AskLawnsmith - Lawn care advice

Grass Seed for New Lawns

All Lawnsmith® grass seed mixtures make for great lawns in the right circumstances. In other words, you may WANT an ornamental lawn but if you've got kids and a dog it won't last five minutes. Therefore you NEED a family lawn grass seed. It may not be ornamental but it'll survive and look good.

So ALWAYS pick a lawn seed that will survive whether that's use 'n abuse, shade, poor soil or a combination. If you're lucky to have no testing factors then feel free to pick the one you like the most.

Grass Seed for Patching and Renovations

For renovations or after scarifying where you spread new seed all over the existing lawn choose the grass seed you'd like to have more of or which will be the best for your use. You don't have to worry about a perfect match.

However, for patching or minor repairs choose a grass seed mixture that is as close to your existing lawn grass as possible:

• If your lawn is ALL fine bristle like grasses then repair with Lawnsmith® Ornamental
• If your lawn is a mixture of slightly flat leaved and fine bristle like grasses then repair with Lawnsmith® Classic
• If your lawn is mainly flat leaved grasses then repair with Lawnsmith® Easygreen
• If your repair is in damp or damp shady areas your only choice is to repair with Lawnsmith® Shadygreen
• If your repair is in dry or dry shady areas on a mixed or mainly flat leaved lawn repair with Lawnsmith® Staygreen
• If your repair is in dry or dry shady areas on fine bristle like grasses then repair with Lawnsmith® Ornamental

Low Maintenance!

Be cautious about low maintenance claims particularly for so-called 'Luxury Grass Seeds without Rye Grass'. The term low maintenance is often used to describe grasses that grow slowly and therefore need less mowing. Though Luxury Grass or Ornamental Grass varieties do grow more slowly they need mowing more frequently to keep them in good condition and also require raking or scarifying at least annually. This is NOT what I call low maintenance!

In the rating box for all our grass seed mixtures we have a maintenance rating that takes into consideration all aspects of lawn care including mowing frequency, raking, scarifying, aeration, fertilisation and weed control:

Guaranteed Quality

Our grass seed is selected from one of the oldest and largest grass seed suppliers and blenders in northern England. Here, grass seed is sourced from Europe’s top breeders to provide mixtures suitable for fantastic lawns, great sports turf and golf courses.

In addition, varieties are selected for their excellent characteristics whether that is drought tolerance, colour, recovery etc. All are STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) rated.

No Weed Seeds

All seed requires compulsory Certification through the EEC for germination and purity. Our seed is the highest rated and has therefore achieved the additional HVS (Higher Voluntary Standard) Certification.

New Dwarf Rye Grass is a Good Option

Rye grass can be coarse, however, ours is a specially selected dwarf amenity grass with an excellent emerald colour. We use it in some of our mixtures as it enhances the look and improves the durability of a lawn.

It’s Fresh and it will Keep

Seed is harvested from May to September so the seed you use in April will be from the previous year. This is normal but to assure users that our seed is as fresh as possible we bag it straight after harvesting and all 5, 10 and 20 kilo bags are sealed with a dated green Certification label . This means customers storing unused seed in a cool, dark, dry area can be confident of satisfactory germination for at least 3 years.

How Much Seed do you Need?

Each grass seed variety has its own page in the Grass Seed Section; the sowing rates for new lawns or for over sowing is at the bottom of the page. Always order 10 to 20% more than needed to accommodate errors in spreading and or measuring. More may be required if bird attack is anticipated. It is also a good idea to have a quantity (10% to 20%) left over for patching and repairs over the following few years.

Great Value...

Pound for pound you will find our prices hard to beat. Add in our quality, purity, freshness and advice and you definitely won't find better!  

..and if you want more advice on new lawns, choosing the right grass, preparation, sowing grass seed and aftercare...