What should i overseed my lawn with

Mon-Fri, 8am to 6. Go to basket. Overseeding Overseeding of an existing lawn is a recognised essential part of annual lawn maintenance. Overseeding your lawn will: Help infill damaged, bare patches or thin, worn areas and give your lawn a thicker, denser sward. Improve the colour of the lawn. Reduce weed and moss invasion. When is the best time to overseed a lawn The best time to overseed an existing lawn is in spring and autumn, with germination taking 7 to 21 days in ideal conditions.

How to overseed your lawn Mow the lawn to approx 25mm. Use a spring tine rake to break up and remove the layer of dead matted grass known as thatch. Dependent on the depth of thatch on a lawn this process may require a powered scarifier, which can be hired from most hire shops. This will help the seed make contact with the soil allowing it to germinate. Using a garden fork, spike the lawn to a depth of approx. If your lawn has not been fed in the last 4 months we recommend feeding the lawn before overseeding.

Check the instructions on the product for this. In a few weeks they will be gone. Core aeration is not the same thing as spike aeration. Spike aerators do not pull a plug, but will simply punch a hole in the ground. On the down side it may slightly increase soil compaction, but at the same time helps air and moisture reach the roots. Raking is hard work, so another method is to use a pull-behind dethatcher. This is a device with dozens of metal tines that drag across the soil.

These models are designed to attach to the back of a riding mower. The tray on top of the dethatcher can be weighted down with sand bags or cinder blocks for deeper tine penetration into the soil. I prefer sand bags instead of cinder blocks, since bags don't fall off as easily. Tie them down if necessary.

To make you own bags, take a old car or truck tube and cut them into eighteen inch lengths. Use wire to close one end and fill the bag with sand or gravel. Wire the other end closed and you have a cheap weight that works great. Make sure you use enough weight so the tines scratch at least an eighth of an inch deep into the soil. In dry weather you will need to water thoroughly before using the dethatcher.

After going over the lawn several times in different directions use a mower with a bagging system to remove debris pulled up by the dethatcher. Keep in mind that dethaching will pull up a lot of dead and green grass. Grass clipping left on the lawn after mowing can form a thick mat. The photo shows a fescue lawn and the amount of grass that is pulled up in just a few square inches of lawn. This does not hurt the grass.

Stoloniferous grasses, grass that spreads by runners, add another degree of difficulty in ensuring you are digging deep enough to remove thatch.

Cutting through the stolons will not hurt the grass. The daughter plants along the stolon will continue to grow normally because they have their own root system. Stoloniferous grasses are mostly associated with warm season grasses. Most cool season grasses, with the exception of rough bluegrass, do not produce a lot of stolons.

The few that do produce stolons are fairly short. You can also rent a motorized seeder for use in overseeding lawns. Seeders have several adjustable vertical blades that cut lines into the soil.

Most have a built-in hopper that drops seed at the same time that it is making the cuts. The idea is that some of the seed will fall into the cuts, making good contact with the soil. The more expensive machines drop seed into the cuts and now where else. I have owned and used these machines and can tell you that seeders work best on flat and level ground that is relatively rock free.

Flat and level means the ground has few holes, dips or mounds. The blades glide over dips without even scratching the surface, while digging deep groves into small mounds. Rocks will dull the blades quickly. Before overseeding a lawn, it is important to choose a seed that is compatible with your grass.

You should try to use a seed that is the same as your grass. For example, if you have turf-type tall fescue, then use turf-type tall fescue seed or a blend of turf-type tall fescue seed and Kentucky bluegrass seed. Be careful about using bargain store seed brands for overseeding lawns. Bargain seed is often poor quality and can contain multiple undesirable varieties. Fescue Rule: An important rule is if you have a turf-type tall fescue lawn, do not overseed with a coarse type tall fescue seed.

Coarse fescue varieties, such as Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue or Alta are much larger plants having wider blades that were originally designed as pasture grass. They are often sold as lawn grass seed to those who do not know the difference.

Stick with turf-type tall fescue if that is what you already have. It is okay to combine bluegrass seed with turf-type tall fescue seed. Many professional seed blends use both because blades are similar in size and appearance and bluegrass spreads filling in gaps.

It becomes very disease prone under high maintenance. If you fertilize regularly, ask to be sure it is an improved variety that can handle fertilization. If you want the best looking grass, be sure to use a turf type blend. The turf blends are the varieties that are being improved for appearance and deep green color as well as disease resistance qualities.

