A1 Lawn Hard Wearing Grass Seed Review

This mix contains two of the most popular grass seed varieties:

• Dwarf Perennial Ryegrass – just as hardy and robust as other ryegrass species but produces a thicker and lusher sward
• Creeping Red Fescue – a vigorous creeping and binding grass that remains green even in poor conditions

These varieties form a great duo. Both are known for being hard-wearing, yet they each have complementary growth habits and aesthetics, resulting in a low-maintenance, multi-purpose lawn.

It’s also worth mentioning that while most of the grass seed mixes that I tested are DEFRA-approved, A1 Lawn has taken things a step further. This mix has also been certified by FERA and SASA, which is a great attestation to its quality.

With this grass seed mix being so vigorously tested, I expected amazing germination rates. According to A1 Lawn, the process would take 7-21 days. I found this to be true, with the seed that I sowed coming to life after 16 days, making this the only grass seed mix that germinated within its promised timeframe. Considering that the seeds were sown in mid-October and had to face a number of hard frosts, as well as a couple of bitter winter storms, its germination time was actually pretty impressive!

After this, growth was slow but steady. It managed to handle the winter weather with ease, continuing to look green and healthy even after spending several days under sheets of ice. 

We’re now a few months in and this grass seed mix has done well. Granted, the lawn doesn’t look quite as lush as some of the other grass seed mixes, but the results are still fantastic for this time of year.

The smallest bag of this grass seed, which is the one that I had, is 5kg in weight, making it larger and heavier than the 1kg boxes/bags that other grass seed mixes come in. This immediately makes it a little more inconvenient to use as you can’t scatter the seed out directly from the bag – you’ll need to use your hands.

With that said, sowing this grass seed was a quick and simple process. I raked out the soil to make sure that it was all level, before scattering handfuls of the seed on top. I then raked the seed in and gave the area some water.

If you have any grass seed left over, you’ll need to find a way to seal the bag as it isn’t resealable. Its size also makes it slightly harder to store, so keep this in mind if you’re only going to be using a small amount.

Considering that this bag of grass seed weighs in at 5kg, you would expect it to work out cheaper per gram than the 1kg (give or take a couple of hundred grams) bags/boxes offered by other brands. However, although it does cost slightly less than most of them, the difference isn’t significant, so don’t let this alone sway you.

With that said, this grass seed provides a respectable lawn, making it good value for money overall. The fact that this mix took a little longer to germinate than others containing the same grass seed varieties shouldn’t be overlooked. Sure, this could potentially indicate lower-quality seed but, again, this difference was minuscule. The end result is what you’re ultimately paying for, and this grass seed mix delivers.

Due to the fact that 5kg is the minimum amount of grass seed that you can order from this brand, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who only needs a few handfuls to over-seed an existing lawn. However, if you’re starting from scratch and have a large area to cover, the A1 Lawn AM Pro 25 Hard Wearing Grass Seed would be a great choice, giving you a hardy and long-lasting lawn that is more than capable of thriving in poor conditions.