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Q • I seeded several bare areas in my lawn with tall fescue a few weeks ago, but nothing came up. I prepared the soil well and kept it moist, and the seed had a high germination percentage. What went wrong?
A • Quality seed and proper soil preparation followed by consistent moisture are key to successfully establishing turfgrass from seed, but there are a few other factors that may have caused the failure.
Like most plants started from seed, tall fescue has an optimal temperature for germination. For tall fescue, soil temperatures should average about 60 to 75 degrees. Germination will be much slower if soils are cooler than that.
Because our soil has been warm enough, the other possibility is herbicide interference. Preemergence herbicides commonly applied in the spring to prevent crabgrass and other weeds from germinating will also prevent turfgrass seed from germinating. Most preemergence herbicide labels indicate waiting at least 4 months after application before attempting to grow anything from seed, but check the product label for details.
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Mesotrione is the only active ingredient with preemergence activity that does not inhibit cool-season turfgrass seeds from germinating, so products containing mesotrione are safe to use at or before seeding.
Write to the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Home Gardening at [email protected] or the Horticulture Answer Service, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110.
Write to the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Home Gardening at [email protected] or the Horticulture Answer Service, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110.