Overseeding spreads seed over your existing lawn to fill in small bare patches. Reseeding removes the old turf first, then plants a fresh lawn from bare soil. With tips from a turf expert, we will help you decide which one is right for you.
Choosing well means matching the method to your lawn’s damage, timing the seeding to your grass type, and prepping the soil correctly. If you would rather skip the work, LawnStarter connects you with local pros for aeration and overseeding.
| Key Takeaways |
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| • Overseed when your lawn is mostly healthy but has thin or bare patches. • Reseed when 30% to 50% or more of your lawn is dead, weedy, or bare soil. • Overseeding costs less and takes less time, while reseeding is the intensive last resort. |
Key Differences Between Overseeding and Reseeding
Overseeding spreads new seed over an existing lawn to thicken it, while reseeding removes the old grass and grows a new lawn from bare soil. Choose overseeding for minor damage and reseeding when 30% to 50% or more of your lawn is dead or weedy. Here is a quick overview:
| Overseeding | Reseeding | |
| Best for | Thin grass, bare patches, or minor lawn damage | Lawns with severe damage or infestations of weeds, pests, or disease |
| Cost | $0.09 to $0.15 per sq. ft. to seed a lawn | Grass removal: $0.60 to $1.20 per sq. ft. Seeding: $0.09 to $0.15 per sq. ft. |
| Time investment | 2 to 4 hours per 5,000-sq.-ft. yard | 4 to 8 hours per 5,000-sq.-ft. yard |
| Effort | Moderate | Intensive |
| Prep work | Mow, dethatch, aerate, add soil amendments if needed | Remove grass, soil test, add soil amendments |
| Best timing | Cool-season grasses: Late summer to early fall Warm-season grasses: Late spring to early summer | Cool-season grasses: Late summer to early fall Warm-season grasses: Late spring to early summer |
| Success | Improves grass health and thickens the lawn | Grows new grass |
See Related: When is the Best Time to Plant Grass Seed?
What Is Overseeding?
Overseeding is spreading grass seeds on an existing lawn. The goal is to promote thick, lush growth, particularly in bare or patchy grass. Here’s how to do it:
Prep your lawn first by dethatching, aerating, and mowing. Add soil amendments, like compost, if needed.
Use a spreader and walk around your lawn in rows to distribute the grass seed.
For a detailed explanation, see our step-by-step guides:
| DIY jobs can be exhausting and time-consuming, but LawnStarter has you covered. Hire a LawnStarter pro to help with your aeration and mowing chores. |
See Related: When to Mow After Overseeding
When to Choose Overseeding
By filling in bare patches, overseeding is a cost-effective way to improve the overall health and appearance of your lawn. Here is when you should overseed:
Your lawn has only minor damage or a few bare patches: Overseeding is good when your lawn is healthy overall but has a few gaps. Thinning, sickly, or weak grass indicates you should overseed.
To revitalize your lawn: Insects, disease, compaction, or drought stress your grass. Revitalize your lawn with overseeding to keep it robust and healthy.
It has been 3 or more years since you last overseeded: Lawns should be overseeded every 2 to 3 years. Lawns that suffer regular damage may need overseeding as often as once a year.
You have a cool-season grass: Cool-season grasses usually need overseeding more often than warm-season grasses, which are more likely to fill in on their own.
Pro Tip: Give new lawns a full year to establish before you overseed. “Typically, overseeding should not be done in the first year when establishing a newly sodded or installed lawn,” says Kai Umeda, Extension agent emeritus at the University of Arizona.
See Related: 5 Clear Signs You Need to Overseed Your Lawn
Benefits of Overseeding
Here are the benefits of overseeding your grass:
Grows thick, healthy grass
Makes turf more resistant to diseases, pests, and weeds
Improves curb appeal
Fixes minor lawn damage
Saves money on grass removal or intensive lawn remodels
Winter overseeding is also helpful if you want a lawn that stays green all year. Overseeding a cool-season grass into a warm-season lawn provides “an aesthetically pleasing green turf all year-round,” Umeda says.
“Overseeding Bermudagrass with cool-season grasses can be done every fall season to provide a winter turfgrass,” he says.
