Although conventional lawns are still a very popular landscape feature, more and more Canadians are seeing the benefits of a low-maintenance lawn.

Low-maintenance lawns, require less mowing, fertilizing and watering and less general upkeep. In fact, a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) study showed that a sample of residents with low-maintenance lawns used 50% less time, 85% less money, 50% less fuel, 100% less water, 100% fewer pest ic ides and 85% less fertilizer per year than those with conventional lawns.

Planting your lawn

Before planting your lawn, take time to assess your needs. For example, where a lawn is not required for specific activities, like a play space for kids, consider other low-maintenance alternatives, such as woodlands, meadows or ground cover plants.

A low-maintenance lawn consists of a mix of hardy, drought-tolerant, slow-growing and low-height turf grasses, fescues and broad leaf species such as white clover.

To help you select the right mix, CMHC has a list of some of the species suitable for lowmaintenance lawns and their characteristics. If you choose a diverse mix of species that are suited to your soil, you will be able to use less fertilizer, your lawn may be less susceptible to pests, and you will need few, if any, soil amendments. Water, mow and fertilize

After seed ing you r new lawn, you’ll need to water it right away and, unless it rains, every day for three to six weeks until the lawn becomes established.

Once established, keep it mown to no lower than six to eight centimetres, to strengthen the roots, retain water and nutrients and make the lawn less susceptible to pests.

Low-height and slow-growing species require less mowing. If you have selected species that are suited to your property's moisture conditions, your lawn should need little additional watering for the summer.

If your idea of a beautiful lawn is the perfect golf green, the savings in time, money, water and pesticides you’ll get from a low-maintenance lawn may be all you need to re-adjust your thinking.

CMHC can help you learn more about creating a greener, healthier landscape. For our free About Your House fact sheet on Low Maintenance Lawns, visit us online at www.cmhc.ca or call our toll free number: 1-800-668-2642.

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