Is there any benefit of avoiding cutting your grass and letting it grow long to the point it produces seeds?
I have some small bare spots in my lawn that I did throw seed down but I was wondering if maybe next season, I avoid cutting the grass and letting it grow out to produce seeds and having those seeds spread out to get a thicker lawn.
No. Those seeds aren’t fertile and won’t produce additional grass
Ricka77_New
The seed are mostly sterile and won’t do anything..
bomber991
It just depends what kind of grass it is. I’ve got a hybrid Bermuda sod lawn. The seeds are sterile. I planted some annual ryegrass over winter once. When those go to seed I end up with more seeds that sprout into more annual ryegrass at inopportune times.
Valuable_Doubt_4144
Not really, you’d have to keep the lawn healthy and let it grow very long. The seeds aren’t sterile, it’s just that continuous mowing keeps the grass from going to seed. It’s explained more in this video and the others in the series from Ryan Knorr[Ryan Knorr Visits Turf Grass Farm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mRYAktkMc0)
jjames412
You can put down pre emergent in the fall to prevent it from coming back but that will hinder or kill new grass you’ve planted this fall. Best bet is to let it go, it’s like plucking a dandelion in the fall and expecting more to grow through the winter. It’s an annual
HipGnosis59
Apparently not for seed, but there’s nothing suppresses weeds better than tall healthy grass sod. I couldn’t do it, but it’s an interesting thought.
purplelephant17
This is sounding like big turf business…propaganda that grass seeds aren’t fertile and sell lawn that are sterile. Dang Delta Blue Grass, looking at you.
dr-satanz
Less work
Sweaty-Possibility-3
Great for fleas and ticks to hang on before they jump on pets.
Karmack_Zarrul
It’s hard on lawn to let it grow a bunch between mowings. If you wanna overseed, thatch and pre-germinate. Your shortcut is a poor substitute for a couple easy steps
NFSR113
Grass will still produce seeds even if you keep it short. It’s just very inefficient way to seed. Think about all the intentional effort people have to put into over seeding to get good results(weeding, dethatching, mowing super short, aerating, top dressing, continuous watering, starter fert, etc.).
Elena_La_Loca
Back in the 70’s and 80’s, my father swears by letting the grass grow extra long before snow falls. He states that it helps root structure, and less chance of die-off from a hard winter. We never needed to reseed, but he would fertilize.
This was in Canada, btw. Also, Kentucky bluegrass type of grass.
MyNebraskaKitchen
Around here you’d probably get a notice from the weed control board that your grass was too high.
coolnbreezey
If I try that in south FL the weeds will take over.
freerangemary
You can let grass grow. It may get denser. It may seed. It will absolutely grow deeper roots.
Maybe let it grow big for a few seasons, de-thatch, and then trim it.
Lawn aren’t supposed to be cut down so short like they are now. It didn’t evolve to look like a golf course.
There are some real benefits to having an overgrown lawn environmentally speaking. But it won’t really create a denser lawn by any meaningful measure.
zippyhybrid
I tried this one spring and the grass got really tall, went to seed, then basically turned into straw. Big, thick stems that laid sideways when I did try to mow, leaving a thatch layer and even more bare spots.
Eventually summer came which is hot and dry where I live, and I had to spend the better part of the season chopping up the straw with a weedeater, raking it out, and watering a lot to try and get new grass to grow back from the roots.
It eventually recovered, but I’ll never do that again. I like to let the grass grow long but not so long it goes to seed. Just throw out seed in the spring or fall if you have bare spots.
Wiscoguy1982
Chokes out weeds naturally
chimpdaddyflex
Let it grow all the way and it will resend the ground through nature and thicken the grass below
burningboarder
I have done this in the past. Letting your grass get this tall can crowd out some weeds. It out competes weeds. The grass I did this with was lush all summer after I finally chopped it.
bearsdontthrowrocks
ITT: Big seed conspiracies
ResistOk9038
I am not a fan of lawns and would first recommend getting rid of it but as a horticulturist I suppose I could say let a small patch go to seed so you can collect it and reseed if you don’t want to pay about 40-70 bucks, maybe less, for a bag of grass seed
Hetnikik
I just let whatever wants to grow there grow. If its green ot can grow on my yard.
irishdanigurl
My understanding is if you’re using a mix, the first variety to go to seed is usually the least desirable
aaronchase
You’d have to let it grow into a meadow like state, try an experiment and leave some deep rough along the edge of your yard, see how long it takes to grow seeds and have them turn brown and fall off
24 Comments
No. Those seeds aren’t fertile and won’t produce additional grass
The seed are mostly sterile and won’t do anything..
