These types of drought-tolerant grass will handle dry conditions with ease.
Most drought-tolerant grasses dont form a lush carpet year-round;several inches of water per weekare needed for that.
These turf grasses tolerate drought by growing slowly during dry conditions or going dormant for a while.
Credit:Edward Gohlich
They green up and begin growing again when moisture returns.
Dormant turf grassbrown grass with a dry, brittle textureis often seen as a landscape problem.
Fertilization requirements for grasses that go dormant are a fraction of those needed by grasses that are irrigated.
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Practice seeing dormancy as a helpful coping technique instead of a problem to be solved.
Drought-Tolerant Grasses
Lawn grass is divided into two groups: cool-season grasses and warm-season grasses.
If winter brings snow to your landscape, cool-season grasses are best for your lawn.
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Its deep, efficient root system can mine for water and sustain the plant during long periods of drought.
Recent drought events revealed that Kentucky bluegrass can survive with much less water than initially thought.
Researchers in Colorado found that this perennial survives for weekseven monthswithoutsupplemental irrigation.
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Kentucky bluegrass goes dormant when water is scarce, but its roots still thrive.
When measurable rain returns, it turns green and begins growing.
Look for Thermal Blue, Midnight, Bandera, Brilliant, and other cultivars with notable drought tolerance.
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Growing Conditions:Full sunand well-drained soil.
Doesn’t tolerate shade.
It is a popular addition to Kentucky bluegrass seed mixes, thanks to its shade tolerance.
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Dont use creeping red fescue in high-traffic areas; it doesnt stand up to foot traffic well.
Like other fescue turf grasses, it has a fine texture and is soft underfoot.
Sheep fescue(Festuca ovina)is a powdery blue-green color.
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It is most often maintained as ano-mow or seldom-mowed lawn.
It doesnt tolerate close mowing well.
Trim it in the spring before growth begins and again in late summer if needed.
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Thanks to its slow-growing ways, it forms graceful tufts of easy-care grass.
It doesnt have the soft feel of Kentucky bluegrass or fine fescue.
Tall fescue has an extensive root system that helps it thrive in dry conditions.
Credit:Adam Albright
It remains green longer than Kentucky bluegrass but will go dormant and turn brown after several weeks without water.
It grows best during warm months, typically from May through September in many regions.
It is consistently dormant and brown from October through April.
This drought-tolerant warm-season grass grows in dense clumps 8 to 24 inches tall.
Grow it as a low-maintenance lawn,mowing just once a monthor as little as twice a year.
It is commonly grown in the southern areas of the Midwest and regions where cold winters are the norm.
It has a fine texture, and creates a thin, open stand of turf with a blue-green color.
Establishing buffalograss by seed is difficult.
Starting with plugs is the best way to establish a lawn.
Mow it at 4 to 5 inches to create a lawn or monthly for ameadow-like appearance.
Buffalograss goes dormant in summer.
Cultivars Stampede and 609 have good drought tolerance.
)is fast-growing warm-season turf with a fine texture.
Its durability makes it a favorite lawn species in many areas.
It quickly recovers from traffic damage and prolonged drought.
Without irrigation, Bermudagrass goes dormant during extended dry periods.
It greens up quickly with the first significant rainfall.
Frequent mowing is necessary for a pleasing appearance when the grass is actively growing.
TifTuf is a popular drought-tolerant cultivar.
Floratam St. Augustinegrass, on the other hand, has excellent drought tolerance.
Expect it to remain partially green for weeks without water.
Like all St. Augustinegrass cultivars, it goes dormant and turns brown during cold weather.
Establish it from sod, plugs, or stolons.
It is quick to fill in whenstarted from plugsor stolons.
grows slowly in warm weather.
It turns brown and goes dormant with thefirst frost in fall.
It is the most cold-hardy warm-season grass.
Healthy zoysiagrass can survive as long as four weeks without rain.
Start a new lawn from sod or plugs.
Count on plugs to take a couple of years to grow together to form a uniform lawn.
Zoysiagrass has thick leaves and stems that make mowing a challenge.
Get a good cut by sharpening mower blades frequently.
Grow El Toro and Emerald for best drought tolerance.
Growing Conditions:Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Mowing Height:2 to 3 inches
Zones:611
