When to Seed Ryegrass in North Carolina

Types

• Two types of ryegrasses grow in the Tarheel State: perennial (Lolium perenne) and annual types (Lolium perenne ssp. multiflorum). Perennial ryegrass persists year after year, but its need for cool air and soil temperatures as well as evenly moist soil limits its use to the western third of the state. Perennial ryegrass is rarely grown alone, but instead blended with Kentucky bluegrass to create a lawn. Annual ryegrass is a temporary, short-lived grass used to green-up Bermudagrass lawns over the winter and fill in any other bare lawn patches from fall to spring. Once temperatures get above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, annual ryegrass dies off, but may drop seeds to germinate again in fall. It also is less tolerant of cold and heat, and is more susceptible to diseases compared to the perennial type.

Geography

• North Carolina is often broken down into regions based on soils and climate. The warmest summers and mildest winters occur in the coastal plain's sandy soils, the counties roughly adjacent to and east of Interstate 95. The Piedmont is the higher-elevation zone with clay soils that exists from the mountain foothills eastward to Interstate 95. The western mountain region covers the counties from the Tennessee border eastward to a line that extends roughly from Shelby to Statesville to Mount Airy. Perennial ryegrass is appropriate as a year-round lawn only in the mountains, but in the Piedmont and coastal plain, it and annual ryegrass may be used as a seasonal grass from fall to spring.

Sowing Times

• In the mountain region, sow perennial ryegrass seed from August 15 to September 1. You may scatter annual ryegrass seed for quick color in the fall, but the winter cold will kill it. In the Piedmont, sow either ryegrass seed type from September 1 to September 15. In the coastal plain, sow either type's seed from September 15 to September 30. In both the Piedmont and coastal plain, the ryegrasses only prosper and remain greenest from October to April or May.

Spring Consideration

• If you missed the ideal fall planting time for ryegrasses, early spring offers a second time frame to scatter seed to create a green lawn the rest of the spring. In the coastal plain, sow from February 1 to February 15. February 15 to March is appropriate in the Piedmont, whereas mountain gardeners need to sow from March 1 to March 15. Keep the soil evenly moist in spring, and in the Piedmont and coastal plain, expect annual ryegrass to die off earlier than perennial ryegrass, which may remain green even into June.