A beautiful new Palmetto lawn

Caring For New Roll On Lawn

Your new roll on lawn has just been laid, the contractor has left, and you’re happy to see the transformation of a worn out area into a lovely fresh new lawn to compliment your home and garden.

Proper lawn care at this very early stage is vital to the making your new lawn flourish. Roll on lawn is cut at the turf farm and delivered without any root system. After laying the new lawn, the maintenance routine followed directly thereafter will ensure either the flourishing, the survival or even death of your new lawn.

Watering New Lawns

Water is the utmost vital component for all new lawns whether they are seed lawns or roll on lawns. A heavy watering routine will ensure the lawn doesn’t dry out, and will keep the ground soft for new root penetration.

The key here is never dry out. So watering will need to adjusted according to the weather at the time of planting. For hot weather, a watering regime of 10 minutes, 4 or even 5 times per day will be required for the first week. If the weather is milder, watering twice or perhaps once per day may be all that is required.

If all has gone well and the lawn remains in good health, watering can be greatly reduced by week 2. Once per day may be sufficient for hot weather, while once every two days may suffice for milder weather.

A normal watering regime of two deep waterings per week should be implemented by week 4.

Fertilising New Lawns

Most new roll on lawns are fertilised at the turf farm prior to delivery. There is absolutely no need to fertilise new lawns for the first 2 months.

Organic fertiliser products, such as processed manure or seaweed based product can be lightly used.

When To Mow New Roll On Lawns

The first mowing should be undertaken when the new lawn has firmly rooted into the soil. A simple test is to go to a corner edge of the turf and grab hold of a handful of the new lawn and pull it upwards. If the new lawn pulls upward, then leave the test and mowing for another week. If the lawn stays fixed to the soil, it’s time to mow!

A new roll on lawn can have very large amounts of growth in the first few weeks if taken care of properly. Ensure not to remove too much leaf material in the first few mowings, cut high for the first few cuts, reducing to the target height after full establishment, usually two to three months depending on climate.

Notes On Stress

The lawn should be monitored for signs of stress, any signs of dehydration of the leaves is a sign that the lawn is not getting enough water. Dehydration is noticed by drying out and yellowing of the leaf matter. Should these signs occur, immediate lawn care and remedy is required by increasing watering frequency, any delay at this early stage may kill your new lawn.