The prices for finished lawns vary greatly, but the expensive finished lawn does not have to be the best and the cheapest does not have to be the worst finished lawn. There are also different quality levels from simple playing turf to all-purpose turf to robust sports turf. When considering the price, you have to keep in mind that the finished lawn has to grow at the manufacturer for more than 12 months until it is ready for sale. In addition to the actual costs for the finished lawn, which range from two euros to five euros per square meter, additional costs such as transport, processing the future lawn area and laying must also be added to the price. For larger areas, this can quickly add up to a four-digit amount.
Costs / prices of finished turf & rolled turf
On the other hand, you are guaranteed to have a beautiful lawn, which unfortunately is not always guaranteed when sowing lawn seeds. If there is only little capital available for a new lawn, it is a good idea to equip an important area with finished lawn and plant the rest with lawn seeds.
Once you have decided to use ready-made turf, it is a good idea to compare different providers and also consult relevant internet forums. You can only benefit from other people's opinions and experiences when buying ready-made lawn and can perhaps avoid one or two mistakes. In addition to the actual costs already mentioned above, the ongoing costs and time required for finished turf are a lot cheaper than for normal turf. Thanks to special cultivation forms and strong root growth, finished turf is also recommended for shady areas. Even the rather hated growth of weeds is no longer a big issue when the lawn is purchased ready-made.
Price examples for rolled turf
You will usually encounter the biggest price differences for turf when you discover an offer online that is a few euros less than your local provider. But then it's worth taking a closer look, not just with regard to the quality of the turf:
1. The first example comes from Rollrasen Müller GmbH in 77933 Lahr, accessible to all home gardeners in southern Germany. If you have a company based near you, you can either pick up your lawn yourself or you can expect a fairly reasonable price for delivery. The lawn itself costs 4.30 euros per square meter if you remove at least 100 square meters. You will find the following information about quality:
- Only seeds approved by the Federal Office are used here
- The turf is made from the seeds of Lolium perenne, Poa pratensis and Festuca rubra ssp.
- The crucial properties of these varieties are described
- The lawn grows directly in Lahr
- The turf grows there for at least 1.5 years
- During this time it is mowed 80 to 90 times
- While the turf is growing, it is scarified four times
- It is rolled twice during the growing season
2. Plant-Janssen GmbH in 47906 Kempen offers rolled turf online at www.rasenprofi.de for 2.05 euros. This price sounds tempting if you live near Kempen and can pick up the lawn, certainly an alternative worth considering. However, if you would rather book a delivery, the price changes quite dramatically when you enter the postcode of your home town and is usually very close to the price of the above company. However, the quality information is a little poorer:
- You will not find out anything about the seeds except for the advertising statement “best seeds”
- The lawn grows in the plant-Janssen GmbH company or somewhere else in a contract breeding facility
- The turf grows for at least 1 year
- You don't find out exactly how often mowing or rolling takes place (" mowing several times a week" ?), there is no mention of scarifying at all
The quality of this lawn doesn't necessarily have to be worse, you just don't know for sure. However, if the distant contract farm offers completely different soil conditions than your garden soil, this will almost certainly lead to problems.
Rolled turf and self-sown lawn – (not) a price comparison
If you want to get your lawn particularly cheaply, there is no alternative to sowing yourself: you can get one kilogram of seeds tested by the Federal Plant Variety Office for around 5 euros, and you can sow 40 square meters of lawn while you are at For this price you only get a little more than one square meter of rolled turf.
Advantages of prefabricated turf
Finished lawn of course has many advantages, it just looks great! You can get almost any variety your heart desires, after all there are also special varieties with very specific properties for stadiums or special occasions.
If it is laid, you will also have saved yourself the long time of watering and waiting that you would otherwise have to do with normal lawn. The outdoor facilities are ready immediately. In addition, there are no contaminations or weeds, because ready-made turf has been specially grown for about a year. During this time it was also kept free of weeds under special conditions.
Laying finished lawn is not very difficult and can actually be done by anyone. You also save on fertilizing. In addition, there are hardly any gaps, which are almost always inevitable with normal lawns.
But there are also disadvantages that come with finished turf. And of course that starts with the high price. Once you have built a house, money is tight anyway and every cent is needed. There usually isn't enough money left over for ready-made lawns.
The turf is also very heavy and has to be transported to its destination. This may still work for small areas; if necessary, you can do it yourself with your car, but if large areas are to be laid out, then it becomes more difficult and, above all, more expensive.
Then there is the question of quality. How do I know which lawn is good and won't die again on my property? If I ask a specialist, they will sell me a more expensive lawn. If I choose inexpensive ready-made lawn, I might make the wrong choice and be left behind later.
In addition, the subsurface must be treated very carefully; the area must be flat, nutrient-rich and moist, otherwise things like bumps or dents in the lawn will happen at some point.
Everyone should make the choice between a normal lawn and a finished lawn for themselves and their needs. Ultimately, everyone has to live with the consequences themselves. Have fun with the new lawn!
by Annett Biermann
