Help! Grass not rooting

jakq

hi everybody, I’ve just moved into a new build and had my grass laid, it’s been down for about 7weeks now and is green and growing nicely but I’m having a few problems.... 

rooting - the grass is struggling to root around the edges, I think the ground underneath is just sand. Is it best if I pull it all back, dig out the sand and fill it with soil? 

Joints in on the turf are dying - at the seams of turf the grass is yellow/fading out, I have been watering the grass when needed but these areas are struggling

any advise would be much appreciated!! 

Pauline 7

Was the ground under the turf prepared properly first?  Most gardens of new builds are full of builder's rubble with just  a covering of soil. 

jakq

My best guess is that it wasn’t prep’d correctly, most of the turf is rooted but it’s just around the edges of the paving, when I pull back the turf there aren’t any roots at all poking out of the bottom...

Pauline 7

Sorry I can't offer you a solution but this reply will bump it to the top of the page where more knowledgeable people may see it. 

glasgowdan

The best thing to do is change the use of the areas where the turf isn't rooting, given there is probably insufficient soil. How about cutting the turf away and creating some raised beds or something instead?

David W

I would give it a bit longer yet. I assume you are U.K., although the grass will be growing a bit the temperatures haven’t yet warmed up fully enough to get it growing really well.

 It will also more than likely be the hardcore the paving is on along with builders rubble. When established turf will encroach over the edges of paving and need trimming back over time.

Cheers

Liriodendron

I don't know where you are based, jakq, but around here things are growing very slowly indeed, thanks to weeks of cold weather.  It may take longer than you expect for the grass to settle in - it was laid a bit early, perhaps? 

The main reason for edges and joins to go yellow is that the turf has dried out.  This may not be your fault, if it was allowed to become dry at the edges before it was laid.  Grass is very tough though, and provided you keep it moist (make sure the soil below it is damp, not just the grass on top - it may need longer with the sprinkler than you expect), it will almost certainly grow eventually.  Even if it's just over sand it'll root into it, though the grass won't thrive there because sand is low in nutrients.

You could dig out the sand next to the paving and replace it with soil, & then replace the turf and keep your fingers crossed...
  

jakq

Thanks everyone, I’m from Uk and yeah the weather hasn’t been good for the past few weeks, I’ve just pulled back the edges of the turf, dig out the sand and rubble and put a layer of soil down. I also did this with the seams but the roots there were bedding in well so only stuffedsoil in where I could.

fingers crossed it will start to bed in and turn green!!

thanks everyone

Dovefromabove

Keep the edges damp ... not soggy, but damp .... water in the mornings not the evenings, and wait for the warmer weather ... it'll take root eventually ... it's still too cold.