All Coolabah varieties are tough as nails, self repairing, and have low water requirements once established. The single sacrifice we ask our customers to make when purchasing a drought tolerant, environmentally friendly turf variety is to accept the fact that its appearance and colour could deteriorate during winter while it is dormant – a small price to pay for sustaining your global environment while preserving your local landscape and lifestyle investment.
Winter dormancy is a normal characteristic of C4 warm season varieties. The degree of colour loss however could vary from year to year pending seasonal conditions and location of turf. The appearance of any turf located in an east facing or exposed position will suffer more than turf in an area protected by shade or near a fence or building.
Please also be advised that while turf is dormant, winter weeds may penetrate through to the top of the surface. Winter weeds will disappear from your turf once warmer weather helps your lawn become active again so do not FRET! This is a naturally occurring part of your lawns life cycle!!
We recommend hand weeding where possible, or phone the Coolabah office to find out more about suitable selective herbicides available for sale.
Remember that all Coolabah lawns need heat to thrive – they do not enjoy cold temperatures!
The upshot is – during this period of dormancy – your lawn will need NO maintenance. So put your feet up and enjoy the footy – no mowing, no watering, and no fertilising again until the Spring.
Talk to the Coolabah Crew to find out how to reduce discolouration during winter with better management practices.
Annual management guide for drought tolerant turf
Fertilize your new lawn 5-6 weeks after installation.
Know what to do to your lawn at the right time to insure your lawn will be the best looking lawn in the street!
Month
What to do/use
September
Fertiliser – Critical to help your lawn recover from winter.
October
Fertiliser
November
Optional – Preventative insecticide application.
Optional – Dethatch your lawn if it starts to feel a bit spongy. Fertilise after dethatching to enhance your lawn’s speed of recovery following dethatching.
Fertiliser – Critical to prepare prepare your lawn for winter conditions.
Fertiliser
June
Seasol – A plant conditioner to help protect your lawn from frost and promote winter colour retention.
July
Seasol
August
Seasol
NB. This is a guide only. If your lawn incurs any additional stress it may require further management.
You may notice some weed invasion during winter dormancy – this is a normal part of a warm season grass’ life cycle in our region. You may choose to either hand weed where possible, or apply a selective herbicide to assist.
