Advantages of laying your Pictorial Meadows turf during the autumn season

In this article, our Landscape Manager Jacob shares the benefits of planting your meadow turf in autumn.

If you’re looking for a simple way to transform your garden into a blossoming tapestry of colour this autumn, then look no further than Pictorial Meadows turf.

Pictorial Meadows’ turf products provide a range of landscape solutions that combine flexibility, ease of installation and maintenance, along with unique combinations of beautiful and resilient plants to create colourful and sustainable garden landscapes.

Autumn is when we cut and collect most of the long season flowering meadows. It’s also when we prefer to sow the perennial meadows due to the cool, moist conditions which encourage germination.

There are several reasons why autumn is the best time to lay meadow turf:

(1) Easier ground preparation

When laying turf, you will need to clear the existing vegetation from your site. You do this by hand weeding or digging. Clearing vegetation will be simplest in late summer/early autumn when herbaceous plants have yet to die back, and you can still see them. You will also find that the ground is more likely to be dry and workable.

(2) Stronger establishment

Pictorial Meadows turf is a resilient product composed of a wide range of hardy perennial flowers, but we still want to reduce the risk of drying out before rooting.

When we lay turf in the autumn, moist conditions mean that the turf roots will be able to supply the leaves with water, while warm conditions will encourage these roots to move quickly into the soil and access deeper moisture.

With any planting, the main aim is to reduce the impact of ‘transplant shock’. This means trying to reduce the chance of a plant drying out before its roots become able to find and supply water to the leaves.

In the example of glasshouse raised vegetables, we gradually acclimatise them to outdoor conditions before planting on open windy sites where they could quickly desiccate. With trees, we water copiously in the first two years while their roots are growing out of the planting hole.

Shortening days and cooling temperatures will limit growth and flowering, with many plants gradually moving into winter dormancy. This means that by the time spring comes around, the turf will have had at least six months to root before beginning to grow strongly and flower.

(3) Widest range of turf

Turf availability is lowest in summer while the season’s crop is still maturing and highest in autumn when the turf is first ready to lift and sell. Pictorial Meadows produce a variety of turf mixes suitable for a range of conditions. By ordering in autumn, you will always have the greatest choice.

(4) Time to lay your turf

Ultimately, you can usually prepare ground, obtain and lay turf without irrigation until around mid-April in most years. We are, however, seeing increasingly hot, dry springs and the later you lay turf, the greater the chance you will need to irrigate. If you’re planning a turf project now, we suggest laying between the beginning of November and the end of December for the best results.

When you’ve found the meadow turf you’re interested in, please complete the turf quote request form.

If you have any queries about your project or Pictorial Meadows’ turf products, feel free to get in touch online here or call 0114 267 7635.