Pile height: the look
Pile height is simply how long the blades are. Short piles around 20 to 25mm look freshly mown, stand up well and are easy to keep spotless: right for front gardens, verges and anywhere tidiness beats softness. Mid piles around 30mm are the all-rounders. Long piles at 35 to 40mm look lush and meadowy and feel wonderful underfoot, but they lie down sooner under furniture and heavy traffic and ask for an occasional brush to stay full.
Density: the feel and the lifespan
Density is how many blades are stitched into every square metre, and it matters more than height. A dense short lawn outlasts and outperforms a sparse long one every time, because density is what carries footfall and hides the backing. When you compare quotes, compare density before anything else; it is where cheap turf saves its money.
Dtex: the blade itself
Dtex measures the weight, effectively the chunkiness, of the yarn. Higher dtex blades are stouter and recover better after being flattened. Anything above roughly 12,000 dtex with a memory-shaped fibre, C-shape or W-shape in the jargon, will stand back up after the paddling pool moves. Below 8,000, expect a flat lawn by next summer.
Judge turf the way you judge carpet: not by length, but by how hard it is to see the backing when you bend the sample. That single test beats every number on the label.
So which one?
- Front garden, low fuss: short and dense. Our Verge at 22mm exists for exactly this.
- Dogs, kids, daily use: mid pile, maximum density, high dtex. The Paddock at 30mm.
- The garden you show off: long pile, four-tone fibre, memory yarn. The Sunday at 35mm.
- Putting green: a different animal entirely, short and sand-dressed. The Nineteenth at 15mm.
Or skip the theory: order the free samples, bend them in good light on your own doorstep, and do the backing test yourself. The right answer is usually obvious within a minute of holding them.