Grass Seed Guide: Cedar City

Grass Seed Guide

When it comes to putting grass in your yard, you may be disheartened by the high cost of sod and the limited varieties available. Seeding your own lawn is easy, significantly cheaper, and offers you a greater variety of grass types to best suit your area. Here we’ll review what type of grass seed is best for Cedar City and how to care for your new grass.

Best Grass Seed for Cedar City

Picking the correct type of grass for your climate and soil is essential for growing a healthy and beautiful lawn. For Cedar City residents, we recommend using a bluegrass blend for your grass seed. Bluegrass thrives in high sun to light shade conditions and is hardy enough to make it through the winter freeze. It’s also highly durable, grows in thick and lush, and has a great reputation for making a yard beautiful. There are also varieties that are drought-tolerant, meaning they can survive high heat spells and live longer without water than other grass types once established.

Bluegrass Care Recommendations

Once your lawn has been seeded and begins to grow, it’s time to start taking care of your lawn. The following are current recommendations for a beautiful, healthy bluegrass lawn:

Watering

When initially watering the lawn after seeding you will want to keep the ground damp, but not too wet until the grass seed grows.  This may mean a quick 5 minute watering 3 times per day for 3 weeks.  Once the new grass emerges you can back off watering till you’re eventually watering every other day. 

Once your seeded lawn has been established, it’ll only require about an inch of water per week to thrive. Take care not to overwater your lawn. If you have an automatic sprinkler system, have it skip a water cycle if you’ve received rain that week. In the fall, you can reduce your watering to an inch every 10-14 days.

Fertilization

Bluegrass is known for needing more fertilizer than other types of grass. The optimal soil pH level is around 5.8-7, you can easily check the pH of your soil with a home test. The first time you’ll fertilize per year is once the temperatures are consistently around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, then once again approximately 4-6 weeks later. You don’t need to fertilize your lawn during the summer months, but you’ll want to fertilize once more in early fall (typically early September). If you’re uncomfortable completing this task or would prefer to leave it to a pro, we’ll use products specific to Cedar City’s climate and get your lawn looking its best. 

Mowing

In the spring, you’ll start mowing your lawn as it starts growing. Bluegrass does best when cut to a height of 2.5 – 3.5 inches. During times of high heat or drought, allow your grass to grow to about 3 – 4 inches tall, and never remove more than ⅓ of the blade during a single mowing.

Weed Control

For weed control, never use any type of herbicide within 60 days of seeding or overseeding your lawn. This will kill the grass seed before it can become established. This exception aside, you’ll want to use a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring and fall to prevent weeds from taking root. To kill weeds that have already become established, use a post-emergent herbicide to spot-treat your lawn. 

Having a healthy, vibrant lawn is dependent on picking the correct type of seed and utilizing care practices specific to that grass seed. A bluegrass blend will thrive in Cedar City’s climate and, by following this care guide, you’re guaranteed to have a beautiful lawn. If you have any questions or need help, consult the pros here at Cedar Lawn Care to get your lawn looking its absolute best.