SolveYourProblem
Lawn Care Article Series
Practical
Tips For The Perfect Lawn
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.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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