New roll on lawns require special lawn care practices during their establishment phase, with the highest attention being paid to the amount of water which is being applied to the lawn.
The high water requirements for new roll on lawn is due to the fact that the new lawn has no root system which is attached to the soil. Some lawn types, such as roll on Buffalo lawn, arrive with no root system whatsoever. And it’s the lack of any root system, or root system within the soil which means the lawn cannot receive any water from the soil whatsoever.
It’s for this reason that new roll on lawns will need to be kept wet at all times during it’s establishment. Without the added water being applied, the new sod would otherwise very quickly dry out and die.
The amount of water which will need to be applied to the new lawn will change depending on the conditions at the property where the lawn was laid.
The principle involved will always be the same – which is to keep the new lawn wet at all times.
Because we are watering several times per day, and we are not requiring a deep watering which travels deeply into the soil profile, watering times can be briefer than if we were watering an established lawn.
New lawns which are laid during the heat of Summer will require the greatest amount of water. Which may be as often as 4 times per day in the first week.
Warmer weather in the high 20s to early 30s Celsius will require the new lawn to watered a little less frequently, which may be around 3 times per day.
Cool weather requires less water again, and may be as low as 1 – 2 waterings per day.
During cool rainy weather, it is likely that the new roll on lawn will require no extra watering by the homeowner in addition to what it is already receiving naturally from the rain.
An exact lawn watering schedule for new lawns will always be the judgement call of the lawn owner while following the golden rule of keeping the lawn wet at all times.
So the homeowner will need to adjust the watering program themselves dependent on the weather at the property when the new lawn was laid.
The lawn should be monitored to ensure the ongoing health of the new roll on lawn. The lawn should remain green and growing, if it begins to brown off at any time – then the lawn may require more watering than it is receiving. So it is simply a case of increasing watering times or frequencies.
The highest requirement for water will be in the first week of the new lawn being laid. Watering can then be stepped down and reduced as the following weeks progress and the root system of the lawn becomes more established.
The lawn will most often be fully reduced to a standard watering schedule by the end of week 4 to 6.
Remember if you are in a state where water restrictions apply please check details with the appropriate Water Corporation.