Exactly what does grass seed need to grow? You might think that seeding a new lawn is easy, but it’s far from just sprinkling the seed and waiting for your new lawn.
Germination is a complex biological process, that requires a very niche set of circumstances. You should consider how environmental factors are just as important as any preparation you may do.
What weather for grass seed?
It’s quite simple really, grass seed needs two main things to grow – warmth and moisture. So it’s best that you wait for the soil temperature to be above 8 degrees Celsius. The easy way to know it’s warm enough is when the average daily air temperatures are reaching double figures.
Your new lawn seed will need adequate moisture to get growing too. We usually suggest that you sow grass seed in the spring and in the autumn because we have plenty of rainfall, but that doesn’t prohibit sowing outside those seasons. 2019 has already bought us some unusually wet weather even late into the spring, meaning that late sowings are still quite possible.
Why doesn’t grass seed grow?
It’s not uncommon for sowings to completely fail, especially if you plant your grass seed to early or too late. It can be difficult to judge sometimes but the best time for planting grass seed is usually between March and September. You should read our whole article about that here. Make sure that you don’t sow the seed too deep either – grass seed should only ever be sown very shallow, just a few millimeters beneath the soil surface.
Can you sow grass seed now?
Throughout the summer in the UK, sowing grass seed is usually successful. During particularly dry months, a little irrigation might be useful, especially if you have light and well-draining soil. Remember the two most important climatic conditions – warmth, and moisture, at all times.
Ready to plant your grass seed?
Choose a seed mixture now, by browsing our lawn shop.
