If your lawn is looking a bit sad these days, you may be wondering what you can do to bring it back to life. If this is the first time you’ve considered using sod on your lawn, you might think that it’s all the same. In fact, there are many different types of sod available that are well-suited to a variety of environmental conditions.
Choosing the right sod for your lawn will depend on a few different factors.
The first thing to consider is your climate. Here in Southern California, where we have many months of dry weather and occasional crazy rains, you want to go with a warm season grass, like St. Augustine, Bermuda or Carpetgrass varieties. These grasses are hearty and can thrive under long hours of exposure to the hot sun.
Once you’ve determined the type of sod you need based on your climate, take a look at your yard’s topsoil. Your topsoil could vary in texture from rich and dark brown to clay-like in texture, to sandy. Each of these will require a different type of sod, and may even require different planting methods.
The next thing to consider is your irrigation system. If you have built-in irrigation, like many homes in Southern California do, take this into consideration when choosing your sod. If you don’t have built-in irrigation, decide whether you want to choose a sod that will need to be watered less frequently—or, while you are working on the lawn anyway, it may be a good time to have an irrigation system installed.