Lawn reseeding | south-east Melbourne
Before we understand lawn reseeding, its best to explain the difference between warm season and cool season turfgrasses.
The grass base of most Sandbelt lawns are Couch, Kikuyu and more recently Buffalo, otherwise known as WARM SEASON turfgrass. These grass types have excellent heat and drought tolerance and reproduce from runners, rather than seed. In full sun, they grow actively in the Sandbelt from early summer to mid autumn, before heading into dormancy for the cold months. In shade regions, these grasses struggle to grow or can die back. During winter dormancy, growth is at a standstill, they suffer wear damage, loss of leaf and color pales; inevitably annual winter broadleaf and grass weeds like wintergrass take hold.
growth curve comparison of warm season and cool season turf grasses
Unfortunately, many Sandbelt lawns have little warm season grass base and become dominant with undesirable grass and broadleaf weeds, particularly through the cooler months (late March to late Nov).
The ideal 4-season lawn
The strategy for an ideal 4-season lawn in Melbourne’s Sandbelt is to:
a. Summer: Promote the spreading growth of the warm season grass base, if present and coverage is adequate.
b. from early Autumn onwards: Lawn reseed with cool season turfgrasses with the option of keeping the new grass long term.
Couch grass oversown to fine leaf ryegrass during winter
Lawn reseeding
Lawn reseeding is the process of drilling seed into and under dormant couch or kikuyu, or sprayed out or existing old lawn.
The main COOL SEASON turfgrass varieties are turf-type fine leaf perennial ryegrass, rhizomatous tall fescue and fine fescues. These grasses make a beautifully rich, vibrant colored, fine-leaf lawn with excellent cool season growth, wear and shade tolerance. Without soil moisture, their Achilles heel is tolerance to prolonged drought and extreme heat. These perennial turfgrasses may persist 4-seasons with easy common
sense care and are established from seed from early autumn to late spring. The best turf-type fine leaf perennial ryegrass examples are the stadium ovals used by the AFL in Melbourne, Geelong, Adelaide, Launceston, the VRC racetracks, Lord’s cricket ground and Wimbledon.
illustration of how slit seeding works
Renew your lawn
In just 5 to 12 days from lawn reseeding, your tired old lawn will be renewed with dense vibrant coloured fine leaf perennial turf grass. You can retain stunning lawn cover for at least 10 months, and over summer into the following year with strategic watering and a little care. Our Turf reseeder™ accurately drills seed into and under existing lawn and bare ground for ideal seed-soil contact and seed wet-up, resulting in dense and uniform establishment. Vertical blades slice into existing lawn, creating a slice opening; depositing and securing seed at correct depth and rate, with minimal lawn disruption or soil tillage. Minimal soil disturbance ensures resident weed seeds remain dormant and weed germination is minimal. Turf seed is well covered, protected from birds and flotation; and is mostly free from weed seed competition.
