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When to Plant Grass Seed in Colorado

Seeding
4 min read

When should you plant grass seed in Colorado? Before you begin preparing for your new lawn, take advantage of advice from the knowledgeable team at Jonathan Green.

Jonathan Green has been growing beautiful lawns for six generations (since 1881). Today, we are a major supplier of genetically superior cool season grass seed, fertilizers, soil enhancers, organics, and weed, insect, and disease control products to the professional lawn care markets. Our products will transform your lawn and help it thrive.

When to Plant

In most parts of Colorado, cool-season grasses like Black Beauty can be seeded in March or April, as soon as temperatures begin to warm up.

Along the Front Range and Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains, the optimal time to plant is early fall (mid-August to mid-September). Warmer soil temperatures and consistent rainfall at this time of year encourage faster seed germination and deeper roots that will help the grass plants get established before winter sets in. You will also have less competition from summer weeds, such as crabgrass.

Select the Best Grass Seed

The original Black Beauty® Original Grass Seed blend is grown by sod growers across the United States. It grows roots up to 4-feet deep and produces a naturally darker-green turf with excellent disease resistance and drought tolerance due to a waxy leaf coating that helps preserve moisture and wards off environmental stress. This seed blend grows well in clay or sandy soils and in full sun or partial shade and will thrive even under adverse growing conditions. It germinates in 10 to 14 days.

Get Ready to Plant

Prepare the area. Remove all dead grass, weeds, and other debris (sticks, stones, etc.) from the area. Level out any areas where excess water might collect.

Test the soil pH. You can purchase a Soil pH Test Kit for Lawns from our online store or your local hardware or garden supply store. Ensure that the soil pH is between 6.2 and 7.0. If not, use Jonathan Green Mag-I-Cal® for Lawns in Acidic Soil to rapidly balance the pH and help the lawn grow greener and healthier. Apply Mag-I-Cal® for Lawns in Acidic Soil when seeding, and adjust the application rate as the pH of the soil improves.

Loosen the soil. Loosen the top half-inch of soil.  If the soil is very compacted, Love Your Soil® will loosen and aerate it, feed the soil microbes, make the soil more alive and porous, and enhance root and root mass development. Love Your Soil® can be applied on the same day as the grass seed.

Fertilize. Before seeding, fertilize with Jonathan Green Veri-Green Starter Fertilizer for Seeding & Sodding. This high phosphorus formula will help build a vigorous root system and get new grass off to a fast start, resulting in a thicker, greener lawn. Do not use crabgrass or weed killers before or after planting grass seed.

Plant the seed. Apply your preferred Black Beauty® grass seed mixture with a Jonathan Green Deluxe Broadcast Spreader.  Distribute the seed as evenly as possible, and lightly rake it in to the top ¼ inch of soil. Seed-to-soil contact is important for achieving maximum germination.

Water. Keep the seedbed moist for several weeks while the grass seed germinates and the new turfgrass gets established. Water daily and possibly twice daily if it’s hot and the water evaporates quickly, until the new grass is two inches high.

For more information about when to plant grass seed in Colorado and how to prepare for planting, visit us online at JonathanGreen.com or visit your nearest independent hardware or garden center for expert lawn care advice.

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