Question
Tom: I live in Vale, NC near Hickory, NC. I reseeded my lawn with Lesco Tri-Gold blend on December 7, 2007. It was slit seeded with a Landpride Overseeder. We applied 18-24-12 starter fertilizer as well. My lawn is clay but with good top soil. It use to be a farm. As of January 1, 2008, I have seen no signs of seed germination or grass seedlings. Of course we just recently received some good rain. But will my seed germinate and grow this time of year. I hope that I did not have bad seed because we seeded 35 acres. Thanks for your advise...Greg

Answer
Greg:

Lesco has a fine reputation in the trade and a good presence in serving professional needs.  Trigold transition blend is certified fescue and should serve you well.

Grass seed, as all plants, has the genetic directive to survive.   It knows what to do and when to do it.  It will wait until the daytime temperatures are suitable(50-70 deg. F), until rain is sufficient and sunlight is adequate to germinate.  I have been surprised many times by the resilience of grass and plants under stress.  Wintertime is simply a time for waiting and resting.  There are more seeds in the ground at almost any seeding rate than you will need for a good pasture or lawn.  Fescue has approximately 250,000 seeds per pound.  At 50 pounds per acre, a low seeding rate, that is approx. 250 seeds per square foot.  Each mature fescue plant will be approx. 1/10 to 1/4 sq. ft.  More than enough for coverage.

The first sign if germination in fesque will be a brown-red fuzz less than one-half an inch high.  The appearance will trick your eye until it begins to turn green, usually in the two leaf stage.

We have had a week of warm temps, ideal for germination, last week.  These temps will return soon, but may be overshadowed by some cold ones in the meantime, like now through Friday.

The choice of starter fertilizer may pesent a small conflict if it has a weed pre-emergent inhibitor included.  But most are tested and work fine.

You have done everything correctly and invested in good seed and good seeding practice.  I would wait before being disappointed.

Best wishes.