Overseeding Your Lawn in Tennessee - LawnPro

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Overseeding Your Lawn in Tennessee

August 31, 2022


If your lawn in Tennessee is looking thin and unhealthy, or you have bare spots you can’t get rid of, you may want to overseed the lawn when the time is right. We’re in a “transition zone” where we don’t have perfect conditions for one type of turfgrass all year. Our summers are too hot and dry for cool season grasses like Fescue to thrive unless you have an irrigation system and our winters cause warm season grasses to go dormant.

When to Overseed:

In Tennessee, the ONLY time to overseed your lawn is in the fall (September to October), when the cooler temperatures are just right for cool-season grasses. There is enough moisture in the ground to encourage proper seed germination, and the cooler air will stimulate grass growth. Fall is the best time of year for core aeration and overseeding. Fall seeding will have a better root system established to help handle the stresses that summer brings if overseeding is done in September and October.

Overseeding grass is when you apply grass seed to an already established lawn. Before beginning overseeding have your lawn core aerated. Core aeration is one of the best things you can do for your lawn and is ideal for preparing the lawn for overseeding. It mechanically removes small plugs of thatch and soil from the lawn to improve natural soil aeration and increases the penetration of air, water, and nutrients into the root zone of your lawn Core aeration also relieves soil compaction and stimulates new growth.

Benefits of Overseeding: 

  1. Improves grass thickness, color, and overall appearance
  2. Repels disease, insects, and weeds
  3. Increase optimal root growth 
  4. Reduces erosion
  5. No chemicals or pesticides necessary!

Other Overseeding Considerations:

Before you begin your lawn renovation, be sure to mow the lawn a little shorter than usual. Fescue lawns should normally be maintained at 3-4” in height. Your existing grass will also benefit from the starter fertilizer so it will grow quickly while the new seed is waiting to grow. You should try not to mow your lawn after it’s been overseeded until the new grass has germinated and reached 3-4″ in height. The newly overseeded lawn will need to be kept moist! This may mean lightly misting or watering 2 or three times a day to keep the soil moisture levels ideal for germination and new growth. For an established lawn, an inch of water per week is a good guideline to follow.

When you’re ready to overseed your lawn in Tennessee, LawnPro of Murfreesboro will help you achieve the nicest-looking lawn on the block! Give us a call at 615-653-3871 to set up your appointment today!