Funny you post this because I was just having the same thought with my newly seeded lawn. Yesterday I was admiring the new seedlings and noticed our cherry blossom is just starting to lose it's leaves (I'm in SE PA so likely a bit warmer climate than you). My guess is that while yes it would be better if no leaves were blocking the sunlight, you don't really have much choice as the alternatives are probably worse for the grass. Walking is definitely out of the question as you would probably flatten the blades with little chance of recovery, and the blower would do the same. I'd just leave it alone unless you get an inch of leaves, then you probably have to act. As for the grass growth there's a lot of reasons why this can happen. A localized spot of nutrients (for example the spot where the fertilizer pellet was dropped or a bug died) is a good culprit. Remember the seedlings at start have pretty much a single small root to pull all of the nutrients. During that time if the seedling cannot get all of the nutrients in a proper amount the growth will be stunted until it gains access (a worm/microbe cruises by, you water and some nutrients migrate by the root, etc.). Other simple things like a leaf or piece of straw can block the sunlight to a very small area which could cause the blade to grow slower than one right next to it. And as you mention soil density can hamper or help the growth of a new seedling. You probably don't have to worry about seed to soil contact as that should be pretty uniform using a slitseeder, but it's also possible that some of the tines (or whatever they call them on the slitseeder) may be slightly different and so you get a mosaic on the lawn due to being slightly deeper or shallower. Bottom line is 8 days for just about any grass is nothing to be worried about. If in another week you still see nothing, then it's time to think about maybe overseeding those areas, but for now just relax and enjoy the show!

Mary, maybe I'm missing something, but why dig it back up? And while Ken and I are in virtual agreement re: trees' watering needs, if I poked through the mulch and found the surface of the original rootball-ie. the soil the plant came with, to be dry, I'd water it. Oops, just read Kens' statement about mixing the potting soil & backfill soil together....that's why you are thinking about re-doing. Here too, Ken is correct.....the differing textures of the potting mix/backfill soil can lead to watering anomalies. But still, you should be able to get water to this newly planted thing by placing a hose directly over dead-center of the original rootball and using a slow trickle. Once it roots out into the surrounding stuff, next year, it will be good to go. I don't think anti-dessicant sprays are useful nor do I feel it worthwhile to have plants in MY landscape that need to be wrapped up for winter. But that's just me. I have no particular experience with that cultivar. +oM

Yep, that's where I got it, Plant Delights--looks like they're sold out right now. You guys know I live there! Can't stay away from that place. You do have to be careful with what you buy there, though b/c you can easily get something that is hard to grow and not for the beginner or even moderate-level gardener--you have to know what you're buying. Impulse buying there could easily mean that you just flushed a $20! Luckily, the staff is super knowledgeable when you have to ask questions. They have so many plants that I've never seen anywhere else, though, so I love them. I would much rather go somewhere that challenges me as a gardener instead of walking through going, "yep, pansies, yep, petunias, yep annual geraniums..." and then slipping into the boredom coma. You guys know what I mean.

this is two questions: What can you do to increase winter survival of plants, be they young, zone marginal, whatever. And what would you do? The question of what would you do can only be answered by each individual person, based on their own criteria. Most people I know who have spent their lives lusting after all things chlorophyll go through stages: Early on, they'll go through great effort to try to get things to survive. Then this becomes something they go through only for specific specimens that have great value to them (whatever that value may be). Then they more or less give up and say, eh, it's going to survive or not, whatever happens, so be it. The question of what can you do deserves to be more fully answered. Temperature is by far the most important single factor in a plant's ability to survive any given winter, but it's not the only one. It's also the only one you really can't change, at least without massive dedication and expense. For instance, I know someone in Frazee, MN who built a solar powered radiant heated greenhouse...so he could grow peaches. You can mulch to protect the roots from freeze/thaw cycles, especially on young plants. Certain places, certain conditions, this is more important. The six week above 40 degree rule deserves mention. Wind exposure. I used to live in a place where winters were brutal. Definition of brutal? Diesel freezing in the fuel line. Plants that were supposedly fully hardy would wither and die from wind exposure. For the most part, for me, this means careful placement of plants at the time of planting. For instance, no rhoddies in a wind tunnel. This is also where anti-dessicants come onto play...and yes, I know I just tread upon heresy according to some...not so much with needle-leaved plants, but more so with broadleaved evergreens. The single most important thing you can do to increase a plant's chance's of survival? Adequate water through fall. It's generally simple, and in most cases, it's something you can actually do without a fantastic amount of effort or expense.