With the right lawn seed, your garden will soon shine lush green. When buying the mixture, there are several criteria to consider, above all the quality of the seed - because a lot can go wrong in this regard. Check out our guide to find the best lawn seed for your needs!
Good lawn seed has a high germination rate
Our recommendations
our recommendation
WOLF-Garten - Premium Lawn »Shadow & Sun«LP 200; 3820050
59.99 EUR To the product| RSM quality | Yes |
|---|---|
| lawn type | utility lawn |
| location | Sun, shade, all floors |
| capacity | 4kg |
| surface | 200 m2 |
| Price/m2 | approx. EUR {PRICE/200} |
Most reviewers on Amazon are absolutely delighted with the premium lawn seed from WOLF-Garten. Many speak of a beautiful, even growth - visible after just a few days. In the case of the critics, who said the mixture was of inferior quality and apparently observed poor lawn growth, the problem was often incorrect or insufficient watering. Some buyers of lawn seed explicitly point out how important watering is in order to ultimately achieve a top result. Practically, the lawn seed harmonizes with any location. It thrives in sunny and shady locations and on all soils.
our recommendation
Use lawn dry layer RSM 2.2.1 more resistant to drought
To the product| RSM quality | Yes |
|---|---|
| lawn type | utility lawn |
| location | dry areas |
| capacity | 10kg |
| surface | 400 m2 |
| Price/m2 | about {PRICE/400} EUR |
The Classic Line utility lawn is aimed at discerning hobby and professional gardeners. If you are looking for a first-class, hard-wearing lawn mixture for very dry soil, you should make a good choice with this lawn seed. The generous capacity of ten kilograms, with which up to 400 square meters of fresh green lawn can grow, is also practical.
our recommendation
COMPO lawn seed for games and sports, universal lawn mixture, 4 kg, 200 m²
35.99 EUR To the product| RSM quality | Yes |
|---|---|
| lawn type | Play and utility lawn |
| location | Sun, shade, all floors |
| capacity | 4kg |
| surface | 200 m2 |
| Price/m2 | approx. EUR {PRICE/200} |
We or the reviewers at Amazon choose the COMPO lawn seed game and sport as the price-performance winner. Despite the RSM quality, the lawn seed is relatively inexpensive. It seems to grow well and evenly on all soils, in all sorts of conditions (from the best to the worst) - and fast too. The fact that not all seeds sprout is normal and not a serious point of criticism.
Purchase Criteria
RSM quality
Unfortunately, the sale of lawn seeds is not regulated by legal standards in Germany. In fact, any manufacturer can advertise their products as the best grass seed with an excellent composition, even if this is not at all true. In short, with some mixtures you have no guarantee that what is actually in it is what it says on the tin.
Be especially careful with cheap seeds from the hardware store. The extremely cheap mixtures often consist largely of types of grass that have no place in the garden lawn. It is usually forage grass that was actually cultivated for grazing animals. Although this has the supposed advantage of quickly bringing a green lawn - but at the expense of sustainability.
Typical course with seed mixtures containing mainly forage grass varieties:
- The forage grass lawn seeds grow rapidly. But: In doing so, they displace the slow-growing lawn grasses.
- The forage grass does not tolerate regular lawn mowing at all. At the end of summer, large holes appear in the turf.
- Wild herbs such as dandelions like to settle in the holes - which you may then never get rid of again.
We strongly recommend that you only buy lawn seeds labeled 'RSM'. The abbreviation stands for regular seed mixture. Products with this "certificate" are repeatedly tested by independent laboratories. The latter not only check the individual types of grass, but also analyze the respective mixture as a whole. Therefore, with RSM packs, you can be sure that you are purchasing high-quality lawn seeds.
price
It sounds unpleasant, but it's a fact: You should never skimp when buying lawn seeds - at least if you want a beautiful, long-lasting lawn. Since the extraction of the seeds basically means a lot of effort for the manufacturer, the seed mixtures are generally quite expensive. You often pay twice as much as inferior mixtures for good lawn seeds.
