Ten months in and two to go, and 2026 will be in the rear-view mirror. I get asked quite a bit this time of year, what is the latest we can put out grass seed? Well, the truth of the matter is, if it is good perennial seed you can do it anytime. If it gets too cold too soon, the seed will just sit on the soil until next spring before it germinates. But then of course you run the risk of it washing or blowing away before it has a chance to sprout out in the spring.

What they're really asking is - how long do they have to get seed growing this fall? There really isn't just one answer as it all depends on how fast the weather turns cold. In mid-December 2014 when my daughter got married, it was sixty-eight degrees outside, which meant we could take all the wedding photos outside with the mums and fall flowers as a nice backdrop as opposed to snow and ice. That year you could throw seed down as late as December 10th and still have it grow, but that is not the norm. Generally, you can plant grass seed right up to about Thanksgiving and still have it germinate in the fall. Now, you won't be mowing it probably at all this year as it is not going to grow very tall in the cold. The key is that you need good seed, don't buy the cheap contractor's mix seed as it is mostly annual seed.

Annual seed comes up the fastest, but it is like a marigold, once the frost hits it, it's dead. You need perennial grass seed only, read the label as even some of the landscaper mix blends have some annual seed in it. So why would anyone want to plant grass seed this time of year anyway? Well, the most common reason is that they had work done around the house that required some digging and they have bare patches everywhere around the house. But other times it is just because it is a good time to throw down some seed to thicken up your lawn for next year. By sowing the seed now as opposed to April, the grass roots have a chance to grow under the soil all winter long while the top of the grass is dormant and not placing any demands on the roots.

In the spring, as soon as the seed germinates it wants to actively grow so the roots have to be able to fulfill all the needs as the plant is actively growing. Winter roots have no demands placed upon them and by having a thicker lawn in the spring, the grass actually chokes out weeds. Now if you are putting seed down over bare ground you will still need to give it a light cover of straw just like you would in the spring. If overseeding to just thicken the lawn up, just throw the seed out and walk away, mother nature will do the rest. If you have a lot of leaves on your yard right now, mow and mulch those leaves up before putting out new seed as you want the seed to be able to fall down to the ground and not get stuck on top of leaves where it could blow away when the leaves blow. Seeding now to thicken your lawn will save both time and energy in the spring when we never seem to have enough time or energy.