See Related: Tips on How to Thicken Your Lawn
What Is Reseeding?
Grass reseeding differs from overseeding in that you first remove the existing grass before replanting new grass seed in bare soil.
Reseeding is a more intensive and expensive project, since you have to grow the entire lawn from the ground up.
The best time to establish a new lawn from seed is late summer to early fall, when cooler temperatures and less weed pressure help young grass take hold.
First, remove the grass in your yard by digging it up, applying herbicides, or using solarization or sheet mulching.
Next, add compost or soil amendments.
Then, use a spreader to spread grass seed around your yard.
For step-by-step instructions, check out our guide on How to Plant Grass Seed.
See Related: How to Care for New Grass
When to Choose Reseeding
Reseeding is used only in dire situations when you cannot fix your grass with overseeding. If 30% to 50% of your lawn is covered with weeds or dead grass, overseeding will not be enough and you need to reseed.
Reseeding should be used only as a last resort, since it is intensive and expensive. You will also have to deal with a bare dirt lawn until the newly seeded grass regrows.
Timing matters as much as effort. Chelsea Morris of High-Class Grass in Virginia Beach, Virginia, cautions against “reseeding at the wrong time of year, especially in late spring,” when young grass rarely survives summer heat.
Here are times when reseeding may be necessary:
Your lawn is severely damaged by lawn diseases or insect pests: If most of your grass has been killed, it is time to reseed and start over.
Weeds have taken over your lawn: If the majority of your lawn is weeds, remove the weeds along with the remaining grass to restart from scratch.
Your lawn is more dirt than grass: A few bare patches can be fixed with overseeding, but too much bare soil means you need to reseed.
You want to change the type of grass: Certain turfgrasses are better suited to the local climate. When you want to switch grass types, reseeding is the best option.
See Related: How to Choose the Right Grass for Your Lawn
Benefits of Reseeding
Here are the benefits of reseeding your lawn:
Allows you to choose your preferred turfgrass
Helps eradicate pest infestations and lawn diseases
Fixes severe lawn damage
Gets rid of weeds by starting a weed-free lawn from scratch
How Much Do Overseeding and Reseeding Cost?
Cost is often the deciding factor between the two methods. Overseeding is the budget-friendly option because you keep your existing lawn and only pay to add seed.
Overseeding: Expect the cost to seed a lawn to range from $0.09 to $0.15 per square foot. For a 5,000-square-foot yard, that is a small investment for a thicker lawn.
Reseeding: Reseeding costs more because you pay to strip the old lawn first. Add $0.60 to $1.20 per square foot for grass removal cost on top of the same $0.09 to $0.15 per square foot for seed.
FAQs
No. Overseeding is a long-term solution that fixes bald spots or sickly patches by bolstering grass growth with new seed. Reseeding is intended only for extreme cases where your existing lawn is beyond saving. Done on a regular schedule, overseeding keeps a healthy lawn dense and competitive for years.
There is no fixed limit. If you have overseeded repeatedly without results, the problem is usually underlying: poor soil, wrong timing, too much shade, or the wrong grass type. Fix the root cause first. If more than half the lawn is still bare or weedy, switch to reseeding.
Timing depends on your grass type. Overseed cool-season grasses in late summer to early fall, generally mid-August through mid-September in most regions. Overseed warm-season grasses in late spring to early summer once soil temperatures warm up. Seeding in these windows gives young grass the best chance to establish.
You can, but results will be poor. Seed needs good seed-to-soil contact to germinate, so scattering it over an unprepared lawn wastes most of it. Mow low, dethatch, and aerate first, then spread the seed and keep it consistently moist until it sprouts.
Ready to Grow Healthy Grass?
Overseeding is the way to go if your lawn has only a few bare patches or infested spots. Severe infestations or damage may require you to reseed your lawn.
If you are ready to plant new grass in your yard, hire one of LawnStarter’s local aeration and overseeding pros to take care of your lawn. Once the grass is ready for its first mow, a LawnStarter mowing pro can handle your regular mowing, keeping your new lawn green and growing all season long.
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Main Image Credit:
Overseeding: Mike Hayward / Adobe Stock
Reseeding: Frank H. / Adobe Stock
