Now is the time to schedule winter lawn overseeding in Phoenix, Arizona for the fall and winter months. We begin to prepare our seed order and start our scheduling process for all the work to be done in October. We try to get all customers to contact us before September 15th for our seed order to be delivered on October 1st. We start scalping as early as the last week in September and start spreading seed on October 1st.
We try not to overseed after October 31st but if it is necessary we will do this service in November but will require a mulch topper in order for the seed to germinate after temperatures get into the 50’s and below. Best time for overseeding is when we are in the 60’s at night, it can be a little warmer but not much. After it gets colder than that the seed takes much more time to germinate.
The process of overseeding starts with scalping the yard and thatching areas where dead grass (thatch) is collected. We can sometimes just rake out small patches if the whole yard does not need thatched to expose the soil. After that, we lay down the seed in 1 lb per 100 square feet. We recommend Perennial rye seed since it is a thinner blade grass that holds less water and makes mowing a lot easier. Watering needs to be set to 3 times per day for at least 2 weeks during germination to keep the seed moist without to much pooling or puddling of water. We water at 8am, Noon, and 4pm for 4-6 minute cycles with pop-up sprinklers or 10-15 minute cycles with rotors. Keep an eye on the soil to make sure there is not pooling of water for 2-3 weeks.
Mowing for the first time will take place 4 weeks after the installation and that is also when you fertilize the turf and fill in bare areas with a little more seed. Usually after 6-8 weeks you have a great looking lawn.
If you have any other questions or would like a more detailed list of exactly what’s included in our regular landscape maintenance please give us a call at (602) 944-0421 or check out our website, www.azlawns.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel and you can also follow us on Facebook.com/AMSLandscaping or on twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @azlawns.
