When is the best time to lay turf?

Autumn, roughly mid-September to late November, and spring, March to May, are the best times to lay turf in the UK. The soil still holds some warmth, natural rainfall does a lot of your watering, and the grass roots before it has to cope with real heat or cold.

Outside those windows you can still turf. The only times to genuinely avoid are frozen ground, waterlogged soil, and the middle of a summer drought. Away from those, it is more about how much watering you are willing to do than whether the lawn will take.

If you can choose, September and October are hard to beat. The ground is still warm from summer, so roots get moving quickly, but the air is cooling and the rain is more reliable, so the turf does not dry out.

Grass laid in autumn roots down before winter, sits quietly through the cold, then grows away strongly in spring. You also do far less watering than a summer lay, which keeps the water bill down and means fewer trips out with the hose.

Spring is the next best window. From March the soil is warming and the grass is keen to grow. The only catch is that as the weather dries out towards May and June you will need to water more to keep new turf from drying at the edges.

Summer is the hardest time to lay turf, but it can be done. Turf is living grass cut fresh, and in warm weather it dries out fast, shrinks and can leave gaps between the rolls. Lay it the same day it arrives, soak it heavily, and water every day, sometimes morning and evening, until it roots. Do not attempt a lay in the middle of a heatwave.

You can lay turf through winter on mild days. It will not root much until the soil warms up in spring, it simply sits dormant, and that is perfectly fine. Many landscapers turf right through a mild winter.

What you must not do is lay onto frozen ground, because you cannot prep or firm it properly and the roots will not take. Avoid waterlogged soil too, as you will just compact it to mud and the new lawn will sit in puddles. If there is a hard frost or standing water, wait a week.

Whatever the season, ground prep matters more than the exact date. Dig the area over, clear out weeds, roots and stones, level it off and firm it down by treading, then rake to a fine crumbly tilth ready for the turf.

For good rooting, lay onto at least 100mm of decent topsoil. Screened topsoil gives the grass something to get into. As a rough guide, a bulk bag holds about 0.7 m3 and covers around 7 m2 at 100mm deep, or about 14 m2 at 50mm.

TopTurf screened topsoil is £70 a bulk bag, delivered from Leigh. Work out your square metres, then order enough to bring the whole bed up to a consistent depth.

Once turf is cut it is on the clock. Lay it within 24 hours of delivery, and in warm weather the same day. Left rolled up on the pallet it heats up, yellows and dies from the inside, so plan for it to go straight down.

Measure your lawn in square metres and add about 5% for cutting in around curves, paths and borders. TopTurf cuts premium lawn turf to order for next-day delivery at £4 per m2, with delivery from £20, priced on your postcode and the load. If you would rather not do the graft, we also offer supply-and-lay, with Barrow Landscaping doing the laying.

September and October are ideal for most of the country. The soil is still warm from summer, rain is reliable, and the grass roots before winter. Spring, from March to May, is the next best window.

Yes, on mild days when the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. Winter turf will not root much until the soil warms in spring, it just sits dormant, which is fine. Avoid laying during frost or when the soil is sitting wet.

Usually 2 to 3 weeks in the growing season. Test it by lifting a corner: if it resists and does not peel up, the roots have knitted in. Keep off it and hold off mowing until then. In winter it takes considerably longer.

Within 24 hours, and the same day in warm weather. Turf is living grass cut fresh, so it deteriorates quickly while rolled up. Have the ground prepped before it arrives so it can go straight down.

Aim for at least 100mm of good topsoil for healthy rooting. One bulk bag holds about 0.7 m3 and covers roughly 7 m2 at that depth, so measure your area and order enough to bring the whole bed up level.