In short: lawn seeds have to be expensive, otherwise the quality will not be right.
lawn type
Depending on the location of your (future) lawn and what purpose it is to serve, you have a choice of different seed mixtures for different lawn types:
Sunny lawn? Buy (standard) utility lawn!
Lawn is relatively shaded (trees, houses)? Choose Shade Lawn Mixture!
Lawn should be able to withstand a lot? Sports/play/hard-wearing grass mixture!
Would you like to design a decorative lawn? Order ornamental lawn mixture!
Note: While functional, shady and hard-wearing lawns are largely easy to care for, decorative lawns are very demanding. There are also flowering lawns; Flower seeds are also found in these mixtures.
our recommendation
Lawn seed - flower meadow 1 kg from Kiepenkerl
18.99 EUR To the productsoil properties
In addition to the question of whether the area is in the sun or rather in the shade, the condition of the soil also plays an important role in the choice of lawn seed mixture in terms of location. Is the subsoil rather loamy or sandy, rather dry or damp? Suitable lawn seeds are available for each variant.
frequently asked Questions
What distinguishes high-quality lawn seeds?
High-quality lawn seeds are drought-resistant, slow-growing and late-flowering. The so-called standard seed mixtures - recognizable by the RSM designation on the packaging - usually fulfill these characteristics. Although these lawn seeds often cost significantly more than cheap seeds that are mainly offered in hardware stores, they are also worth the money.
tips
If you read anywhere about "fast germinating lawn seeds", you should immediately check the composition of the mixture and whether it meets the RSM specifications. If the latter is not the case, you better look around for an alternative seed, because fast-germinating without RSM is commonly synonymous with inferior.
Most (good) seed mixes use the following types of lawn grasses in varying proportions:
- Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne)
- Bluegrass (Poa)
- Fescue (Festuca)
- bent grass (Agrostis)
How long does lawn seed keep?
If stored properly (see manufacturer's instructions), lawn seeds can be used for up to three years. But: The older the seed gets, the more it loses its ability to germinate - after three years it is up to 70 percent!
How do I sow lawn seed properly?
- Sow lawn seed only after the ice saints in mid-May, when the temperatures (air and soil) are constantly higher. Alternatively, early autumn is also a suitable time for sowing.
- If there is lawn growth, first make a deep cut and then scarify the lawn and remove weeds; in an area without vegetation, you only need to dig up the soil and, if necessary, treat it with a soil conditioner.
- Remove foreign objects such as branches, roots and stones before sowing the lawn seed.
- Mix the seeds vigorously once. Due to their different sizes, the seeds segregate in the pack. This could later result in ugly holes in the turf.
- Pour or sprinkle the starter fertilizer and lawn seed mixture evenly onto the prepared area one after the other and work them into the soil about 1 to 1.5 centimeters deep.
- Water the lawn thoroughly (let it rain in).
- Ensure constant moisture in the seedbed during the germination phase. It must never dry out completely.
Note: With regard to the amount of seed, the individual steps before, during and after sowing and the expected germination time, always refer to the manufacturer's instructions on the packaging of your lawn seed mixture.
This video illustrates the whole thing and gives additional tips and information on the correct care of the lawn:
youtubeHow long does the lawn seed take to germinate?
It takes about seven to 20 days before you see the first results. This depends on many factors, such as the quality of the lawn seed, light, irrigation and soil conditions.
What if the grass seed doesn't germinate? This can have several causes:
- ground is too hard. Fluff it up and mix it with sand or topsoil!
- Birds picked out the seed. Protect the new batch of lawn seed from animal theft with either scarecrows or a net.
Is there a lawn seed test by Stiftung Warentest?
Yes, Stiftung Warentest published the last major lawn seed comparison in March 2022.
equipment
spreader
With a spreader, it is often easier for you to spread the lawn seed evenly.
our recommendation
Substral EasyGreen universal centrifugal spreader, spreader, fertilizer spreader with rotation technology, 1 pc.
43.79 EUR To the productscarifier
By scoring the turf of your lawn with a scarifier (€84.00) you will remove mulch (€239.00) and moss, which in turn will promote soil aeration. This is a very important step prior to seeding and overseeding of existing lawn growth.
our recommendation