New lawn in need of rescue

Hello all, new member here and very novice gardener! We had our small garden relandscaped seven weeks ago and for the first few weeks, everything was fine. Then we started noticing the grass turning yellow in one corner of the lawn and this has spread dramatically over the last couple of weeks.

The only advice we were given by the gardeners who laid the turf was to water the lawn every morning and evening for the first month, which we did. We then continued watering it every day trying to combat the recent heat and lack of rain, which I now realise may have been too much based on some things I've read.

I've looked into various lawn feeds and other products but they are all labelled as not for use on lawns less than 6 months old so I'm nervous about trying them.

Can anyone offer any advice on how to rescue our new lawn, or is it too late? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

 

Hello, and welcome!

I think the problem is more likely to be underwatering rather than overwatering, particularly because the browning is worse on the sunny side, and next to the path (soil always seems to dry out faster adjacent to hard surfaces). Summer is never a good time to lay a new lawn, and your landscaper should really have told you that. It needs loads of water and it's pretty much impossible to overwater grass in summer unless the drainage is inadequate (see below).

You don't say how long you watered for each time. It probably needed a sprinkler set to cover the whole area for a good half an hour each time, maybe longer if the weather was warm and/or windy (which is also very drying). If you were using a hose targeting only a small-ish area at a time you'd have needed longer. You need the water to soak right through the turf and down into the underlying soil to encourage the roots to get down there, no use just wetting the grass blades if the soil below is still dry.

The best approach now I think is to make sure it does get enough water, and if it hasn't greened up in a month or six weeks, that would be a good time of year to re-turf the worst sections.

If the drainage is very bad, you might have been able to overwater but you would have got puddles on the surface that took a long time to drain away. If that is the issue, the ground wasn't prepared properly so perhaps you could go back to the landscaper.

 

Hi, thank you for the welcome and quick response!

From what you've said it definitely sounds like it needed more water than we gave it - we've been watering with a hose but for nowhere near long enough each time, it seems.

I haven't noticed any puddles or sitting water so hopefully the drainage is OK. I will step up the watering regime and look into getting a sprinkler.

Are there any products, feed etc. that might help it on the road to recovery, or do you think it's best to avoid those for now?

Thanks again for your help!

 

It’s best not to feed a lawn in that condition, keep it well watered and see if it starts greening up before deciding whether to returf @pm702.

 

OK thank you, I'll stick to watering and hope for the best

 

In terms of watering, you need about an hour to do the job if you don't have proper rain.
If you had a sprinkler, you'd do about half the area for an hour, and then the other half.

Some people recommend morning watering, and others say evening. I'd say evening is better if you don't get regular rain, because morning watering followed by lots of sun and/or wind means it'll dry out more quickly. Once a day of that sort of time would be fine

 

Thanks so much everyone for the tips, I've ordered a sprinkler which should hopefully help things.

I'm interested in the morning vs. evening watering thing - I am really not a morning person so doing it in the evening after work suits me fine! But I've read on a couple of sites that watering in the evening, especially in warm temperatures, is more likely to encourage fungal disease as the grass stays wet overnight, do you think there's anything in that? Is there any chance that the browning on our lawn could be caused by fungus?

 

Hi @pm702, your garden is looking very smart. I also had my garden landscaped 7weeks ago, and turf laid. I had a lot fewer yellow patches, but still enough to concern me. I was advised by everyone to water, water and water some more. For the first week or so I was watering every evening or morning, depending on when I had most time. So much time was spent watering! Every day there was heavy rain was a day of respite. I bought a sprinkler from Asda for £4 which I use on dry days, but I leave it on for about 30 minutes at a time in lots of different positions on the lawn to make sure all of the grass gets soaked. I agree with others that you need to water more. Good luck, and hopefully you’ll see some progress soon.

 

If we had to worry here about wet stuff in evenings or at night @pm702, there would be nothing but fungus on our grass.

Do what suits you and your situation, and don't cut the grass too short either. As you're probably in a much drier part of the country, bear that in mind, generally, for the summer months. Make sure your mower blades are sharp too - it's easy to forget that and it can pull the grass rather than cutting cleanly. Little and often is always better too.
I think one of the problems with advice about grass is the amount of watering needed, especially if it's being done in summer, or in the approach to summer. It's only natural to think twenty minutes at a time is fine, but if you think about how grass looks after an hour's rain, that's a better approach.
It's also very easy to get into the mindset about perfection with it, and many people do. A small lawn will get more wear and tear than a big one too, simply because there's less room, and if you use it a lot, it's never going to be a perfect green sward. Just enjoy it and keep it watered, and once you get autumnal and winter weather, it should be fine.

 

It could help your grass if you spike it with a garden fork all over to ensure the water goes down to the roots and underlying soil. Stand on the fork and give it a wiggle to open up the holes slightly, a top dressing of lawn sand afterwards to backfill the holes and keep them open would also help. It is almost impossible to kill grass but finer grasses do need plenty of water to get the root system going if it was laid ad turf.

 

I find that watering late afternoon when the garden is shaded or early evening is best for a lawn or plants in a border. There will be less evaporation as the sun and temperature go down. I think fungal problems would only be a concern in a tightly planted border where there's not enough air flow around the plants but for a lawn it won't be a problem, especially if it's like yours and not overshadowed by shrubs or trees.

 

I agree you need to buy a sprinkler, that showers the complete grassy area, that you attach your hose to and switch on in the evening. Then sit in a chair with your favourite alcoholic drink and watch the water cascading over the grassy area. Very relaxing. If you do it in the morning on a hot day the sun will burn your lawn.

 

Hello all, apologies for not replying in a while. Thank you all again for your advice. I bought a sprinkler and have been watering for at least 30 minutes every evening without fail and I wanted to share the progress the lawn has made - I'm delighted with the improvement already!

Two weeks ago


Now

That is a very good point!

 

That'll be grand ny mid September or so @pm702 . Glad it's improving for you now.
You'll probably be able to give it a light cut at the end of Sept, and that should do it over winter, although I know some areas in the south have quite a lot of growth in autumn/winter months, so you'll just have to wait and see.
Even if it gets a bit too long by spring, you just adjust the height of the cuts gradually over a few weeks at that point.

 

Thanks! Re. mowing, are you saying I shouldn't cut it until end of September? The green areas are growing very quickly and I've been mowing every 1-2 weeks (on the highest blade setting my mower has), is that a mistake? Sorry if I'm misreading what you said.