When to Plant Grass Seed in Arizona

Warm-season lawns dominate Arizona, and warm-season seed wants 2-inch soil at 65°F and rising with a full growing season ahead. The dates below are typical crossings from in-state monitoring stations; your city page tracks the live reading.

Best Time to Plant Grass Seed in Arizona

Warm-season · planting window

April 3

February 20 (warmest parts) to May 12 (coolest)

For warm-season lawns (bermuda, zoysia), the best time to plant grass seed in Arizona is late spring into early summer, when soil is warming and a full growing season lies ahead. The window opens when 2-inch soil reaches 65°F and keeps rising. Soil stays above 65°F until about October 29, but seed sown after the summer peak cannot establish before dormancy, so the practical window closes by midsummer; the month-by-month table below shows where that falls.

Region	Typical planting window opens	Stations
Northern Arizona	May 12	2
Central Arizona	April 3	3

Timing varies within Arizona: your city page tracks the local window from its nearest station: see when to plant in Phoenix, when to plant in Tucson or when to plant in Mesa. Today's statewide reading is on the Arizona soil temperature page.

Typical dates are computed from historical 2-inch soil temperature averages at 5 monitoring stations in Arizona; your own window depends on your nearest station's readings.

Best Time to Plant Grass Seed in Arizona: Month by Month

Typical 2-inch soil temperature by month across Arizona, the median of 5 in-state stations with multi-year records, with the seeding verdict for each grass family. Confirm against the current reading on your city page before you put seed down.

Month	Typical 2" soil temp	Cool-season seeding	Warm-season seeding
January	45°F	Too cold	Too cold
February	52°F	Good; fall is better	Too cold
March	60°F	Good; fall is better	Approaching
April	70°F	Risky; heat ahead	Prime window
May	81°F	Too hot	Prime window
June	90°F	Too hot	Prime window
July	86°F	Too hot	Too late this year
August	84°F	Too hot	Too late this year
September	80°F	Too hot	Too late this year
October	70°F	Soon; still cooling	Too late this year
November	57°F	Prime window	Too cold
December	50°F	Prime window	Too cold