Careful consideration should be given as to what time of year we install our new lawns, as this will determine many factors concerning the health and success of the new turf that we plant, what care it may need to properly establish itself, how much water will be required to establish it, how much of our time and attention will be needed and so forth.
Installing Lawns In The Heat Of Summer
Working outside and doing heavy and dirty labour during the hottest times of the year is obviously not something most of us would cherish or want to plan for, and yet so many of us will do exactly this and put down a new lawn during the midst of Summer, when there really is no need to at all. When instead with a little forethought we could delay putting down our new lawns for another couple of months, plan out our garden work a little more carefully, and take the time to prepare our lawn soil properly for a better lawn for the future.
The other problem when installing new lawns in Summer is obviously the intense heat that so much of Australia endures in our hottest months. This heat dries out young and vulnerable lawns growing from either roll-on sod, or seed, or runners, as well as drying out the lawn soil very quickly.
To ensure our new lawn seedlings or runners or roots from new roll-on turf don’t dry out and drop dead on us in the midst of a Summer heatwave, this then requires us to be monitoring the lawn constantly during its establishment phase for the first few weeks and months, and to be applying a lot of water to the new lawn during that time. This may mean watering the new lawn up to four times per day, every day during establishment, which is of course a lot of water to use !! And this may too require us to acquire a special permit from water companies in order that we are allowed to use this water for this purpose.
Make no mistake, Summer is a wonderful time of year to get a new lawn growing, it is after all the peak growing season for lawns. However when we’re considering installing new lawns then great consideration must be given to the negative aspects of this practice, which we’ve already outlined above. But if we’re willing to put the time, effort and hard work into this labour in the Summer heat, and we’re willing to keep up with watering requirements and to give our attention, then by all means proceed.
Planting Lawns Either Side Of Summer
By this is meant just before Summer, or just after Summer, to plant a new lawn. These should be great times of year to plant new lawns. The heat of the Summer is mostly absent, we don’t need to give as much attention or water to our new lawns, no immediate heatwaves are probable, and there should be enough time for the new lawn to establish itself well enough before any worse weather conditions arrive, be it heat or cold.
Planting Lawns In Spring
By far, probably the best time of year to plant a new lawn from seed, sod or runners is early Spring. The soil temperature has already increased even if it may seem that the ambient temperature hasn’t, there is no unruly heat or cold to worry about, not much watering will be necessary, the lawn has plenty of time to establish itself to a state whereby it will be ready to take on the heat of Summer and flourish in it’s peak growing season, leaving us a near perfectly established lawn before the Summer is over.
Early Spring is also a wonderful time of year for all other gardening updates to coincide with our new lawns while the weather is mild and pleasant to work in; there really are no downsides at all to planting out our new lawns right at this time, only positives upon positives.
Planting New Lawns In Autumn
We’ve already discussed that planting a new lawn in early Autumn is also just fine for most of us in the warmer regions of Australia, the lawn should become established enough to make it through winter without issue.
Obviously though, the later we leave this job into Autumn then the more risk there is to our new lawn success, and this is predominantly of greatest concern in the coldest regions of the nation. If we’re living in an area that gets near freezing and experiences frosts over Winter, then later Autumn is not the best time of year to establish a new lawn, we’re best to wait for Spring.
In the meantime we can thoroughly prepare the lawn area in late Autumn and even in Winter, so that by the time Spring arrives again, all we need do is get the new seed, sod or runners down to get our new lawn off to a flying start.
Planting Lawns In Winter
It is quite possible to plant new lawns both in late Autumn and throughout Winter in many warmer parts of Australia, especially so if our specific area never receives frosts over Winter, as this frost regularity in our area will be a good indicator as to the potential success or failure of installing new lawns in this time of year. So if the lawns in your area regularly become white with frosts over Winter, then best avoid any ideas of installing new lawns at this time.
Personally I would skip the lawn seed for Winter altogether, whereas lawn runners or roll-on turf may see far greater successes. The runners may only spread a little over Winter though they will be establishing roots in this time, ready for the warmer months before they take off and spread.
Roll-on sod may be able to be laid, and all but pretty much just left alone, with the Winter rains being adequate enough to provide for their water needs. They should stay alive and slowly establish over these colder months as lawns in these regions never really become dormant but instead become semi-dormant.
Having mentioned that Winter rains may be adequate for new roll-on lawns for warmer regions, we still must pay careful attention to all new lawns, even those planted in Winter. If we see any signs of wilting in the leaves, any browning off of the lawn or any other signs of poor health, then it would be worthwhile giving the lawn a drink of water, even in the middle of Winter, and if no adequate rain has come recently or is expected immediately.
What If I Decide To Wait For A Couple Of Months
If we’ve made a choice to wait for a more appropriate time of year to plant a new lawn, then this in itself is wonderful news too. I personally believe all areas for new lawns should be cleared and left fallow for at least a couple of months before any new lawn is installed.
This is done for many reasons, for the future health of the lawn, and for an overall better lawn and garden for us, as we take our time with planning and completing our lawn and garden work.
An entire article is dedicated to waiting for the best times to plant a new lawn, expelling all the reasons why we should leave the ground fallow, and what we can do in-between times to further better the success of our new lawns for years to come. It’s recommended to read.
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