Water
Keep the seedbed moist until the whole blend is up, not just the first green you see. A light watering once or twice a day when it does not rain, and more often in a heat wave — the surface cannot be allowed to dry out. The fast ryegrass shows first, but the slower grasses take longer, so hold the light, frequent watering until they've come in too. Only then switch to fewer, deeper waterings that push the roots down.
When you'll see green
Your lawn was seeded with the blend David noted for you:
- Futura 3000 — pure perennial ryegrass. Supplier germination window is 7 to 21 days; in warm, moist soil the first green usually arrives early in it.
- Futura Blue — germination runs 4 to 21 days: the ryegrass leads, the Kentucky Bluegrass fills in behind it toward the end of the window. Keep watering lightly across the whole area until then — patience is part of the design.
- Perfection — germination runs 7 to 21 days, the ryegrass first and the Kentucky Bluegrass filling in behind it. Keep it moist through the full window.
- Ultra Shade — fine fescues take roughly one to two weeks in the cooler, shaded spots they're made for.
Cool soil, a dry spell or a heat wave can push these windows out — that's normal, not a failure. Keep watering and it comes.
Stay off it
Keep feet, pets, and mowers off the seeded areas until the first mow.
First mow
Once the new grass is well up and standing about 3½ to 4 inches, mow high with a sharp blade and never remove more than one-third of the height. Mow only when the lawn is dry.
Feeding
Keep whichever line matches your job:
- If we mechanically seeded (AeraSeeder or slice seeding): the starter fertilizer and mycorrhizae went down with the seed. Nothing else to add this season.
- If we broadcast-seeded over aeration cores: hold off on fertilizer — feeding a lawn this young pushes top growth before the roots are ready. We'll talk about feeding once it's established.