Late Summer and Early Fall is Prime Time to Seed
It’s sometimes necessary to renovate or restore lawn areas due to heavy traffic patterns, insect damage or extreme drought conditions. Late summer to early fall is usually the best time to establish a new lawn from seed. It’s also possible in the spring but the heat stress from the summer and increased weed competition makes it more challenging.
The three factors that make fall an ideal planting time are moisture and soil temperature.
Moisture. Grass seed needs to stay moist (but not saturated) to germinate. In the fall, the scorching sun will not dry up the soil and the cooler temperatures will help keep the soil from drying out. Rainfall is more prevalent in fall which will lessen your need to water. However, if it’s a particularly dry fall season, your new seed needs to be watered daily.
Soil Temperature. The ground in early fall is still warm enough to hasten germination, while the days are cool helping to ensure that the seeds don’t dry out. Seed will germinate best when its soil is above 55 degrees. It’s OK if the temperature cools down at night, because soil remains warm from the day’s sun. There is also sufficient sunlight to allow new grass to thrive and become established before winter arrives.
Less Weeds. Crabgrass is finishing its life cycle and will not germinate in the fall. So your newly planted seed won’t have crabgrass to compete with as it would in spring. Some weeds will come up with the new grass but these can be hand pulled while the grass is still young. Herbicides should not be used until the grass is more mature and herbicides can be controlled safely. In the spring new grass must compete with heavy weed growth.
Seeding in the fall means your lawn will have 6-9 months to mature its root system. This is a huge advantage to have two growing seasons – fall and winter – before it encounters is first period of heat stress.
It will usually take a full year for your lawn to fill in completely. Shady areas will take longer than a full sun area and some areas may be too shady to ever fill in completely.
Getting grass seed to grow is challenging in any conditions. Give yourself the best chance for success and plant in early fall. If you need help with seeding your lawn, Whitehouse Landscaping would be happy to work with you to get that thick, green lawn you desire. Call Whitehouse Landscaping at 484-300-4290. We’d be happy to talk to you!