If you choose a pasture grass, such as Kentucky 31, you are missing out on all the science and genetic improvements that will give you a much better looking lawn. In addition, you get several different varieties in a single bag of turf-type so if one variety doesn't do well in your location or soil conditions, one of the others will.

You don't get that with pasture fescue varieties. Be careful when using fine fescue grass seed. The varieties of fine fescue in the U. It cannot survive in full sun except in places with year around cool climates.

There are not many places like that in the U. For this reason it is marketed and sold as a shade grass. Varieties include creeping red fescue, chewings fescue, sheep fescue, and hard fescue. However, fine fescue varieties are often included in fescue seed blends because the grass will do well on shady sides of houses or under shade trees better than other grasses. Overseeding lawns using only fine fescue seed is not recommended, but is okay when combined with other seed varieties.

Most bluegrass species spread by underground stems called rhizomes. The most popular seed type is Kentucky Bluegrass seed. The rhizomes sprout at various points along the stem producing a new plant identical to the mother plant. Each new plant will send out rhizomes that produce even more plants.

Because of the way it spreads, healthy bluegrass lawns rarely need overseeding. Bluegrass is often included in some tall fescue seed blends.

Keep in mind that Kentucky bluegrass can become disease prone if fertilized several times a year. It does well with infrequent fertilization. The improved varieties were designed to grow under more intense fertilization and are used by golf courses and well maintained home lawns. Lawns consisting solely of ryegrass are rare in the U. Ryegrass is usually combined with other seed types.

Perennial Ryegrass is popular in many seed mixtures, but is rarely used as a stand alone grass. It has poor cold and poor high heat tolerance. It is sometimes blended with fescue or used to overseed dormant bermudagrass lawns. Annual ryegrass will only live for a year before it dies.

Unless you desire a temporary grass, make sure you use a quality perennial ryegrass seed variety. Some lawn seed companies will blend annual ryegrass seed into the mixture because it germinates in only a few days providing a quick cover crop until the perennial varieties becomes established. Bargain ryegrass seed blends will often contain large amounts of annual ryegrass seed because of its low cost.

It looks good for a while until it dies back leaving the home owner wondering what happened. It is better to spend a little more and get a higher quality seed blend. Annual ryegrass is generally reserved for overseeding dormant warm season grasses or as a cover crop. This annual grass dies as the warm season grass starts emerging from dormancy in the spring.

Annual grasses must be reseeded every year. Overseeding lawns containing Bermudagrass is common in the south. By using a cool season grass seed variety the lawns retains a green color throughout winter.

Annual ryegrass, perennial ryegrass and turf-type tall fescue or bluegrass are often used. Do not use Kentucky 31 tall fescue or other coarse fescue blends for overseeding lawns. The coarse fescues are larger and taller growing plants that do not blend well in bermudagrass.

Some varieties of warm season grasses can be established by seed. Soil preparation is the same for all grass seed. Be aware that seed of many varieties are much smaller than their cool season cousins, which makes spreading more difficult. If the seed is extremely small, mix the seed with at least an equal portion of sand.

The amount of sand doesn't really matter, so use an amount that is easiest. Warm-season grasses grow best in a climate like that of the southern United States. Apply fertilizer. Select the best fertilizer , and load it into a fertilizer spreader. Then, scatter around the perimeter of the lawn first to make sure fertilizer reaches the edges.

Next, follow a pattern similar to a mowing pattern by moving in straight rows until the entire lawn is fertilized. There are different types of fertilizer spreaders, including a broadcast spreader, handheld spreader, snap spreader, drop spreader, and liquid sprayer.

Fertilizing small yards often requires a small handheld spreader only, while larger yards will take less time and effort with a broadcast spreader. The yard size and fertilizer type will determine which type of spreader is best. For example, liquid fertilizer requires a liquid fertilizer spreader like one of these quality backpack sprayers , and mid-sized yards are more easily fertilized with a snap or drop spreader. Water the lawn. After fertilizing, water the lawn for a short time each day.

Water in the morning to maximize the water intake. More evaporation occurs during the afternoon and evening, which means it will take more water to get the same benefits. If there are puddles or the ground feels spongy, cut back on the watering time.

Part of learning how to overseed a lawn requires knowing when to overseed, which depends on the climate and grass type. Cool-season grasses seed best in the late summer and early fall. The cooler temperatures slow the growth of the existing grass but give the seeds time to germinate and grow before the grass goes dormant. Warm-season grass does best when seeded in the early spring to the early summer.

In this case, the seed has time to germinate and grow before the warmest summer temperatures hit. This method of overseeding should successfully fill in the lawn with lush, green growth.