Hard-wearing lawn: benefits & the best tough grass seed
Often, the lawn in the garden can be heavily stressed by an active lifestyle or by kids running around. Find out when it makes sense to choose a more hard-wearing grass seed mix and the best way to go about establishing a hard-wearing lawn.
Hard wearing turf is a resilient all-rounder turf seed mixture that is designed for intensive private use. It is designed for frequent use because a hard wearing lawn seed mix forms a resilient turf that can regenerate from any damage in a very short time.
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Hard wearing grass seed: what is it?
Hard wearing grass seed mixes are a very popular choice when it comes to grass seed mixes. They can adapt to many conditions and can withstand running, playing and the occasional object on them. Hard-wearing lawn seed mixes grow lawns that are resilient to being played on and used in normal conditions and require a medium level of maintenance. Hard wearing grass seed mixes grow into lovely, lush lawns that are perfect for lying down and picnicking on as well as for running about on while having fun in the garden.
Hard wearing grass seed reaches its limits when it must cope with nutrient-poor, very compacted, very wet and/or extremely dry soils. It is also not very forgiving of deep shade. For shady locations, we therefore recommend using a specially designed lawn mixture, such as our Plantura Shady Lawn Seed. Anyone who drives their car on a hard-wearing lawn is likewise putting too much stress on the lawn.
When does hard wearing turf make sense?
Sowing hard wearing grass seed is worthwhile if you plan to use your lawn regularly. The hard wearing turf can withstand children playing, garden parties and other activities without any problems. If you have “normal” soil, i.e., neither very light, sandy, nor very heavy clayey soil, and sufficient sun for your future lawn, this location is made for a hard-wearing lawn. In addition, a hard-wearing lawn is a wonderful choice if you do not want to spend a lot of time maintaining it because it is less demanding than an ornamental lawn.
Putting in a high-quality hard-wearing lawn is perfect for a family garden, where it can delight both children and parents.
What are the benefits of having a hard-wearing lawn?
The advantages of having a hard-wearing lawn are its good regenerative capacity, mowing tolerance and relatively high tread resistance. In addition, the seeds contained in the hard-wearing grass seed mix grow very quickly, allowing the turf to be used soon after it is sown. With regular mowing, a hard-wearing lawn will become very lush and dense.
Hard-wearing fast-growing grass seed germinates quickly, with the first young blades appearing after a few days. In addition, the grasses contained in the seed mix are able to recover from minor damage to the turf fast, as they instantly begin to patch the gaps with numerous runners. This is also important since a hard-wearing turf is not quite as tread resistant as a real sports field turf, which can withstand frequent use with cleated shoes. On the plus side, a hard-wearing lawn copes well with frequent mowing and quickly becomes as thick as a carpet.
What is the best hard-wearing grass seed mixture?
A suitable seed mix for a hard-wearing lawn has a high percentage of regenerating perennial ryegrass as well as resilient grasses such as tall fescue and annual meadow grass. If you use RSM-certified seed, you can be sure of its high quality. In addition, the manufacturer should provide you with comprehensive information on how to use the lawn seed correctly in order for it to be successful.
When buying a good seed mixture for a hard-wearing lawn, it is important to pay attention to a few characteristics to get a high-quality lawn. Of course, the grass genera and species included in hard-wearing lawn seed mixtures are particularly important. Different species of the genera Lolium (ryegrass), Festuca (tall fescue) and Poa (meadow grass) should be included, with the ryegrass making up about half and the other two genera together making up the other half – this is how the grass mixture’s strong regenerative capacity is achieved.
Our Plantura Hard-Wearing Lawn Seed contains Lolium perenne to ensure good regeneration due to its fast germination, persistent growth, and cut tolerance; Festuca rubra var. rubra for drought tolerance; and Poa pratensis, a stoloniferous sub-grass, to ensure a dense grass carpet as well as high adaptability to different soils and climates.
Apart from the varieties included the seed itself should be of a high quality so that targeted sowing in the appropriate quantity yields the desired outcome. RSM certification is the German standard for grass seed, guaranteeing high standards of quality control, careful production and storage – as a result, the germination capacity of certified turf seed mixtures is increased. Our Plantura Hard-Wearing Lawn Seed contains only RSM-certified seed.
- Creates particularly strong & durable lawns
- Contains regenerative lawn seeds for thick turf
- Premium lawn seed mixture with high-quality, certified grass varieties
Tips on how to create the best hard-wearing lawn
A few essential steps will help you get your dream lawn: thorough loosening, removing stones and weeds, and fertilising create the best conditions before the seed is evenly distributed, pressed down and thoroughly watered. So, while there is a bit of work to be done before you can enjoy the benefits of your hard-wearing lawn, you do not need to be an expert to lay a good lawn. Nevertheless, there are a few essential points to bear in mind, which we have covered in our article on lawn seeding and summarised again here:
- Plant your hard-wearing grass seed between April and October, avoiding the hot summer months. The soil temperature should also be consistently above 12 °C at night.
- Loosen the soil to a depth of 20 to 30cm, remove weeds and large stones, and apply a primarily organic slow-release fertiliser such as our Plantura Lawn Feed. Improve soils with a low humus content with some mature compost or our Plantura Organic Lawn Compost.
- Now level the ground and sow the lawn seed with about 25g/m². A spreader is the best choice for large areas. When using a spreader or sowing by hand, walk the area once lengthwise and once crosswise, scattering half the required amount of seed each time to ensure even sowing.
- Now work the seed into the soil to a maximum depth of 0.5cm or thinly cover it with our Plantura Organic Lawn Compost. Then lightly press down the area with footboards or a light roller.
- Finally, do not forget to water. The seedlings emerge after 10 to 24 days and must not be allowed to dry out during the first month. Therefore, water daily, but not for many hours at a time. Lawns need regular watering even after germination to thrive.
Tip: the first mowing of the young grasses is done when the blades are 6 to 10cm tall. Mow the grass to a height of at least 4cm.
Maintaining a hard-wearing lawn
Even a resilient hard-wearing lawn needs some care to remain green, dense, hard-wearing and healthy. Three essential care elements ensure this: regular fertilising with a primarily organic lawn fertiliser, regular mowing and sufficient watering during dry periods. A cutting height of 3 to 4cm is ideal for a hard-wearing lawn and should be done regularly between spring and autumn. Autumn and spring are key seasons for weeds and moss in the lawn. As a result, do not skip preparing the lawn for winter and waking up the lawn after winter to ensure that it enters the new year stronger. This way, you will rarely have to resort to scarifying or overseeding the lawn to create an enviably beautiful carpet of grass for a long time.
