One of the most common mistakes people make when planting their lawn is they plant too early in the year or too late in the year. Both of these times result in too cold of temperatures for good germination or too close to frost season. You can plant cool season grasses (bent, bluegrass, fescue, ryegrass) earlier in the year than you can warm season grasses (bahia, bermuda, buffalo, carpet, centipede, zoysia). However, for both frost season should be completely over or at least 6 weeks away if planting in late summer/early fall. See chart below for specific planting times.
| RECOMMENDED SOIL PLANTING TEMPERATURE | ||
| TYPE OF GRASS | MINIMUM SOIL TEMP | TIME BEFORE FROST (FALL PLANTING) |
|---|---|---|
| Bahia Grass | 65 Degrees | 6 Weeks |
| Bent Grass - Creeping | 55 Degrees | 6 Weeks |
| Bent Grass - Colonial | 55 Degrees | 6 Weeks |
| Bermuda Grass - Turf | 65 Degrees | 6 Weeks |
| Bermuda Grass - Greens | 65 Degrees | 6 Weeks |
| Blue Grass - Turf | 55 Degrees | 8 Weeks |
| Blue Grass - Greens | 55 Degrees | 8 Weeks |
| Buffalo Grass | 60 Degrees | 10 Weeks |
| Carpet Grass | 65 Degrees | 8 Weeks |
| Centipede | 70 Degrees | 10 Weeks |
| Fescue - Tall | 55 Degrees | 6 Weeks |
| Fescue - Fine | 55 Degrees | 8 Weeks |
| Rye Grass | 55 Degrees | 5 Weeks |
| Zoysia Grass | 70 Degrees | 10 Weeks |