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All Grasses Are Not Created Equal — How
to Know Which Grass is Best for Your Lawn
There are many
types of grasses used for green lawns; do you know
which grass is best for your lawn? The key to great looking
green lawn is lawn fertilizers and weed control as well as using the right type of grass seed.
Most lawns are made up of many different types of grass seed
and yours might need different seed in different
areas.
Mowing is an important
ingredient to having a great looking lawn as
well.
Let’s look at the type of
grass that is best for your yard. One of the
first factors is to decide what zone you are in.
There is a difference between the cool season zone and
the warm season zone. Warm season grasses
are used best in the southern states in the United States and
the cool season grasses are used in the North as well as
Canada. You may well be found in the
middle of these two zones; in that case, you can contact your
local county extension to ask which types of grass are best
for your zone.
Warm season grasses are:
Bermudagrass
Buffalograss
Zoysiagrass
These are the most common grasses used in the warm
season zone.
Cool season
grasses include:
Bentgrasses
Bluegrasses
Fescues
Ryegrasses
The grasses can
be mixed in your lawn to take advantage of the strength of the
various types of grasses. One of the items you may need to
consider is if your lawn has shady spots.
Along with that, spaces in your yard that have at one time
been covered by pine tree branches or have heavy foot traffic
deserve special attention. You may also be
in a region that often is affected by drought. For shaded
spots, some of the cool season grasses such as bentgrass and
bluegrass may be the answer to your problem. In areas of heavy traffic, try the sturdy
Kentucky bluegrass. Some new strains of Kentucky bluegrass are
also specially designed to be drought tolerant.
Red
fescue is used to keep the lawn together and show a
tighter appearance. It is fine leaved and can stand close
mowing. Especially good for cool zones, it is strong and
durable. Meadowgrass is an excellent
choice for regions that are prone to drought conditions. It
has a beautiful dark green color and has a good resistance to
fungus diseases. Bentgrass provides a good
base to a lawn and by over seeding can give you an attractive
tight looking lawn. Ryegrass has a newly developed strain that
stays green all year and has great wear
tolerance.
Here are some
recommendations of grasses for different parts of the country.
Kentucky bluegrass still seems to be the favorite grass for
the Rocky Mountain and Plains states.
Bluegrass varieties that need minimal maintenance are;
Belmont, Caliber, Cobalt, Monopoly, and Unique. Kentucky
bluegrass needs to be watered often, as the roots don’t grow deep and is an excellent choice for
sports fields and for parks. It likes to be mowed to a height
of about two inches.
The
grass recommended for the Northeast and Midwest is a good
fescue. This grass grows slowly, has wiry blades, and
has a height of only six inches. Lots of shade and
moisture requires a hardy perennial
relative of bluegrass called Poa supine.
The Southeast
has a grass called centipede grass. The grass
is light colored, grows slowly, and requires less maintenance
than other warm season grasses.
Sources say that grass is hard to grow in the
Southwest. A popular grass is regular Zoysia.
It turns brown in October and stays brown through March.
Zoysia loves the warm weather, turns brown
if the temperature gets below 55 degrees, and loves to be cut
short. This grass is not a good grass to use in areas that get
a full-blown winter.
In the great
Northwest, bent grasses are well adapted to the climate of
that area. They do tend to be high maintenance but there are
strains that have been developed for cool
areas and are also low maintenance such as Velvet
bentgrass. Ryegrass is also a good
choice for cooler weather climates. You can use annual
ryegrass for a quick fix on a lawn or you
can choose perennial ryegrass for keeping your grass year
after year.
Go To Next Article:
Blade-Basics-in-Both-Your-Lawn-and-Mower
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