The short answer
Overseed tall fescue in the fall. UGA's lawn calendar rates October the best month, with September and November also possible. UGA's turf specialists say mid-September to mid-October usually does best, and that seeding can run until about mid-November.
If you would be seeding after mid-November, UGA advises waiting until mid-February. It does not recommend seeding fescue in December, or after April.
Why fall
Tall fescue is a cool-season grass. It grows best in spring and fall, at 60 to 75°F, and can stay green all year, but summer heat is hard on it. Seed sown in early fall has the cool months to root before its first summer.
UGA says tall fescue is best suited to the Piedmont, the part of Georgia that Lake Lanier sits in.
Aerate first
Core aeration pulls small plugs of soil out of the lawn. Clay subsoil is the norm here, and UGA Extension in Forsyth County notes that building a house strips the topsoil and compacts what's left. Aerating opens that ground so water, air and new seed reach the soil.
UGA's tall fescue calendar rates March, April and October the best months for core aeration. Aerating in October and overseeding straight after does both jobs in one visit.
Missed the fall? There's a spring window
In the Piedmont, UGA gives late February to March as a second window for seeding fescue. Spring-sown grass has less time to root before summer, so fall is usually the better bet if you can wait.
Spring is still a good time to aerate: UGA rates March and April among the best months.
After seeding
- Water. Georgia lets you water newly seeded lawns at any hour while they are being seeded and for 30 days after. Then the usual 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. window applies. See watering new sod for the rules.
- Weed killer. Don't put down a pre-emergent weed killer within three to four months of seeding. It stops the new grass coming up too.
- Mowing. Keep fescue at 2 to 3 inches, and never cut more than a third of its height at once.
Bermuda and zoysia are different
Bermuda and zoysia are warm-season grasses. They grow from late spring to early fall and go brown and dormant in winter.
Aerate them while they are growing: UGA rates May to August the best months, with April and September possible. Fall aeration and overseeding is a fescue routine, not a Bermuda or zoysia one.
