Planting and watching your grass grow over the course of a few weeks can be a very fulfilling experience, but if you live in Seattle it matters a lot that you pick the right grass seeds.
This is because of the climate of Seattle, which requires varieties of grass acclimated to the long dry summers and wet winters.
Best Grass Seed for Seattle
Here are five of the best grass seed varieties that you can use in Seattle.
Scotts 18363 Turf Builder Grass Seed-Perennial Ryegrass Mix
Scotts Turf Builder Mix has been designed for use under high sun-exposure, and it is very drought resistant which makes it highly suitable for use in an area such as Seattle.
Durability is one of the central tenants of this product which is achieved by the WaterSmart PLUS coating that protects the seed from diseases in addition to providing a source of nutrients through the water content of the seed.
The seeds are also kept moist at all times which not only assists in keeping your seeds safe but also contributes to rapid growth and germination once they are planted.
Overall, the Scotts Turf Builder is a great high-quality variety of grass seed that’s ideal for use in high-traffic areas. It’s a very durable product that’s great for use in a city like Seattle where you definitely want the most durable variety of grass seed available.
So, it is a great option for you, especially if you have a lawn where you expect a very large number of people to traverse daily, the grass seeds will grow quickly, they’ll be highly durable and the company’s WaterSmart coating is a great feature that greatly improves the quality of the product.
Pennington Smart Seed Perennial Ryegrass Seed
Pennington is also a very high-end brand of grass seed which is known mostly for the fact that it is extremely easy to grow with minimal instructions and relatively fast germination times.
This makes Pennington one of the most desirable grass seeds for anyone who does not want to have to invest too much time and effort into growing their law.
Therefore, the target market for Pennington is mostly people who are not very interested in gardening themselves but still want to achieve a beautiful-looking lawn.
As for the appearance of the grass produced, Penington grass seeds are known for producing grass that has a very fine, and soft, texture as well as a comparatively darker shade of green in color.
This makes it especially suitable for use in a city like Seattle where the winters tend to be very harsh, so the dark green contrasts very well against the pale white of snow during winter.
Other interesting aspects of this product include the fact that it is entirely manufactured in the United States, and the seeds are extremely resistant to insects as well which further adds to their overall durability and their easy-to-use nature.
Creeping Red Fescue Lawn Grass Seed
The Creeping Red Fescue Lawn Grass Seed produces very fine grass blades that maintain a very dark color.
One of the most notable aspects of this product is that its manufacturers claim that its grass retains its dark color all year round which is a very big feat if accurate.
This definitely makes the Creeping Red Fescue a great option for people who want their lawn to look consistent all year-round and favor darker colors of grass over lighter ones. Appearance is not the only major quality of this product, however.
In terms of durability, the Creeping Red Fescue Lawn Grass performs relatively well when compared with cheaper variants of grass.
It has also been designed to be drought-tolerant which is very suitable for the climatic conditions in a city like Seattle.
According to its manufacturer, the Creeping Red Fescue Lawn Grass is perfect for use under fully or partially shaded areas, which makes it possible to use the product in a diverse and creative variety of ways in a residential context.
Other interesting aspects of the product include that it is also very low maintenance and does not require extensive care in order to maintain.
Scotts 18320 Grass Seed Tall Fescue Mix
This is another one of Scotts’ great products, their Grass Seed Tall Fescue Mix is a great variety of tall grass that retains all of the characteristic features of Scotts’ products-durability, ease of use, and low maintenance.
The ScottsTall Fescue Mix incorporates the same two-layer protective system, WaterSmart Plus, that other Scott’s products also contain.
This protective system prevents the individual seeds from being exposed to disease and provides a system that provides nutrients and minerals to the seed in order to further encourage rapid germination.
With respect to durability and germination speed, the Scotts Grass Seed Tall Fescue Mix performs quite well and has been noted for being a relatively high-grade product, especially for use in Seattle.
In terms of appearance, the Grass Seed Tall Fescue Mix produces grass that has a tall appearance with coarse to medium texture.
This product has essentially been designed for people who prefer taller-looking grass instead of short or medium height grass.
It’s suitable for growth under both full sun exposure as well as partial shade. It is also a very drought-resistant variety, so it is especially practical for use in Seattle.
Pennington Smart Seed Dense Shade Grass Seed
Pennington Smart Seed Dense Shade Grass Seed is considered an extremely versatile and premium product for anyone who wants to plant grass under a partially or fully shaded area.
It has very durable seeds that grow rapidly, even under shaded conditions, so it is an ideal grass seed for anyone who wants a fully shaded lawn. One of the biggest advantages of this product is that it claims to require up to 30% less water than other grass seeds.
This is an extremely beneficial thing if true, as watering grass can incur a significant annual cost to homeowners. In that sense, the Pennington Smart Seed Dense Shade Grass is a specialized product that does very well in shaded conditions.
Other features of this product include the fact that it produces very fine blades of grass that appear very aesthetically pleasing in areas of high shade coverage.
The grass is also very drought and disease-resistant, which is a major benefit for anyone living in Seattle.
Another unique aspect of Pennington is that their shade grass incorporates their proprietary Penkoted technology that inhibits fungus growth in the grass, which is a concern that many homeowners have expressed and Pennington has managed to address effectively.
FAQs
When should I plant grass seed in Seattle?
The best time to plant grass seeds in Seattle is during the spring, especially in the months of April and May, provided that the weather is neither excessively wet nor excessively dry.
If you do find the weather in late spring/ early summer too dry or too wet, the second-best timeframe is in the fall months of August and September.
Depending on the kind of grass seed you purchase, whether it’s designed for rapid growth or not, your lawn could grow anywhere between 2 weeks and a month.
Will grass seed grow if you just throw it on the ground?
Technically yes, if you just throw grass seeds over a piece of land the seeds will eventually germinate and grow.
However, this method is sub-optimal if you want to make the best possible law for yourself as the seeds will germinate at a much slower rate than if a layer of Mulch or compost were added on top instead.
So, it is best to not simply throw grass seeds on the ground.
Do I need to put topsoil over grass seed?
No, you do not need to apply a layer of topsoil on top of your grass seeds; however, it is fine, and even beneficial in fact, to add some compost or mulch instead.
Adding topsoil can actively harm the germination process of your grass seeds in fact since the topsoil could potentially cause the seeds to suffocate.
So, it is much better to avoid adding any topsoil in its entirety and choosing to add mulch or compost instead.
What is the best grass seed for the Pacific Northwest?
It depends a bit on the type of grass that you want to grow i.e short or tall, dark or light in color, etc.
But, any good type of grass seed for use in the American Pacific Northwest should be highly durable, drought and disease-resistant as well as able to germinate rapidly since the Northwest, in general, has dry summers and long wet winters.
The best varieties of grass seed that contain all of these aforementioned features are Fine Fescue and Perennial Ryegrass. Which one you should choose depends on your preference for length and appearance.
Hopefully, after reading this article you’ll have obtained some newfound insight into the how scope and process of selecting the best grass seed variety for yourself if you live in Seattle.