Winter watering

c-town – posted 08 November 2003 06:19

Hi there,

Unique situation here. I’m a new homeowner in the Cleveland (OH) area and due to a combination of a city ordinance and a nightmare experience with a neglectful landscaper (that still won’t return my calls), we were forced to install our lawn very late in the season: the work (seed and straw) was not completed until November 5th.

I had the luck of rain the first couple days so I didn’t have to worry about what to do, but we’re coming up on a few days of sunny, dry weather and I’m not sure if watering will even do any good. I believe the high temp today is 37 degrees. From what I remember, the non-specific Lesco mixture is roughly 25-30% Kentucky blue, 30% ryegrass, and the rest fescue. Many thanks in advance for your help.

ted – posted 08 November 2003 12:05

yep. you’re in trouble. you’re temps are not, and won’t be warm enough for proper germination. you might get a little spotty germination off the ryegrass. your best shot is to reseed next spring, and then consider reseeding next fall in September. i don’t think watering will make up for the low temps.

c-town – posted 09 November 2003 15:17

thanks for the reply, ted. i did some more digging, which told me that the ground temp. needs to be 55F for germination to take place. guess i won’t bother with anything until spring…

ted – posted 10 November 2003 09:21

you did some good digging. you have the advantage of being in the “silicon valley” of grass in Ohio! all of the good research and seed labs are located in your state. Ohio State has alot of info on their web site, also Purdue has a whole bunch of info as well. I would say you’re probably looking at seeding in May, then may have to touchup in September. Don’t forget to soil test. You’ve got the premier soil testing lab in Westerville called CLC Labs- might want to call them for a test kit. Also, check with your local Lesco Service Center- they ahve alot of products you can’t might at your local hardware store

c-town – posted 10 November 2003 17:51

very cool – thanks again for the continued advice. it will definitely come in handy come spring.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 17 November 2003 09:59

Do an Internet search on Frost Seeding and see what you find.

ted – posted 18 November 2003 09:22

yeah, there’s alot of folklore out there about “seeding in the snow”, but i think with the university research that’s been done, it makes alot more sense to spend your money when the seed has the greatest change of germination, and that’s generally when air temps are in the 70’s and low 80’s