New turf turning yellow/brown one week after laying

MalinViktoria · Jul 26, 2013 11:26 am

We laid our Empire Zoysia last weekend, and we've been watering it every morning by advise from the turf delivery guys. There has been quite a bit of sun in the last week, but no rain to provide additional water to the ground.

The grass is turning yellow/brown, some patches worse than others, and especially areas that gets the most sun.

What can we do? Is there some sort of fertiliser we can put onto it to help the roots establish quicker and thus turn back to its healthy colour?

I realise it's winter and grass generally tends to turn a bit yellow in the colder seasons, but the grass was nice and green when we got it delivered, which leads me to believe there is something wrong.

Krilnik · Jul 30, 2013 8:47 am

Its normal for turf to brown a little after being laid.

Hit it with Seasol and Powerfeed. Water it everyday, but don't drown it. Just enough to keep the soil well moist.

That's what i'd be doing.

BradS · Jul 30, 2013 1:47 pm

If i were you i would contact the supplier and get their advice. They are the ones after all that will be responsible for it should anything happen

MalinViktoria · Aug 12, 2013 4:40 pm

Our grass is still brown.

It's only getting worse. We talked to the turf guys and they said to water it every day in the morning. So we did, but nothing improved. Now we've started watering it in the afternoon when the sun is almost down, because someone told us the sun will just evaporate all the water throughout the day if you do it in the morning. We also gave it Seasol and Powerfeed, but it didn't work except for a couple of spots where DH spilled a bit of pure concentrated fertiliser instead of it going through the hose with the water. I suppose we could put undiluted Seasol on the whole lawn, but it will cost of a lot of money (I paid $30 for a bottle to cover 100 square metres WITH water, and we have 500 square metres to cover with JUST the fertiliser). :th:

jzell67 · Aug 12, 2013 10:07 pm

Did you follow the advice regarding laying lawn in one of the other threads...Prep, Molasses etc?

Try and pull up one of the corners/edges. If it comes away easy then the roots arent taking. If the roots are taking ie harder to pull away, then i wouldnt worry too much...

Its winter.. until the nights get warmer it wont be doing much at all.

I havent mowed my EZ the whole of winter.

Another thing is your first post was on July 26 then your last post was on 12 aug... How long did you try the turf guys advice before you decided that you knew better... ::stop::

BeatrixKiddo · Aug 13, 2013 8:11 am

As jze said above check if you can pull up the turf. If the turf lifts up, look underneath and check if there is any white hair like roots on the turf. If there is you are ok. Forget about how the top leaves look atm, within a month it will green up as long as there is roots in the actual soil. A couple of seasol treatments will do if cost is an issue. Also keep the turf moist not sopping wet, same with the soil under the rolls, moist only, if its too wet the turf can rot.

capitalg · Aug 13, 2013 8:26 am

I layed my Sir Walter beginning of July and had the same problem initially, and I tried to follow the best methods of soil prep.

After 3 weeks of solid watering the browning grass I found the roots hadnt establishsed in some areas. I fertilized with a new Lawn fertilizer (Scotts). This made a huge difference as I found within a few days the roots penetrated the soil and the colour began to pick up.

Since then i've done two Seasol/Powerfeeds, and the grass is looking lush and green again.

MalinViktoria · Aug 13, 2013 9:39 am

Thanks for all your advise!

The problem isn't so much the cold, it's the opposite; we've have temps in the high 20s ever since we laid the grass and NO rain, and the sun is scorching it. In the areas that are in the shade, the grass is green and lush. We know that the problem is lack of water, we just can't seem to fix it by watering it everyday on its own. We might have to suck up the costs and try Seasol again.

ETA: I just checked if I could lift up the turf, and I could, no sign of white hairlike roots.

Does this mean it's dead, or is there still a chance we can bring it back to life and get the roots to establish?

BeatrixKiddo · Aug 13, 2013 10:45 am

Does the green and lush bits in the shade have roots?
In regards to keeping it alive as i said you need to keep it moist, so it is light frequent watering. So a spray morning and night if the temps are in the high 20's. Stick your finger into the and check that it is moist and that it stays that way till you cannot pull up the turf.
Fertiliser such as scott's is of no benefit at this point because the turf does not have any roots to absorb it. Its a waste of money where as tonic's like seasol are absorbed through the leaves. (don't use powerfeed just yet as it is a fertiliser, doesn't matter if you have though).
To check if the brown bits are actually dead or just dormant, take a few of the grass runners and scrap and snap them and see if there is any green inside. If it's green your fine, brown and stringy its dead.

gowie77 · Aug 30, 2016 5:15 pm

Hi.

Just wondering how you got on with your lawn?? Mine was laid 9 days ago and is starting to turn a bit yellow, I have lifted a corned and no roots have taken as yet.

Any advice?