When to Overseed

The weather, kids, and pets can be tough on lawns. Lack of water, too much heat, wear & tear, and other problems can make it look worn and thin. You can help reinvigorate your lawn by overseeding. In the North, spring and fall give you the ideal conditions for cool-season grass seed: cooler temperatures and more moisture. In the South, late-spring through early-summer provide ideal conditions for overseeding warm-season grass. Just follow these simple steps to overseed for a thicker lawn.

Thicken Your Lawn by Overseeding

Why Overseed Your Lawn?

By applying grass seed over an existing lawn, you can help fill in bare spots and reinvigorate your lawn. It’s an easy and effective way to strengthen your lawn and thicken your grass to help naturally protect against weed problems.

Overseeding helps to:

1. Revive a worn and thin lawn
2. Fill in bare spots
3. Crowd out weeds by thickening lawn
4. Improve heat and drought tolerance

How to Overseed

1. Prep

Before overseeding your lawn, you should mow your lawn at the lowest setting and bag the clippings. This will allow the seed to come into contact with the soil when you spread it. After mowing, rake to remove debris, dead grass, and loosen soil.

2. Seed

Now comes the easy part. Fill up your Scotts® spreader with grass seed, adjusting the setting according to label directions and apply. For best results, use Scotts® Turf Builder® Starter® Food For New Grass before watering to help new grass grow thicker and quicker (vs unfed).

Seed Tip: Use the reseeding settings on the back of your seed package.

3. Water

To get your seed going, water your lawn once or twice per day based on weather conditions, until the new seedlings have reached the height of your existing lawn.

Water Tip: Use a water timer to help you mist your lawn frequently.

Lawn Tip: You can continue to mow your lawn as needed, but try to limit the activity on your lawn until your new seedlings have reached a mowing height.