Can I mix Grass Seeds Together?

Any seed you buy will already be a mixture of a variety of grass species blended to achieve certain purposes. Some mixtures may only include two grass species, whereas others may have seven or eight. So, mixing two mixtures together before sowing just halves the benefits of any one seed mixture, so not something to be recommended.

Blending Different Seed Areas

If you have two adjoining areas where two different grass seeds are to be used, blend them into each other. For example, you need to over seed an area about 1 metre wide down the shady side of a fence that is thinning.

Start by giving the strip a hard rake or scarify to really thin existing grasses. Then give a medium rake or scarify to the adjoining lawn so that you have a second strip about half to one metre wide for the full length of the strip to be over seeded. Make sure to retain at least 50% of the original grass here. The total area to be seeded is now 1.5 to 2 metres wide. The heavily scarified strip by the fence will now be dominated by your new seed, whilst the adjoining strip will be a mix of old and new. Once the new seed has germinated, it will gently merge from the new grass into the existing grass without any sudden change.

I Can’t Find the Right Grass Seed Mixture

This often happens. For example, a busy parent with kids and a dog wants a hard-wearing lawn that will grow slowly and only needs cutting once a month! Unfortunately, such a grass seed mixture doesn’t exist as slow growing means slow repairing and slow recovery after use. A hard-wearing lawn that can withstand heavy use needs to grow reasonably quickly so that it repairs itself constantly.

Similarly, seeds that put up with quite a lot of shade can’t withstand dry conditions. So, shade grasses are good for fence lines but not under trees where it is usually very dry once leaves are on the trees.

This means you are not going to always get what you need, so prioritise the special requirements you have for your lawn.

For kids and dogs, you need a good rye grass mixture and you’ll just have to be prepared to mow more often. Getting the right mower such as a rotary or even a robot mower will help reduce time inputs a lot.

For under trees use a drought tolerant seed and then see what you can do with the tree canopy to let some light through.

If you go to the Lawnsmith Grass Seed page, you can use the column on the far left to play around with your priorities and refine your choice. You can choose from:

• Usage such as games or for great looks
• Soil type – Clay, sandy or chalk
• Leaf type – fine or flat
• How green the grass is
• Growth rate from slow to fast
• Extreme conditions such as shade

In Summary

• Don’t mix different seed mixtures together
• Grass grows on the African plains and savannas in abundance and doesn’t grow in woodlands. Grass likes the sun
• Getting the right mixture for your lawn is sometimes a matter of trial and error
• If the conditions are not easy for growing grass you may need to over seed every spring
• Over seeding to change grass type may need repeated seedings over several years to affect a good change