Finding the Best Grass Seed for Your Lawn

When you invest in buying grass seed for your lawn, you put time, money and your lawn's performance on the line. The choice is simple: Pennington is a leader in the grass seed industry — in research, development and distribution. When you buy Pennington Smart Seed, you buy the best.

Pennington Smart Seed is about more than just grass seed. Smart Seed is smart for two reasons:

1. Our product is better down to the seeds themselves.
2. We give our seed everything it needs for success.

For more than three generations, the Pennington name has been synonymous with top-quality seed, industry-advancing innovation, and integrity. That hasn't changed. When it comes to quality, reliability and performance in grass seed, Pennington is simply the best.

1. Pennington Research & Development
2. Penkote Seed Technology
3. Pennington Farmers
4. Pennington Standards
5. Pennington Results

Pennington grass seed is grown by dedicated seed farmers.

1. Pennington Research & Development

Pennington Smart Seed grasses are bred to overcome environmental challenges, give superior performance in your lawn, and look and feel beautiful under your feet. We breed these desirable traits into the very core of our grass seed.

Pennington's NexGen Turf Research, the largest private grass seed research facility in the United States, leads the industry in developing drought-tolerant, water-efficient grasses to help you create a beautiful, sustainable lawn. The research team at NexGen works six to seven years or more — measuring thousands of data points per year on potential grass selections — to bring the very best lawn grass cultivars to market under the Pennington Smart Seed label.

Backed by more than just marketing, Smart Seed varieties are proven, through research, science and independent testing, to outperform ordinary grasses on multiple counts. The drought-tolerant, water-conserving grass varieties in your Smart Seed bag save you up to 30 percent water year after year, for the life of your lawn, compared to ordinary grass seed. These top-performing grasses stay green up to three weeks without water once they establish in your lawn.

Water conservation is a priority, but Pennington grasses don't stop there. To earn the Smart Seed label, grasses must deliver the other traits you desire for your lawn, from faster establishment and outstanding color to pleasing texture and improved resistance to disease and insect pests.

2. What's the connection between the company and the seed?

When you buy Pennington, you can be confident your seed has everything it needs to succeed. Seed-enhancing Penkote seed technology ensures that. The Penkote process seals your seed inside a protective layer of fungicide and growth stimulant. This protects seed during germination and early growth when grass is most vulnerable to fungal disease and loss. Penkote's green color also helps hide the seed from birds.

With Penkote seed technology, the grass seed you buy for your lawn enjoys improved germination, enhanced growth, better establishment and increased survivability. The result is faster, stronger, healthier seedling growth and a thicker, healthier lawn for you and your family.

Pennington's portfolio of products is backed by industry-leading research.

3. Pennington Farmers

Pennington is the only grass seed company that works directly with farmers and uses their own distribution network to get the best grass seed possible into your hands. Other grass seed companies are in the business of just buying and selling seed. Pennington's connection to the seed you buy starts before that seed was ever grown.

Decades ago, Pennington committed to working directly with seed farmers to develop a network of dedicated growers to grow your grass seed. Pennington can speak to its seed quality, right down to the growing practices of the farmers who grew it. These valued relationships with seed farmers help produce the best grass seed you can buy, from the field to the final product.

Grass seed quality and high germination rates go hand in hand.

4. Pennington Standards

One valuable indicator of grass seed quality is found on the seed bag. Government regulations require that every lot of grass seed goes through an independent testing process. The results of that testing appear on every grass seed bag in what's known as a seed tag. The information provided on a seed tag tells you about the composition and quality of what's inside.

Many factors influence seed germination, including planting at the best time and planting seed properly, but seed tags reveal the actual germination rates seen during testing. This rate indicates the percentage of seeds you can expect to germinate under proper conditions, based on the testing that specific lot received.

In addition to independent testing, Pennington carries out a rigorous internal seed testing program. You can count on Pennington seed products to exceed the national requirements for grass seed germination rates. This ensures the seed you buy meets the standards reflected in the Pennington guarantee.

Lush, vibrant lawns start with the best quality grass seed.

5. Pennington Results

Pennington's commitment to product quality — and your success — doesn't stop at the point of sale. Unlike other grass seed companies, you're not on your own once you leave the store with a Smart Seed bag. Through detailed packaging, expert online resources and tip-filled email newsletters you can trust, Pennington keeps working to ensure you succeed and avoid common seed mistakes.

The Pennington name on your seed product assures you're dealing with a company that stands behind its seed. You can count on Pennington for the best grass seed possible. We're as passionate about grass seed as you are about your lawn. With Pennington, you get better research, better seed and better results — we guarantee it.

Pennington, Smart Seed and Penkote are trademarks of Pennington Seed, Inc.