6-Week Starter Lawn Care Plan for New Turf

Your new turf is installed — now what? Follow our expert starter care plan to help your lawn take root, green up, and thrive. Designed for homeowners across Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, and Woodford.

Shop Lawn Fertilisers

Why Starter Lawn Care is Critical

New turf isn’t like mature lawn — it needs careful attention in the first 6 weeks to establish strong roots and resist stress. If you neglect it early on, you risk:

Patchy growth or dead spots
Weed invasion and fungal diseases
Poor root establishment and lifting
Long-term problems with drainage or colour

Our Starter Care & Maintenance Plan is designed to help you avoid all of that and get the most out of your investment.

Week-by-Week New Lawn Care Plan

Week 1 – Immediate Aftercare

Water immediately after installation — thoroughly until soil is soaked
Avoid foot traffic
Water 2–3 times daily during hot weather
If using a sprinkler, move it frequently to prevent dry patches
Apply Starter Fertiliser and wetting agent if not already included in your install package

Week 2

Continue watering 1–2 times per day, depending on weather
Still avoid mowing — let roots dig in
Watch for any areas lifting or drying out; water them more

Week 3

Gently test root establishment by tugging turf
Begin reducing watering to once per day, or every second day if overcast
If roots are set, consider first mow — never remove more than 1/3 of blade height
Use sharp mower blades to avoid tearing new turf

Week 4–5

Mow every 7–10 days as needed
Reduce watering frequency but keep deep soaking technique
Watch for signs of pests or weeds

Week 4–5

Your turf should be well-established
Watering can shift to a deep watering 1–2 times per week depending on rainfall
Resume normal mowing and trimming
Apply a follow-up round of fertiliser if needed for extra green-up

Tips for Different Turf Types

Different turf types respond slightly differently during establishment. Here's what to expect:

Turf Type	Water Needs	Establishment Speed	First Mow Timeframe
Sir Walter Buffalo	Moderate	Medium	~3 weeks
Palmetto Buffalo	Low–Moderate	Medium	~3–4 weeks
Empire Zoysia	Low	Slower	~4 weeks
Wintergreen Couch	High	Fast	~2 weeks

Common New Lawn Mistakes

And How to Avoid Them:

Under-watering:

New turf needs consistent moisture in the first 2 weeks.

Over-watering:

Don’t flood it — shallow frequent watering early, then shift to deep watering.

Mowing too soon:

Wait until roots are anchored.

Using dull mower blades:

They tear the grass and cause stress.

Skipping fertiliser:

Your new lawn needs nutrients to thrive, just like a garden.

Trusted Lawn Care Products for New Turf

We supply everything you need to care for your lawn from day one, including:

Turf Starter Fertiliser
Wetting agents
Lawn Soils and Top Dress Mix
Sprinklers and accessories (if applicable)

You can add these to your turf order online or buy them separately anytime.

purchase now

Call (1800) 761 334

30+ Years In QLD

Fresh Cut to Order

Fast Delivery

Residential Lawn Specialists

What Our Clients Say

Real feedback from homeowners, tradies, and builders across Queensland.

We worked closely with Hancey’s Turf on the construction of Samford Football Precinct.

Their responsibilities included spreading and laser levelling of imported growing medium, supply and installation of washed and unwashed turf and associated consolidation and maintenance.

We found Nathan and his team professional and knowledgeable. I wouldn’t hesitate before recommending them or using them again myself.

Richard Probert

Director @ Naric Pty Ltd

Universal Civil Contracting has been using Hancey’s Turf as a subcontractor of ours since early 2012.

During this time we have had a professional relationship with Nathan and his Staff. We have always found them to be conscientious and diligent in their work and continually striving to improve their work methods.

Hancey’s Turf provides outstanding work and because of this, we continue to use them as our turfing Sub-contractor when necessary. We have also used Hancey’s Turf to turf around our personal premises.

Peter Biondic

Managing Director @ Universal Civil Contracting

I am more than pleased to offer my recommendation of Hanceys Turf We have been using Hanceys for a number of years for maintenance of our playing fields at Tenth Av Brighton and when the opportunity arose to up grade the fields I had no hesitation in using the services of Hanceys Turf.

From the initial planning and consultation phase through to completion of the project and grow in stages we have had no issues and all staff involved from Hanceys were and still are more then happy to answer any questions we have in regards to maintenance