Smart Seed Sun & Shade Mix South, Tall Fescue Grass Seeds for Lawn, 20 lb

I needed coverage in an area that gets about 3 hours of sun but not all of the area at the same time. East side of house between fence and house. Sodded with St. Augustin last year but construction traffic took a toll and TX summer I could not save it. I planted the seed a week ago exactly and I could see sprouts coming up a couple of days ago. Here are photos today 1 week after sowing seed. Area with longest amount of sun coming up nicely. Areas where less length of sun coming up but slower. Area with very little sun, I can barely see any coming up. I csn only water once a day due to work. We had nice amount of rain on 4th day after planting. I would and will buy again. Updated. More photos at 14 days and 21 days. I will be buying this again in the spring for the other side of the house. Updated July 30, 2023. Could not take the North Texas heat. I water every other day and in the evening when there is no sun shining on the grass. It could not hold up. Very disappointed, I spent a lot of time watering and nurturing this seed on the side of my house that gets sun from 11am to 4pm.

This stuff is amazing! The grass is sooo green and lush! I agitate the ground, water, put down the seed, water again, cover with cow manure compost and water again. The key is to water at a minimum 2 times a day.

I bought these seeds to put on a very shaded place in north Texas. I put the first batch mid March and had excellent germination rates. However, I put a second batch late March and did not germinate at all. The seeds that grew seems OK. They do not last where there is sun and they require lots of watering at first (twice daily for at least a month and then once daily for another one). I am now changing to every other day. I will try again in October when temperatures cool down and I’ll see if the ones that germinated can tolerate the summer heat.

Lots of new grass since planted last Fall.

The amount of seed I thought was good for the price but the resulting germination was way less than expected. I followed the instructions as depicted on the packaging but unfortunately did not reap good results. I recommend maybe a different mix.

My grass seed germinated in 6 days. I didn't use any special tricks and I don't have any secrets. Here's what I did to get this grass to grow in zone 8A. -Killed/removed weeds a few weeks in advance -Rented a tiller/cultivator and broke up the top 4-6" of soil -Added a few bags of top soil due to red clay surface -Raked soil and leveled area to be seeded -Used a handheld electric spreader to spread seed at Pennington's recommended rate -Rolled compost spreader over area and spread thin layer of soil over seed so it was no longer visible -Rolled compost spreader over area and spread thin layer of peat moss for moisture retention -Watered lightly 3-6 times per day (dependent on cloud cover and temperatures) -The last step is the hardest... Patience. I planted seed April 13 and saw the first sprouts on April 18 (Picture 1). I added a second picture to show where the new grass stands at the 1 week mark. I'm just outside the DFW area in North Texas and temperatures right now range from 60*-90*. If I were to do anything differently I would use straw blankets or something different to keep the seed in place. We did get heavy rain after the seed germinated and some of it washed away with the peat moss due to shallow roots. I did throw some seed down on an unprepared area and watered it regularly as a test. I'm not surprised to report nothing has happened up to this point. Proper preparation, care, and time must be invested with any grass seed if you want to see results. Keep the seed and top layer of soil moist. I'm not an expert and the steps listed above may not yield the same results for you. I am just posting this to show my results and recommend this seed if you need something for shaded areas. This seed exceeded my expectations and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again for future seeding projects. Thanks for reading and good luck with your lawn project!

In years past this was great seed and I have been the envy of my cul de sac with my lush, green beautiful lawn. I don’t know what happened this year but no matter where I have purchased from, the seed does not germinate. Neighbors have expressed the same issues with this brand and type of seed. I was in Lowe’s and the couple behind me was buying 4 bags of a competitor in early October and I inquired about whether they’d tried Pennington Smart Seed Sun and shade and they said that was their brand until this year because 4 bags did not germinate. In NC you only have September to get the seed down and germinating before the leaves start falling so this year I will be lucky if I even get a lawn which anyone who lives on a slope knows is essential. Very disappointing, had this brand/type on subscribe and save and had to return 2 bags but I’m out of luck on the other 6 20 lb bags that I’d already purchased because Pennington won’t refund without a bag which of course I discarded. There should be a class action lawsuit for Pennington this year.

Great product