If you're a novice when it comes to lawn care - or, more specifically, growing a new lawn from seed - you may find yourself asking the question "how many blades of grass grow one seed?"
This is a far more common question than you may think and one that carries a certain weight of importance when it comes to growing the perfect, lush green lawn.
So, if you're in the process of growing a new lawn or are just curious to know, we take a look at this very question right here in this blog!
Does one blade of grass grow from one seed?
In short, there is no definitive answer to how many blades of grass grow from one individual seed as there can be multiple. Think of grass as a plant and the blades like a leaf. With a regular plant, you can never determine how many leaves will be produced from a single seed and the same goes for a lawn. A clumping grass will multiply and produce many shoots. Many grass seeds can produce 10 to 16 leaves/blades per seed, all of which compete for resources to survive.
If you plant too densely, the blades of grass will fight with each other and none will thrive. The losers will be left to rot whereas the winners will be weakened.
Common problems with overseeding
Overseeding a new lawn does bring several issues that impact the way grass seeds germinate and grow. Knowing and understanding these problems will only help to further your lawn care knowledge and hopefully help you to achieve the lawn you've always wanted.
Here are some of the issues that you're lawn can experience as a result of overseeding.
Increased competition
As we touched upon above, by overseeding your new lawn, you unintentionally cause an increase in competition between the seedlings which can actually harm your lawn instead of helping it.
All plants, including grass, need enough space for their roots to spread. However, by spreading grass seeds thickly across your soil, you begin to encourage root competition between the seedlings as they begin to grow. This can cause some seeds to push through quickly and take their portion of nutrients and moisture while others fail to establish their roots at all. This results in a lawn that looks patchy and sore to look at with continued competition between the remaining seeds.
Decreased structure quality
When you create a highly competitive soil environment as a result of overseeding, the seedlings that do eventually get established, do so with a decreased physical structure.
As a result of limited nutrients, the surviving grass blades grow to have a thin shape that gets destroyed under footfall and harsh environmental conditions. Factors that they would usually survive with proper seed distribution. As a result of poor structure quality, during the summer months, the hotter temperatures will cause the grass to die back even after several months of establishment, causing your lawn to look more patchy and even worse than before.
Reduced rate of germination
As a result of overseeding, each individual grass seed competes for access to soil. Some gain access very quickly with others never touching the soil at all. This causes a huge problem as for germination to begin, the seed will need to be in contact with your soil. Not only does this cause a problem for the seeds that do not reach the soil, but it can also cause a problem for the seeds that do as the seeds on top can impact seedling growth, inhibiting establishment and creating a slow-growing lawn.
Typical grass seed germination ranges between one and three weeks, however, stacked seeds on the soil can cause the period to extend even longer.
Overseeding tips and advice
To avoid these problems, it's important to understand and know what to do when it comes to seeding your new lawn. Here at Lawn & Weed Expert, we have over 20 years of experience in lawn care and in that time have helped numerous lawns to grow some seed, gaining an invaluable insight into what to do and what not to do.
You can take a look at some of the overseeding tips and advice that we have to share on our page below.
Overseeding Tips & Advice >
We understand that growing a new lawn from seed takes time, care and attention. Something that many people may not have, despite wanting a lush lawn for their property.
That's where we come in! Contact the Lawn & Weed Expert team today to learn all about our seeding services to help you achieve the lawn you've always dreamed of!
