TIPS ON WHEN TO PLANT
(Fescues, Kentucky Bluegrass, Bentgrass,
grasses are planted from the upper south and Midwest to
Northern areas. These year-round green
grasses are best planted in the fall and spring of each year.
Early fall is considered by turf experts to be the best planting
date because this allows for more growing time under ideal growth
conditions (fall and spring growing season). Spring is considered
second best. In some cases, planting in both fall and spring
(2 times) can work
to increase successful cover on problem areas.
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES ARE
BETWEEN 60 & 75 DEGREES:
Cool season grasses grow best when the soil
temperatures are between 50 and 65 degrees F. These
temperatures usually occur when the daytime air temperatures are
between 60 and 75 degrees. High temperatures of summer can
cause these plants to go dormant and thus planting during summer is
asking for problems. Thus start planting your cool season
grass seeds when the temperatures reach 75 and are dropping as fall
/ winter approaches. Or have reached 60 and are rising in the
spring. Planting in summer can occur, but irrigation becomes a
critical factor in establishment. Planting when night time
temperatures are above 70 should be avoided
Dormancy often occurs in cool
season growth at temperatures above 90 and below 50 degrees.
Basically they stop growing when dormancy occurs. Also, be
aware that a freezes and/or frost can damage or kill immature
seedlings that have not had enough growing time to harden off to
survive a return to dormancy. That is why you should be
careful about planting once soil temps are declining below 50
degrees. When day highs start going below 55 and the danger of
a freeze or frost is present, you will have a HIGHER risk of the
possibility of encountering problems.
Possible Problems With Late Seeding of Cool Season Grass
First the seeds may be slow and
sporadic to germinate or perhaps even not germinate.
Secondly once temps are below 50
degrees you have a higher risk of an immediate freeze or frost
occurring. Should that happen right around the time your
seedlings emerge, you run the risk of the freeze/frost damaging or
Third even should you have a warm
spell and the seedlings germinate, they could still die in the
winter simply because as temps cool down they will not grow much...
which means they will have "little" in the way of "food" stored in
their root system. In this case they could simply die of
Best course of action unless you
don't mind the risk of failure in late seeding is to wait until
Seeding too late in spring /
early summer runs a risk of high heat & diseases taking a toll on your cool season grass seed.
SEASON GRASS AREAS
TIPS ON WHEN TO PLANT
WARM SEASON GRASSES
(Bahiagrass, Centipede, Zoysia,
Warm season grasses are
planted from the upper south and mid-west to Southern areas.
seasonal grasses are best planted in the spring to late spring / early summer of each
year. Early summer is considered by turf experts to be the best planting
date because summer temperatures and rainfall allow for faster germination and
rapid establishment of the grass. (Planting in most
Southern US areas can occur from March through August - Later summer planting is
possible further south - April/May may be earliest window for planting in more
Northern state locations).
PLANT WHEN DAYTIME TEMPERATURES ARE
80+ DEGREES (Soil temp of 70+
Warm season grasses grow best when the soil temperatures
are above 70 degrees F. These temperatures usually occur when the daytime
air temperature reaches around 80 degrees. Night time temps are also a
GOOD indicator of the soil temps... When night time temps are 65-70 degrees your
soil temps should be very close to the same temperature. Cool temperatures can inhibit
germination and also cause adult plants to go dormant. Thus planting in the fall
is more risky both because germination might occur and because of potential risk
of damage to smaller seedlings from an early frost or freeze
Most failures with
warm season grasses occur because of planting too early!
If you are anxious and start planting warm
season grasses while the soil temp is still cool in early spring...
This can result in weeds germinating (while your seeds wait for
warmer temps) and taking up plant "turf space" limiting the intended
grass from germination in that area. Later when your new grass
seeds germinate a lot of the turf space is already occupied by
larger robust weeds that take valuable resources from your new grass
(Weeds soak up moisture, nutrients, sunlight and occupy real estate
/ soil area)
BEST RESULTS PLANTING WARM SEASON GRASS SEED
Occur with Planting in late spring or early summer. This is best for warm
season grasses once temperatures (soil 65-70 degrees plus are ideal) reach acceptable levels AND
all danger of freeze / frost is past.
Fall Planting Risks For Warm Season Grass:
In the fall you should not plant a warm season grass later than 60 days
before first frost (in southern areas) and 90 days before first frost in more
Northern cooler locations. This deadline is so as to allow for growth of a
warm season grass to reach enough maturity (by storing food reserves) to survive
winter dormancy. Sod & Sprigs of Warm Seasons grasses will not produce roots
unless the soil temperature exceeds 55o F for several weeks -- so those of you who are planting sod or plugs should take this into consideration. Also, be aware that a freeze
and/or frost can damage or kill immature seedlings that have not had enough
growing time to 'harden off' to survive a return to dormancy when temperatures