What is dormant seeding, and why should you care about it? Dormant seeding is the shortcut to a spotless spring lawn. You seed the lawn in late fall or winter when the soil is cold enough to prevent germination, and seeds sprout when the ground warms up in the spring.
The result is a thick, healthy lawn early in the growing season when your neighbors barely start to patch the bold spots. Want to learn more? Read this article to find out what dormant seeding is, when it’s the best time to use it, and what to expect from it the next year.
How dormant seeding works
Dormant seeding takes advantage of the low soil temperatures in late fall and winter and stores grass seeds in the ground for spring germination. Also known as cold seeding, winter seeding, snow seeding, or dormant planting, this seeding option is the most effective where winters are cold and wet.
During the cold season, repeated cycles of freeze and thaw break up the topsoil and create tiny pockets where grass seeds find a safe home. Winter rain and snow also work the dormant seeds further into the soil, away from birds, wind, and storms.
Once the soil gets warm enough in the spring, buried seeds germinate among the first plants on your lawn. Melting snow and spring rain ensure proper soil moisture, often without watering.
When done properly, dormant grass seeding allows your newly planted grass to grow along with the established turf into a perfectly green and thick spring lawn.
What is the best time for dormant grass seeding?
The best time to dormant seed a lawn is late fall through winter when the soil is too cold to support grass seed germination (below 50 degrees Fahrenheit) but not yet frozen. The typical dormant seeding window is between mid-November and early March but varies widely across the country.
For example, if you live in Vermont, November is the best month to dormant seed the lawn. In Kansas City, you can winter seed from December to March, but you’ll get the best results for seeds laid down in February. For the residents of Seattle, the dormant seeding season lasts from November to March.
To pinpoint the best time to dormant seed in your location:
Check the soil temperature a few days in a row. Use a soil thermometer or look the data up on a soil temperature app.
Watch the forecast and wait until the risk of warm spells has passed.
What’s the best temperature to dormant seed your lawn? Dormant seeding is commonly used for cool-season grasses. Their seeds germinate at 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and are typically seeded late summer to early fall (mid-August to September). To dormant seed them late fall to winter, wait until soil temperatures drop below 50 degrees F (under 40 degrees F if ryegrass is seeded).
What happens if you dormant seed too early? Your seeds might catch a warm spell and germinate. In this case, it won’t be dormant seeding anymore but a very late fall seeding. Seedlings that sprout late in fall can’t handle the winter cold. Most die, making your efforts useless.
What about snow? Will snow kill grass seed? Snow is a precious ally for dormant seeding. It protects the seeds from harsh temperatures, blizzards, and hungry birds.
Bob Mugaas and Sam Bauer from the University of Minnesota Extension say, “This method generally works best when the newly seeded areas are covered with several inches of snow soon after seeding that remains in place over the entire winter.”
Tip: Don’t spread seeds over thick snow — it limits seed-to-soil contact.