Re-Sodding Question(s)

[mooncakez]

Hey guys,

Recently I re-sod my lawn and I am having a trouble with them.

So I got all the grass out, put a top soil, grass then rolled (roller from Home Depot).
Problem I'm having is that they aren't really rooting to the ground.

I've been watering them morning and evening (even during the day time to time when I am home).
But they are still turning yellow and won't root down.

Someone told me that most of the sods are kentucky bluegrass which has short roots and have hard time maintaining them.

Is there way to root them or revive them from dying (turning yellow without a root)?
Should I seed under the sod and water it?

Thank you all for your inputs and suggestions

mooncakez

[aubgray]

maybe you just got some crappy sod? we just re-sodded the back yard last Monday and I've been watering it for an hour each day (usually from 8-9). one 2x2 section does look iffy but all the rest is green and looks like it's even growing. not sure about taking root yet though. a raccoon turned over a corner of a piece he other night so it's definitely not rooting yet. maybe in another week?

[Brian71]

Same thing happened to me. I layed 4 strips of sod in my back yard in May. I watered every day for a month. When the grass was 6 inches long I first cut it with gardening shears then went over with it with a reel mower. Every piece turned brown. It could have been bad sod. I plan on removing all the pieces and re-laying it in late fall.

[cliff]

Same thing happened to me. I layed 4 strips of sod in my back yard in May. I watered every day for a month. When the grass was 6 inches long I first cut it with gardening shears then went over with it with a reel mower. Every piece turned brown. It could have been bad sod. I plan on removing all the pieces and re-laying it in late fall.
What was the final height of the grass when you were done cutting it? Sounds like you scalped it/cut it too short. You should cut a max of 1/3 of the grass off when you mow it.

OP: how recent is recent? Can you take/post a picture

[jedi1648]

It is possible that u might have killed it with too much water, as u said watering in morning, evening and sometime during the day as well. An established lawn grass only needs one inch of water each week. Try water it three times a week, better in the morning. And before u lay the sod, soak the base soil with water and add some fertiliser onto the soil.

[dutchca]

Best to lay sod in the fall (or spring). It hates heat, no matter how much you water.

[badass]

Best to lay sod in the fall (or spring). It hates heat, no matter how much you water.

This is true.

Really hard, specially of it sees direct sunlight all day.

The extreme dry weather makes it even harder to root.

Just keep on watering as often as you can.

Cheers !

[aqnd]

Yeah, sounds like terrible timing.
The grass is struggling to stay alive because it's the max heat of summer.

And overwatering is a bad idea. Contrary to what the landscapers want you to believe, your lawn actually never NEEDS watering if you let it grow naturally. (My family has never watered the grass in 24+ years and "miraculously" it has never died!)
It may turn a little brown this time of year with the extreme heat and likely low rainfall, but it is still alive and will be green again in a couple weeks.
But if you start watering it on a regular basis, you can't stop because it's now reliant on your water supply because it hasn't had a need for deep roots, didn't grow them.

Of course, this is not why your grass is turning brown - it's struggling to stay alive as-is, being transplanted in extreme heat.

[mooncakez]

Thank you for all your inputs guys.

I think the heat is the biggest issue here. Sods that are on the shaded areas are green and the direct sunlight areas are yellow.
Also some of the sods did come in yellow (bad sods?). I inquired about this issue to the supplier but they just told me that these sods will go back to green once I root them and water them properly.
This is my first time re-sodding and since they are the experts, I just thought I'd follow their direction.

So watering them a lot is not a good idea? someone told me that the sods need a lot of water in order them to root, which is why I've been watering them a lot.

I'll take some pictures and post them soon!

Thank you all for your help and all your inputs again!

[gqbluez]

I actually just resodded my lawn 2 weeks ago and am very very pleased with the results. I can still see the lines where the sheets meet but they are starting to grow into each other and its blending in nicely. Its a very lush green lawn (I got mine from Fairgreen Sod in Stouffville/Markham border) and it is in 100% sunlight except for the fence area after about 6pm which the hottest part of the day is normally over.

I did a bunch of research online as to the best way to care for new sod and the majority of information I've dug up says water it 3 times a day for no more than 10 minutes each or when theres 1 inch of water for the first week to 2 weeks. After that, water less frequently but water deeper. This will encourage root growth if you keep the soil moist (not soaking!) If you are seeing pooling, stop watering immediately.

After the lawn has been established water when necessary and take care not to over water. As other posters here have mentioned, you need really only about 1 inch of water a week for established lawns. Also try not to stress the lawn, no walking on it for the first bit, get the kids to play somewhere else until the lawn is established, and dont let pets pee or poo all over it for the first bit. Also as another has mentioned, cut no more than 1/3 of the tip off. Cutting too short will stress the lawn and its easier for weed seeds to get hold.

Best luck to you.

[monomono]

Like others have said, it's probably bad sod. I recently laid about 15 rolls and have been watering daily.
3-4 of the rolls are yellow, the rest are green and healthy. The yellow ones are randomly distributed amongst the green ones, so I assume they were just bad in the first place.

[Brian71]

I pulled the sod up on Mon and it looks like the sod didn't take. It litterally rolled up without disturbing the dirt underneath. It could have been bad sod. I also found grubs. With the same batch I used a piece in the front od my house and it is nearly dead as well.
I will re-sod in the fall. Luckily my yard is very small so I only need 5 pieces.

[asennad]

I'd leave it a while before pulling it up. It may have just gone dormant. I've laid sod said "damn it's dead" only to have it miraculously go green again in the fall.

[sodbuster]

I get a kick out some of these "suggestions". I have 40 years experience in turf management, including being responsible for 150,000 lawn programs across Canada...so please follow my recommendations...what province are you in?

[cliff]

I get a kick out some of these "suggestions". I have 40 years experience in turf management, including being responsible for 150,000 lawn programs across Canada...so please follow my recommendations...what province are you in?

...and your recommendations, that you haven't posted yet are better? Do share.

[aubgray]

update to my post earlier. sod i layed 2 weeks ago is perfectly fine. even with all the heat. 1 hour/day watering first week. 30 minutes every other day second week and all sod is green, growing and healthy. and most of it gets hit with direct afternoon sun. if OP got rolls of sod that already had yellow spots it was likely crappy sod to begin with.