How to Overseed Perennial Ryegrass

A cool-season grass, ryegrass grows quickly, providing forage for animals or residential lawns. Although it does best on well-drained soil, ryegrass loves water and tolerates heavier soils. It turns yellow when the weather heats up and greens up again when it cools off. Many homeowners overseed their dormant warm-season grasses with perennial ryegrass to have a year-round green lawn. Overseeding perennial ryegrass is best done in fall, when when temperatures in the daytime are 70 degrees Fahrenheit and above 50 F at night.

Lawn mower
Bag
Heavy metal rake
Starter fertilizer
Broadcast spreader

Instructions

- 1
  Mow the grass as low as possible. Remove the grass clippings after mowing and rake the lawn with a heavy rake. Bag and dispose of any debris you rake up.
- 2
  Apply a starter fertilizer according to package directions.
- 3
  Add the perennial ryegrass seed to the spreader. There is generally a rate suggested on the package, but a rule of thumb is 5 to 15 lbs. per 1,000 square feet.
- 4
  Walk across the lawn, spreading the seed in strips as you go. For more thorough coverage, walk it again, creating a checkerboard pattern over the first application.
- 5
  Water the lawn to a depth of 3 inches and keep it moist as the perennial ryegrass seed germinates. Be careful not to wash the seed away.

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