Grass Seed Types Available for Your Lawn and How to Maintain Them
Most grasses utilized for planting grass seed and sod used on turf landscapes are separated between two big groups.
You have your warm season grasses, as well as your cool season grasses.
Warm season grasses do well in sun-drenched areas where climates are hot, like bermuda grass, zoysia grass, and st.
augustine grass.
In fact, grasses such as these are native to tropical regions of the globe and you'll find a large number of these grasses grown across the southern region within the U.
S.
Cool season grasses prosper in sunlight also, but grow well in areas where temperatures tend to be cooler.
Many of these grasses can be found towards the northern region of the U.
S.
but various cool season grass species can be used for over-seeding warm season grasses throughout the colder winter months.
Bermuda Grass (warm season) It is a fine-bladed grass that grows vigorously and strongly bonds to the soil surface using surface runners with stolons and underground rhizomes.
All varieties demand lots of sun and should be cut low.
Bermuda grass looks best when thatch growth is maintained well.
Because of its vigorous growth, bermuda grass is incredibly drought, heat, salt, and traffic tolerant.
There are many seeded types of bermuda but all hybrid varieties have to be established from vegetative plant parts (sod, stolons, and plugs), but not from seed.
Of the seeded varieties, Common Bermuda is widely used but newly developed seeded bermuda grasses with hybrid grass features are accessible.
Zoysia Grass (warm season) Zoysia grass may be hard to establish because of it's slower growth and having an extended dormant season, but once established, it can produce a wonderful fine-textured turf cover.
It can be established by vegetative parts and also by seeds.
The most commonly encountered zoysia is actually a low maintenance turf grass whose leaf texture is comparable to those of bermuda grass and like bermuda grass, forms stolons and rhizomes.
Mow at ¾ to 1 ¼ inch.
Zoysia leaves and stems are strong and rigid which enables it to handle plenty of traffic when it is growing well during the hot summer season.
Because of zoysia's heat and drought tolerance,little water is required for it to grow well during the summer months.
It is more shade tolerant than bermuda grass but only in places that it stays relatively warm throughout the year.
Zoysia grass suits well with low maintenance lawns where slow establishment is not a concern.
St.
Augustine Grass (warm season) An exotic coarse-textured grass with very broad blades that creeps along the soil by using a shallow rooting system which makes it very easy to control overgrowth into undesirable areas.
St.
Augustine Grass is salt-tolerant and can grow well within the shade but needs to be established by sod or plugs.
Mow at ½ to 1 ½ inches.
Buffalograss (warm season) An authentic prairie grass with good heat and drought tolerance and is mostly established by vegetative plant parts but could be established by planting grass seed.
Buffalograss is a fine textured grass that forms a dense turf that has a light green color.
It isn't tolerant to sandy or salty soils and will not grow in shade.
Buffalograss can be used for low maintenance lawns at 2,500 to 7,000 ft elevation and doesn't call for a great deal of nitrogen or water.
If a good amount of water is supplied, Buffalograss may be cut at 1 ½ inches however, for a truly low maintenance lawn, mow at 2 ½ to 3 inches once a month during the summertime.
Bent Grass (cool season) Bent grasses are high-maintenance grasses in need of attention to mowing, grass fertilizer, watering, and disease control.
All varieties have fine leaves and spread by stolons.
With adequate water and close mowing, they create beautiful lawns while in cool weathers, but during hot weather they're susceptible to disease attack.
Without proper care in thatch removal and close mowing, stolons over-rule each other and make up a thick, unpleasant grass cover.
Bent grass does nicely in high sunlight areas but they can take part shade and can be trimmed from ½ to ¾ inch.
Rye Grass (cool season) Perennial rye grass is a medium-coarse textured grass that is uncomplicated to grow within a wide range of climates and is also traditionally used to over-seed warm season grasses during the colder months.
Perennial rye grass can be trimmed as little as ¼ inch with special management, but if using a rotary type mower, 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches is more suitable.
Annual rye grass is lighter than perennial rye and possesses a wider leaf blade.
Annual rye fails to tolerate recurrent close mowing and it's best adapted to heights of 1 3/4 - 3 inches using a rotary type mower.
Tall Fescue (cool season) Tall fescue has leaves which are about as wide as annual rye grass but greener in color.
It usually requires one foot of true soil for proper root growth and has reasonable shade tolerance.
Tall fescue is well established from seed.
Kentucky Blue Grass (cool season) Kentucky blue grass has good winter survival and average heat and drought tolerance.
It requires a good amount of care and adequate water and grows best when trimmed at heights between 2 ½ to 3 inches.
