Overseeding Pros and Cons
Overseeding is a tempting, and often, smart choice for Phoenix residents. It ensures green, lush grass throughout most of the year, but it does come with work and maintenance. Before you decide to overseed your lawn, here are the pros and cons brought to you by the Arizona Landscape Contractors Association.
Overseeding Pros:
- Nice, green lawns from October to April
- Great entertainment and recreation surface
- Enhances sports field playing surfaces
- Creates a lush lawn that protects the area from erosion and can protect Bermuda grass from foot-traffic damage or heavy play
- No dead straw grass (both in and out of your home)
- Turf cuts down on dust and creates a desirable microclimate
Overseeding Cons:
- Costs – labor, seed, extra water for germination
- Uses significantly more water than the alternative dormant Bermuda grass
- Maintenance expenses – mowing, fertilizing, irrigation management
- Environmental costs – fossil fuels, air pollution from lawn equipment, fertilizer manufacture
- Process can be disruptive – low mowing and watering several times per day during
germination, staying off the grass for a couple weeks - Stresses existing Bermuda grass
Tips From Landscapers
- Only overseed the areas you use most
- In colder months, reduce mowing to every other week
- Ask your landscape contractor to adjust irrigation often using the ET (evapotranspiration)
rate from AZMET (Arizona Meteorological Network) or a smart controller to reduce water waste - Consider rotating some overseeded areas each year, allowing the Bermuda to rest every 1 – 2
years and reinvigorate summer lawns - Mulch clippings as much as possible
Talk to your local landscapers before making any decisions on your lawn. The experts at Victor’s Landscaping, Inc. are here to answer every question.
