Best Time To Plant Grass Seed- When To Plant In All 50 States

If you are starting a new lawn or just filling in a few bare spots, you need to know what type of grass seed is best for your state.

Starting a lawn from seed or filling in those thin and bare spots is an easy and inexpensive way to transform your home. We will explain cool season and warm season grasses so you know which is best to use in your area.

Cool-season grasses grow best when temperatures are between 60-80 degrees. Warm-season grasses grow best when temperatures are between 75-90 degrees.  Generally, the best time to plant grass seed is spring or early fall.

Follow these easy steps for planting news grass seed or filling in bare spots in your lawn.

This Will Tell You When To Plant Grass Seed

Before planting grass seed in a new area, it’s important to properly prepare the soil. First, work the soil using a sharp garden tool. Remove existing plants, weeds, rocks and stones. Then, mix in some organic material to help the soil retain water and rake it smooth. Next, spread starter fertilizer, not weed and feed fertilizer, over the prepared soil to improve germination and help the new grass grow.

Afterwards, sow the grass seed evenly by hand or with a spreader, according to the directions. Rake the seed into the top 1/8″ of soil. However, the key to growing grass seed is WATER.  Keep new grass seed watered for 10-14 days after planting.  Keep the soil moist and do not let it dry out.  Lack of water is the number one reason new grass seed does not grow.

Cool weather grass types include Kentucky Bluegrass, Fescue and Rye.

Warm weather grass types include Bermuda, Zoysia and St. Augustine.

Transitional grass types include mixtures of both warm and cool season grasses.

Make your first application of fertilizer about 6 to 8 weeks after germination.  If you plant in the spring be sure to use a weed and feed fertilizer recommended for your state. Weed and Feed is a common term which refers to fertilizer that contains weed killer for broadleaf weeds such as dandelions or grassy weeds like crabgrass.

Video: How To Select Grass Seed For Your Area

Try Scotts Turfbuilder Plus2 Weed and Feed or Sta Green Southern Weed and Feed.  If you plant in the fall use a fertilizer specifically for fall or winter. Try Sta Green Fall and Winter Fertilizer.

When To Fertilize Your Lawn

Southern lawns and Northern lawns cannot use the same type of fertilizers! They contain two very different chemicals that must be applied according to instructions.
Trimec is usually found in weed and feed for northern and transitional state grasses like Kentucky Blue.  It is a selective, contact, systemic herbicide that is a combination of three chemicals: 2, 4-D, dicambra and mecoprop, all of which are damaging to warm season grass.  Applied to a wet lawn, the granules of Trimec stick to the wet weeds and effectively kill them.

Atrazine, used in weed and feed formulas for warm season grasses like St. Augustine, is a selective herbicide that kills systemically through interruption of photosynthesis. The weeds absord the atrazine through its roots.  That stops the weeds ability to absord energy from the sun and they die.  Atrazine based product needs to be applied to a dry lawn.

In many states, early fall is the best time to seed because of its shorter days, cooler nights, and heavier dews. Your most successful seeding time is right around Labor Day. Seeding at this time gives your new seedlings time to build strong roots before the winter.

Spring is also a great time to plant cool-season grasses because of moderate temperatures and heavier rainfall. However, spring also provides a good environment for crabgrass to begin germinating.

If you want to prevent crabgrass from invading your newly planted grass, we recommend using Scotts Fertilizer Plus Crabgrass Preventer or you can try Sta Green CrabEx.  Both work great at controlling crabgrass.

Applying this to your established lawn will boost root development and prevent crabgrass.  Whether you’re planting a lawn that’s new or fixing an old one, some important elements should be considered before just throwing any grass seed around.

The type of lawn seed you choose is very important, and planting it properly is the only way you’ll have a healthy lawn.

By Victoria Stone