per day during the first 2 weeks.

Should the new lawn experience any sudden rises in temperature during it's first 6 weeks, then immediate watering should be applied throughout the day to ensure it's survival.

Planting a New Lawn In Autumn

The first half of Autumn is the very best time to plant a new lawn at this time of year. The lawn will still be in it's full active growing cycle, and any risk of high temperatures has greatly diminished.

As the season progresses, the lawn will gradually be entering dormancy, and it's ability to fully establish itself prior to the onset of Winter will diminish. Once Winter arrives, our lawn may not be strongly established enough to ensure it can survive the cold temperatures and any possible frosts.

Planting A New Roll-on Lawn

Planting a New Lawn In Winter

I've seen lawns which have been laid at the beginning of Winter in a warm climate such as Perth, and fully survive and establish itself with very little effort on the part of the homeowner.

Climates such as those in Perth are an exception as the city has no risk of frost or extremely low temperatures. Even so, it would still be highly recommended to only lay a new lawn at the onset of Winter and no later.

Regions which are subject to very low temperatures or frost should not have new lawns planted in the coldest season, as the lawn simply will not establish and may die.

Planting a New Lawn In Spring

Spring is by far the very best time of year to plant a new roll on lawn or seed lawn. This time of year allows new lawns to fully establish under mild weather conditions while the lawn is actively growing.

The lawn will then become fully established with a deep root system before the onset and stress of the Summer heat, allowing the lawn the greatest chance of survival through the heat stress of the season.

For cooler climates, Spring can still bring very cold temperatures at the beginning of the season, and an occasional frost… If your region is like this then it may well be best to delay laying a new lawn until the middle of the season.