Fall Lawn Seeding vs. Spring: What’s Best For Your Maryland Lawn

The way your yard looks helps you feel like you’re contributing to a positive, thriving, beautiful community. You certainly don’t want to be the sole house on the block with brown grass that’s full of weeds and generally looks unkempt and unloved.

As fall approaches though, you may not be thinking about your yard as much as you usually do. But taking important steps now can ensure your lawn looks like the best one on your street come springtime.

We’re talking about fall lawn seeding. If you want to save time and money building the greenest, thickest lawn, autumn is the ideal time to take action.

Why? Timing is probably the biggest factor when it comes to the best time to overseed in Maryland. Let’s look at some of the reasons why fall reigns supreme for seeding.

Fall Lawn Seeding vs. Spring

You have more than enough schedules to manage in your day: your work schedule, your family’s schedule, each child’s schedule. They help keep you focused to accomplish daily must-dos.

lawn care professional pours grass seed into spreader

Well, your lawn has a schedule, too. In fact, if you’re seeding grass based on its optimal growing period, you can maximize your chances of seed germination. This means you get a thicker lawn and waste less seed and time getting the end results you seek.

And when it comes to fall vs. spring lawn seeding, early fall is best for Maryland lawns. There are quite a few reasons why.

Longer Establishment Time

When you plant seed in early fall, you are basically giving that seed two major growth seasons before you hit the hot summer months when grass will be stressed the most.

fall lawn seeding

First, you get fall as a chance for those lawn roots to sink themselves into the soil, and then you get spring for that top growth to follow suit and thicken up.

Less Weed Pressure

One of the worst weeds -- crabgrass -- is its strongest in the spring. It is major competition for young lawns trying to thicken up, especially if there are bare spots where it can sneak in and take over.

lawn care professional holding crabgrass weed in spring

Fall lawn seeding means you don't have the same weed pressure or competition. When you plant grass seed in fall, your lawn gets a better chance to get tough and thicken up to better fight weeds during the biggest weed season: spring.

You Need Less to Water

Soil moisture naturally stays more consistent in the fall. The days are shorter and the sun’s angle is changing -- it’s much less intense.

This is an all-around better environment in which turfgrass can grow. This is why it’s the best time to overseed in Maryland.

You Save Time & Money

While seeding a lawn in spring is certainly possible, it’s not ideal. It’s something we like to describe as a bandaid effect.

With spring’s weed pressure and lack of time before the heat and drought of summer, your chances for great seed germination are lower. You’ll get some germination, but not as much as you can get if you did fall lawn seeding vs. spring.

Picking the Perfect Season for Lawn Seeding

We hope we gave you some good reasons and research to consider fall lawn seeding. While you may not be thinking about seeding your lawn at this time, you could get the jumpstart on spring that you need to guarantee great results.

lawn care professional lawn seeding in fall or spring

We know figuring out all the intricacies and preferences of lawn care can be a challenge. You have to understand the weather, growing conditions of your specific seed, mowing, and watering practices to keep that turf growing strong, as well as other treatments and protocols to keep weeds down and avoid any big problems. We hope this knowledge on the best time to overseed in Maryland gives you some insight into ways you can make your lawn look better.

If the whole process gets confusing and you have trouble figuring out what to do to improve your lawn, give Natural Green a call. We’re happy to come to take a look at your lawn and help you put a plan in place to give it the boost it needs.

Want to improve your lawn’s health, eliminate bare spots, and create a thicker, greener lawn? Natural Green Systems can help. Get started today with a free quote. Together, we’ll customize a plan that gives you the most attractive lawn around.

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