This grass is most adapted to sunny conditions, however, some varieties have satisfactory shade tolerance.
You have your warm season grasses, as well as your cool season grasses.
Warm season grasses do well in sun-drenched areas where climates are hot, like bermuda grass, zoysia grass, and st.
augustine grass.
In fact, grasses such as these are native to tropical regions of the globe and you'll find a large number of these grasses grown across the southern region within the U.
S.
Cool season grasses prosper in sunlight also, but grow well in areas where temperatures tend to be cooler.
Many of these grasses can be found towards the northern region of the U.
S.
but various cool season grass species can be used for over-seeding warm season grasses throughout the colder winter months.
Bermuda Grass (warm season) It is a fine-bladed grass that grows vigorously and strongly bonds to the soil surface using surface runners with stolons and underground rhizomes.
All varieties demand lots of sun and should be cut low.
Bermuda grass looks best when thatch growth is maintained well.
Because of its vigorous growth, bermuda grass is incredibly drought, heat, salt, and traffic tolerant.
There are many seeded types of bermuda but all hybrid varieties have to be established from vegetative plant parts (sod, stolons, and plugs), but not from seed.
Of the seeded varieties, Common Bermuda is widely used but newly developed seeded bermuda grasses with hybrid grass features are accessible.
Zoysia Grass (warm season) Zoysia grass may be hard to establish because of it's slower growth and having an extended dormant season, but once established, it can produce a wonderful fine-textured turf cover.
It can be established by vegetative parts and also by seeds.
The most commonly encountered zoysia is actually a low maintenance turf grass whose leaf texture is comparable to those of bermuda grass and like bermuda grass, forms stolons and rhizomes.
Mow at ¾ to 1 ¼ inch.
Zoysia leaves and stems are strong and rigid which enables it to handle plenty of traffic when it is growing well during the hot summer season.
Because of zoysia's heat and drought tolerance,little water is required for it to grow well during the summer months.
It is more shade tolerant than bermuda grass but only in places that it stays relatively warm throughout the year.
Zoysia grass suits well with low maintenance lawns where slow establishment is not a concern.
St.
Augustine Grass (warm season) An exotic coarse-textured grass with very broad blades that creeps along the soil by using a shallow rooting system which makes it very easy to control overgrowth into undesirable areas.
St.
Augustine Grass is salt-tolerant and can grow well within the shade but needs to be established by sod or plugs.
Mow at ½ to 1 ½ inches.
Buffalograss (warm season) An authentic prairie grass with good heat and drought tolerance and is mostly established by vegetative plant parts but could be established by planting grass seed.
Buffalograss is a fine textured grass that forms a dense turf that has a light green color.
It isn't tolerant to sandy or salty soils and will not grow in shade.
Buffalograss can be used for low maintenance lawns at 2,500 to 7,000 ft elevation and doesn't call for a great deal of nitrogen or water.
If a good amount of water is supplied, Buffalograss may be cut at 1 ½ inches however, for a truly low maintenance lawn, mow at 2 ½ to 3 inches once a month during the summertime.
Bent Grass (cool season) Bent grasses are high-maintenance grasses in need of attention to mowing, grass fertilizer, watering, and disease control.
All varieties have fine leaves and spread by stolons.
With adequate water and close mowing, they create beautiful lawns while in cool weathers, but during hot weather they're susceptible to disease attack.
Without proper care in thatch removal and close mowing, stolons over-rule each other and make up a thick, unpleasant grass cover.
Bent grass does nicely in high sunlight areas but they can take part shade and can be trimmed from ½ to ¾ inch.
Rye Grass (cool season) Perennial rye grass is a medium-coarse textured grass that is uncomplicated to grow within a wide range of climates and is also traditionally used to over-seed warm season grasses during the colder months.
Perennial rye grass can be trimmed as little as ¼ inch with special management, but if using a rotary type mower, 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches is more suitable.
Annual rye grass is lighter than perennial rye and possesses a wider leaf blade.
Annual rye fails to tolerate recurrent close mowing and it's best adapted to heights of 1 3/4 - 3 inches using a rotary type mower.
Tall Fescue (cool season) Tall fescue has leaves which are about as wide as annual rye grass but greener in color.
It usually requires one foot of true soil for proper root growth and has reasonable shade tolerance.
Tall fescue is well established from seed.
Kentucky Blue Grass (cool season) Kentucky blue grass has good winter survival and average heat and drought tolerance.
It requires a good amount of care and adequate water and grows best when trimmed at heights between 2 ½ to 3 inches.
This grass is most adapted to sunny conditions, however, some varieties have satisfactory shade tolerance.