Lots of bulb weeds in newly laid turf

TranceNRG

Hi ladies/gents,

I recently got a landscape gardener to put in a new patio, clear the garden, create flower beds and lay new turf.

The garden was a bit like a jungle with lots of weeds. Here's a before picture:

http://imgur.com/a/YBEXf

Landscape gardener laid turf 3 weeks ago and I can see there are lots bulb weeds coming through the turf especially where 2 strips of turf meet. The lawn area is probably about 10m x 4m. I walked on the lawn for the first time yesterday since it was laid and I could feel the turf being very bumpy. The bumps are quite big and feel hard. I think these are created by the bulb weeds trying to grow under the turf which is lifting the turf up.

Here are some pictures from the lawn and flower beds:

http://imgur.com/a/wVnqo

There were couple of areas where it was really bad with big bunches of weed plants coming up through the gap between 2 turf strips. so last night I moved the turf bits to the side to expose the weeds and tried to dig out the weeds and bulbs. I managed to remove the leaves but don't think I got all the bulbs out. They seemed to be too deep and I didn't want to cause too much damage to the turf. I then poured a bit of hot water in to the soil where the weeds were (was careful not to pour them on to grass) as I read that hot water can kill weeds, added a bit of soil to cover the hole and then moved the turf back. I hope I haven't damaged the turf too much.

There are probably 10-20 weeds that I can see come through the turf but a lot more bumps (weeds still under the turf).

I don't know what to do. It's not possible to remove the weeds that's under the turf (but not in between 2 strips of turf) without having to dig out parts of the turf which will create holes.

I see lots of these weeds in flower beds but I can at least dig these out.

Obviously I am very annoyed at the situation. I don't think my landscape gardener used a weed killer when he prepared the ground. I did ask him at the time about a weed killer but he said 'they don't work'. However number of articles online about laying turf, seem to suggest using a glyphosate weed killer.

Also I saw lots of bulbs (presumably weeds) were on the ground before he laid turf and I'm not even sure he removed them before laying turf.

Is there anything I can do to get rid of these weeds without destroying the turf? What can I do about the bumps? (someone at work said use a roller).

Will I have to get it re-turfed? Perhaps I should ask the landscape gardener to do this!

thanks in advance for your input.

JEN22

i WOULD GET HIM BACK. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND PROFESSIONAL TURF LAYING

TranceNRG

When you say it's not acceptable, you mean to have weed grow like that? He did say weed will grow but I'll be able to mow over it and they'll eventually go away. However I didn't realise there'll be so many bulb weeds and how thick and hard they would be. Certainly didn't expect the bumps in the turf.

I'm not sure if the gardener would be happy to relay it (most probably won't) unless I go down the legal route. How much would it cost to remove the turf and relay it? Will you have to prepare the ground again and apply top soil?

no1catman

Could be bluebells - the roots as they spread create nodules, which becomes bulbs. Or, the could be lilies - once flowered the seed pod disgorges large seeds which can cover a wide area. Did you either of those before. Otherwise, weeds are usually from seed.

Off topic on the imgur link funny to see the 'Police' reference was somewhere I knew - a part of Cardiff.

DaftyDuck

If you regularly cut the grass, these bulbs will disappear. You may get a few next year, but they will be smaller, and there will be virtually none the year after. The gardener was correct; glyphosate would not have affected the bulbs, as they would have been dormant.

You can also use a spade, or a sharp knife, and slice at an angle through the bulb, and it will not grow again.

I'm really not sure your gardener could have done more, unless expense was no object, and a deep bed of soil could have been replaced.

Given the before and after photos, that was quite a good job overall. Oh, and why treat the bulbs as weeds? If they are bluebells, they are lovely. If they are true English Bluebells, well, I've just planted 2,000 of them!

rach_k

I don't think it's a big problem and I wouldn't have expected the guy who turfed it to remove them all either, unless you specifically asked him to and paid him extra. Ours didn't!

If you mow the lawn, it will kill them off eventually. If you really want to get rid of them now, just push a spade down next to them, loosen the soil a bit and carefully pull them out without dislodging much soil, then push it all back down again. We have lots of Spanish bluebells which look the same - they are a bit annoying in the lawn but easy to remove without destroying the grass.

TranceNRG

Dafty_Duck and Rach_K that's really good advice and pretty much what someone else said. That's impossible to remove all the weeds.

I called it a weed becasue I am new to gardening and I don't know what it is and it's not something I want in the lawn.

Great to hear that they'll eventually die when I start mowing (which will probably be this weekend) but what about the bumps created by them (some leaves of the weeds haven't come through the grass yet but they are pressing up again the turf so the turf in these areas hasn't taken to the ground. How do I resolve this?

When he first laid the turf it looked lovely and I didn't see any of these weeds and it's only in the last couple of weeks I've seen them come through. Overall I think he's done a good job.

DaftyDuck

The bumps will go too... You could even "stomp" them flat in damp weather! However, you may want these bulbs to remain in your lawn. Do try, with a small area of them, to not cut the grass, and let them flower. Do a Google Image search for "bulbs in lawn", try and identify the bulbs... I suspect they'll be Spanish Bluebells, which do spread like wildfire, rather than the more graceful English ones... but still lovely.

You may want a bowling green, perfectly flat, completely green lawn, and that's fine. However, having some bulbs in the lawn would be my choice - although I'm lucky enough to have a bit more space to play with than you, so can have the luxury of a bit of it looking scruffy for a while.

I don't know how much you paid, but the gardener seems to have done a reasonable job, and was honest and correct about glyphosate! It's certainly fast work, and there really will be some retrograde growth coming, through n real fault of his. There are some docks, some bindweed, and ivy growing there, and that will come back, from seed, from remaining root, or from neighbouring gardens. It'll need steady removal work over the next couple of years, but you'll get there in the end.

It's a nice small garden, and you'll enjoy it all the more if you know what's growing there.

If you are new to gardening - stick around on this Board - lots of keen gardeners here, and some of the others even know what they're doing!

tanith

The other posters are right they are Spanish Bluebells just tread the bumps down and the regular mowing will take care of them eventually.

TranceNRG

Phew, what a relief. Thanks a lot guys and yes I am very new to gardening but have learnt quite a lot recently about various different shrubs/flowers.

I have to mow the lawn this weekend but I'll leave a couple of the bulbs 'weeds' in place to see what sort of flowers they'll have. I won't try to 'dig them out' anymore

As for leaving the bulbs in the lawn..I am not sure. The look i had was clean green lawn and then flower beds on the sides. I've already bought lots of bulbs (Dwarf Daffodils, bluebells and crocuses) to plant around some shrubs in the flower beds.

Justagardener

The turf is only being pushed up by the bulbs as it hasn't got its roots down into the soil yet...nothing to anchor it down. it won't lift up next year as it will be well rooted. It is important to keep walking over it and taking the mower over it, to ensure the roots of the turf make good contact with the soil. New Turf can dry out very quickly so keep it well watered