The difference between reseeding vs. overseeding a lawn is whether you’re keeping your current lawn or not. Overseeding is planting grass seed over existing turf, while reseeding is starting a new lawn from scratch.
What is overseeding?
Overseeding is the act of spreading grass seeds on top of an existing lawn. Many homeowners overseed their lawns yearly to keep them thick and healthy, especially if they have cool-season turf. Warm-season grass won’t need as much overseeding as it tends to fill in patches on its own, but overseeding will help keep it lush.
This lawn care procedure also has many benefits. Some overseeding benefits include more resistant turf and more attractive yards.
You can learn more about overseeding in these articles:
- “What is Overseeding?”
- “How to Overseed a Lawn”
- “Should You Overseed Your Lawn?”
- “How Often Should You Overseed Your Lawn?”
Pros and cons of overseeding
Overseeding has the following benefits:
- Great at fixing minor damage
- Adds new, more resistant turf without tearing up your lawn
- Keeps warm-season lawns green in the winter
- Less intensive and expensive than a full lawn renovation
On the other hand, it also has some downsides:
- Can’t repair severely damaged or very thin lawns
- Won’t solve lawn issues if addressing the underlying cause for lawn deterioration needs drastic action
- Can’t change your yard’s grass type
- Older grass can choke out new grass
What is reseeding?
Reseeding a lawn is more involved than overseeding. Lawn reseeding is the process of killing the old lawn and planting grass seed over the bare dirt.
Starting your lawn over from scratch should be your last resort and not the first solution you try. Reseeding is done to very damaged, weed-ridden lawns.
If you want to learn more about the process of reseeding, read our article about, “How to Reseed a Lawn”.
Pros and cons of reseeding
Here are the pros of reseeding:
- Allows you to solve severe problems with your lawn before planting grass
- Completely refreshes your lawn
- Great for changing the grass you’re growing
On the other hand, it also has these cons:
- More expensive and labor-intensive than overseeding
- Takes more time than overseeding because you need to kill everything first
- Renders your lawn bare while the new grass is growing
When to reseed vs. overseed your lawn
As a routine lawn procedure, overseeding fixes minor issues and helps prevent problems. Overseeding should be done if:
- Your lawn is only mildly damaged
- Your lawn is thinning, but mostly grass
- There are only a few small patches of bare soil
- You want to revitalize an older lawn
- You haven’t overseeded your lawn in a few years
Because reseeding is the nuclear option, you should only consider it if:
- Your lawn is severely damaged
- Your lawn is more dirt than it is grass
- Weeds make up more than half of your lawn
FAQs about reseeding and overseeding
Can you overseed a St. Augustinegrass lawn?
No, you can’t overseed a St. Augustinegrass lawn. You can’t reseed with St. Augustine either; this type of grass can’t be grown from seed.
If you would like to grow or fix your St. Augustinegrass lawn, you will need to install sod or use grass plugs.
When should I reseed or overseed my lawn?
It depends on the type of grass you want to grow:
- Cool-season grass should be seeded in late summer or early fall.
- Warm-season grass should be seeded in late spring or early summer.
You can learn more about the proper time to reseed and overseed here:
- “Best Time to Aerate and Overseed a Lawn”
- “When is the Best Time to Reseed a Lawn?”
How much does professional seeding cost?
The cost to seed a lawn ranges from $0.09 to $0.19 per square foot. Several factors can influence this cost, like the type of grass seed.
Hire a pro to seed your lawn
You need to seed your lawn properly to maintain a lush lawn or grow new turf. That means proper soil preparation, appropriate fertilization, even spreading, and adequate irrigation. If you’re not sure you can handle it, you might want to call a pro to help.
Whether you’re overseeding your current lawn or reseeding your old one, Lawn Love’s pros have your back. We can connect you with a pro in your area who can seed your lawn, fertilize it, and mow it when it’s long enough. Hire a pro through Lawn Love today.
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