It just depends what kind of grass it is. I’ve got a hybrid Bermuda sod lawn. The seeds are sterile. I planted some annual ryegrass over winter once. When those go to seed I end up with more seeds that sprout into more annual ryegrass at inopportune times.
Not really, you’d have to keep the lawn healthy and let it grow very long. The seeds aren’t sterile, it’s just that continuous mowing keeps the grass from going to seed. It’s explained more in this video and the others in the series from Ryan Knorr[Ryan Knorr Visits Turf Grass Farm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mRYAktkMc0)
You can put down pre emergent in the fall to prevent it from coming back but that will hinder or kill new grass you’ve planted this fall. Best bet is to let it go, it’s like plucking a dandelion in the fall and expecting more to grow through the winter. It’s an annual
Apparently not for seed, but there’s nothing suppresses weeds better than tall healthy grass sod. I couldn’t do it, but it’s an interesting thought.
This is sounding like big turf business…propaganda that grass seeds aren’t fertile and sell lawn that are sterile. Dang Delta Blue Grass, looking at you.
Less work
Great for fleas and ticks to hang on before they jump on pets.
It’s hard on lawn to let it grow a bunch between mowings. If you wanna overseed, thatch and pre-germinate. Your shortcut is a poor substitute for a couple easy steps
Grass will still produce seeds even if you keep it short. It’s just very inefficient way to seed. Think about all the intentional effort people have to put into over seeding to get good results(weeding, dethatching, mowing super short, aerating, top dressing, continuous watering, starter fert, etc.).
Back in the 70’s and 80’s, my father swears by letting the grass grow extra long before snow falls. He states that it helps root structure, and less chance of die-off from a hard winter. We never needed to reseed, but he would fertilize.
This was in Canada, btw. Also, Kentucky bluegrass type of grass.
Around here you’d probably get a notice from the weed control board that your grass was too high.
If I try that in south FL the weeds will take over.
You can let grass grow. It may get denser. It may seed. It will absolutely grow deeper roots.
Maybe let it grow big for a few seasons, de-thatch, and then trim it.
Lawn aren’t supposed to be cut down so short like they are now. It didn’t evolve to look like a golf course.
There are some real benefits to having an overgrown lawn environmentally speaking. But it won’t really create a denser lawn by any meaningful measure.
I tried this one spring and the grass got really tall, went to seed, then basically turned into straw. Big, thick stems that laid sideways when I did try to mow, leaving a thatch layer and even more bare spots.
Eventually summer came which is hot and dry where I live, and I had to spend the better part of the season chopping up the straw with a weedeater, raking it out, and watering a lot to try and get new grass to grow back from the roots.
It eventually recovered, but I’ll never do that again. I like to let the grass grow long but not so long it goes to seed. Just throw out seed in the spring or fall if you have bare spots.
Chokes out weeds naturally
Let it grow all the way and it will resend the ground through nature and thicken the grass below
I have done this in the past. Letting your grass get this tall can crowd out some weeds. It out competes weeds. The grass I did this with was lush all summer after I finally chopped it.
ITT: Big seed conspiracies
I am not a fan of lawns and would first recommend getting rid of it but as a horticulturist I suppose I could say let a small patch go to seed so you can collect it and reseed if you don’t want to pay about 40-70 bucks, maybe less, for a bag of grass seed
I just let whatever wants to grow there grow. If its green ot can grow on my yard.
My understanding is if you’re using a mix, the first variety to go to seed is usually the least desirable
You’d have to let it grow into a meadow like state, try an experiment and leave some deep rough along the edge of your yard, see how long it takes to grow seeds and have them turn brown and fall off