Will new grass survive a harsh winter?
Newly seeded lawns face a high risk of being torn apart by freeze-thaw cycles and severe cold before deep root systems can establish. This leaves homeowners anxious that the time and money spent on their autumn renovation will be entirely wiped out by spring.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1mulching leaves for extra ground coverDid this help you?
- 2applying winterizing fertilizerDid this help you?
- 3Switching to a deep spade edge and maintaining it manually with a trimmerDid this help you?
- 4Using a shovel to create an air barrier and a trimmer each weekDid this help you?
- 5Installing bricks with a concrete footing and mortarDid this help you?
- 6Throwing down lime a month before winterDid this help you?
- 7Mulching leaves directly into the lawnDid this help you?
- 8Using alternative winter fertilizer products like LescoDid this help you?
- 9Following beginner guides from online communitiesDid this help you?
- 10Mowing the grass lower and applying a late fall fertilizerDid this help you?
- 11Mulching leaves until they stop fallingDid this help you?
- 12Hoping for the bestDid this help you?
- 13Considering whether to cut the grass before the frostDid this help you?
- 14Applying a fall fertilizerDid this help you?
- 15Leaving the grass alone to continue tillering naturally until springDid this help you?
- 16Waiting until spring to apply nitrogen fertilizer so it doesn't run off.Did this help you?
- 17Doing a winter sow before a heavy snowstorm so the thaw works the seed into the ground.Did this help you?
- 18Applying AMS only if soil temperatures are guaranteed to stay above 50 degrees.Did this help you?
- 19Cutting all the grasses down in the fallDid this help you?
- 20Tying the grass bundles up with twine (which often breaks)Did this help you?
- 21Cutting back only the taller grasses in fall and leaving the smaller ones standingDid this help you?
- 22Hiring a garden maintenance company to do a massive spring cleanupDid this help you?
- 23Planning for a spring overseed on bare spots that don't survive.Did this help you?
- 24Fertilizing specifically to promote root growth before the freeze.Did this help you?
- 25Putting a winter turf tarp over the grass to keep the soil warmer.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way to keep my ornamental grasses mostly upright and contained that would let me leave them standing through the winter rather than cutting them down during fall cleanup, given my local conditions and situation.”source ↗
“In past years I left the grasses standing through winter. But in the early spring, dealing with the flopped grasses on the perennial beds and fronds blown all over was a major undertaking.”source ↗
“One year I tried tying them up with twine but that was completely ineffective: the combined effects of wind and snow just broke the twine, with the same result as not tying them.”source ↗
“Any advice on what I should be doing over the next few weeks to help the TTTF thicken up and establish before winter?”source ↗
“BUT I’d say 80% of the yard has been stalled out at about 2” for 2 weeks now.”source ↗
“Question is as we’re nearing November and surely it’ll freeze before the end of the month will a nitrogen fertilizer work quick enough to get me good enough growth to cut? Will these 2” blades survive the winter?”source ↗
“Terrified of how it’ll look in April.”source ↗
“What do you guys put down before the season ends?”source ↗
“Any opinions on Jonathan Green Winter survival?”source ↗
“My tttf will be 4 weeks from seeding on Monday so hasn't reached that 6 week mark to survive a frost. My soil temps are still in the 60's for my area according to soiltemps.com and I'm wondering if I should take action or just hope for the best.”source ↗
“Just finished a new lawn reno in zone 5a and am wondering the same thing. Praying all this hard work and money wasn’t for nothing.”source ↗
“Hey All, I’m looking for some advice on how to prepare my lawn for the approaching fall/winter seasons and the steps I should take.”source ↗
“Grass kinda stopped growing a few weeks ago after that last good rain.”source ↗
“By the end of last summer the grass had crept under it in three spots and one section had lifted enough that the mower clipped it twice.”source ↗
“I reset the worst part last fall and it heaved again after the freeze.”source ↗
“the freeze-thaw just chews through everything”source ↗