October Is
The Best Time To
Overseed Your Lawn
The best time of the year to over
seed your lawn in eastern North
Carolina is during October. Over
seeding is the practice of planting
and establishing annual cool-season
grass in an established perennial
warm-season grass. Overseeding
should be used ONLY on healthy
iawns. Fooi, weak or diseased iawns
are likely to he injured by overseed
ing. Centipedegrass,
St. Augustinegrass and carpet
grass can easily be damaged by
heavy or routine overseeding.
Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass
can best tolerate overseeding. How
ever, overseeding is stressful to any
stand of warm-season grass and, un
der the right spring and summer
conditions, the entire underlying
stand of perennial grass can be
killed!
The most common overseeded
species is annual or Italian ryegrass
(Lolium multiflorum) . Annual rye
grass is inexpensive to plant, quick
to germinate, tolerant to a wide
spectrum of environmental and soil
conditions and is rarely killed by
winter cold in southeastern North
Carolina. The seeding density is
very important. A high seeding rate
(10 to 20 pounds per 1.000 square
feet) requires greater maintenance,
is more prone to disease and insect
problems, and can cause severe
damage to the base stand of grass
the following spring. A low seeding
rate will not provide adequate cover
age or aesthetic appeal An annual
ryegrass seeding rate of 4 to 8 pearls
of seed per 1 ,000 square feet is ade
quate for most home lawns.
For those of you that must seed
your centipedegrass, St. Augustine
grass. or carpctgrass lawns, use no
more than 5 pounds of annual rye
grass seed per 1 .000 square feet.
The four steps to successful over
seeding arc: proper seedbed prepara
tion. good seed distribution and es
tablishment. proper mowing, and
rapid spring transition
Seedbed Preparation
Seed must be in firm contact with
the soil or thatch layer for germina
tion. Using a rotary mower, mow
lawn on the lowest beight-of-cut set
ting. This will result in a brown
"scalped" lawn. Next, use a soft rake
to gently scratch the soil surface and
thatch Collect and compost any
thatch or dead grass You are now
ready to seed Improper see?fi>cd
preparation can result in a weak,
yellow, patchy stand of ryegrass
Seeding Aad hstaMlshment
Maximum stand uniformity is ac
complished by using a centrifugal or
drop-type spreader Apply half of
the total seed in one direction and
the second half of the seed in a di
rection perpendicular to the first. I
prefer to use a drop spreader around
plant beds, walks or other garden
structures because this minimizes
the seed thrown in plant beds and
produces a clean definition in the
overseeded area. Immediately after
seeding, drag a piece of old carpet
ing over the seeded area in a large
circular pattern This will help work
the seed into the turf and distribute
the seed evenly in the lawn.
Plan to irrigate the lawn immedi
ately after seeding. Three or four
daily, brief (10 to 15 minutes) irriga
tions will be required for at least 10
days to ensure a good, uniform ger
mination of all seed.
Mowing And Fertilization
Plan to mow your overseed lawn
when ryegrass is approximately 3
inches tall A dull mower will de
stroy a new stand so be sure rotary
or reel mower is sharp. Do not cut
more than 30 percent of the leaf
blade at any one mowing. For exam
pic. SCi iTiOVr'Ci iC Cut gTSSS at 2 IP.ch
es if the height of the grass is 3 inch
es. If a lower cut is desired, then
plan to cut grass more frequently but
never remove more than 30 percent
of the leaf blade during a single
mowing.
Plan to fertilize your overseeded
lawn after the second or third mow
ing. Use 5 pounds of 10-10-10 or 8
8-8 quick -release fertilizer or 7
pounds of 16-4-8 slow-release fertil
izer per 1.000 square feet. Annual
ryegrass responds to frequent but
low rates of nitrogen fertilizer.
Remember, the objective of fertiliz
ing your lawn is to maintain a uni
form green color and not to grow
enough grass to feed a dairy herd.
Spring lYansition
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In mid-April and early May the
base warm-season grass will be
THE
IPIANT
DOCTOR
C. BRUCE
WILLIAMS
Extension Arta
Turf Specialist
breaking dormancy and emerging
from the soil. A heavy stand of rye
grass can out-compete the warm
season grass for nutrients and mois
ture under certain environmental
conditions. During this time, it is
important to switch cultural prac
tices to those that favor the warm
SCdMJIl gldM.
Reduce mowing height to 1 inch
or less in Bermuda or zoysiagrass
lawns. Reduce mowing height in
centipede, carpet or St. Augustine
grass lawns to the recommended
mowing height for that species.
Reduce or stop irrigation for several
weeks. Warm-season grasses are
quite tolerant to drought, but rye
grass is not. Initiate the recommend
ed fertility program for the warm
season grass base.
Hps For Managing
Overseeded Lawns
5 Apply fertilizers only when
grass is actively growing. Minimize
the use of nitrate fertilizers. Use
slow-release or organic sources of
nitrogen when possible. Apply very
low rates frequently, rather than
heavy doses infrequently.
? Manage irrigation. An over
seeded lawn requires a great deal
more water than a dormant lawn.
Plan on applying an average of one
half-inch of irrigation water per
week on a winter overseeded lawn.
Excessive watering will cause dis
ease problems.
3 Crasscyc'.e! Mow ryegrass fre
quently and leave the clippings on
the lawn. If clippings are bagged,
then compost them. Grass clippings
compost rapidly because they are
loaded with nitrogen and potassium.
? Use integrated pest manage
ment strategies to monitor and iden
tify potential pest problems. DO
NOT treat with insecticides, fungi
cides, or herbicides unless you have
a specific pest problem!
? Soil test. Now is a great time
to send in soil samples. Soil analysis
reduces excessive or unnecessary
fertiliser implication Contact your
local N.C. Cooperative Extension
Service for free soil test boxes and
forms.
Send your gardening comments
and questions to the Plant Doctor,
PO Box 109, Bolivia NC 28422.
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