Core Aeration and Seeding

When should the lawn be seeded?

Late August, September and October is the best time of year to rejuvenate your fescue lawn. Fescue grows and develops in cooler temperatures much better than hot weather. We suggest doing the aeration and seeding while the soil temperatures are warm rather than waiting until late fall. The seed will need to be kept constantly moist for a much shorter period of time before germination if seeded early in the fall. The young grass will also have more time to develop before the colder temperatures come in and slow it down. The better developed your new fescue grass can be going into the heat of the next summer, the better chances it will have of surviving the heat, drought and fungus that can cause irreparable damage.

Fescue has no real way of spreading and reproducing itself like bermuda grass or zoysia grass does. Although some new leaf generation occurs from the crowns of the plants, new crowns and new plants do not form. Thus the need to re-seeding your fescue periodically. DENSITY is the key to a healthy, weed free lawn. Without proper density, the Pre-emergent treatments that we put out in the spring will break down quickly and allow crabgrass and other weeds to infest the lawn.

Southeastern Clay soils can become very compact. This inhibits the ability of both newly seeded fescue and established  fescue to form a strong deep root system. The stronger the root system becomes, the greener, healthier and thicker your fescue lawn will be. Core aeration also helps to keep the seed moist during the germination stage. The seed must remain moist during this stage or it will never mature.