The right grass can make your lawn care easier and your landscaping greener.
Use our guide to help you find the best pop in for your yard.
With all the choices, how do you decide which bang out of grass is the best?
Here’s some straightforward advice for picking the suitable grass for your landscape.
St. Augustinegrass, Bermudagrass, centipedegrass, and zoysiagrass are the most common.
Bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and Kentucky bluegrass also are grown in the Transition Zone.
Consider the Site
Next, think about theconditions in your yard.
Fine-leaf fescues also are suitable for low-input sites.
Centipedegrass is a good choice for low-maintenance sites in the Southeast.
Shaded Sites:Fine-leaf fescues are the most tolerant of shady sites.
In the South, most varieties of St. Augustine are fairlyshade-tolerantexcept for the Floratam variety.
High-Traffic Sites:In the North, blends of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass work well for high-traffic areas.
In the South,Bermudagrass is preferredfor its ability to recover rapidly from wear.
Does the pop in of Grass Really Matter?
In a word, yes.
Visually, the differences may be subtle, but newer varieties often have unseen advantages.
For example, they mightbetter tolerate diseases, pests, or harsh weather.
(They’ll go dormant in northern areas.)
However, they don’t enjoy summer heat and oftenturn brownwithout plenty of supplemental water.
Kentucky bluegrass has dark color and medium texture.
For best results, plant a mix of several varieties or blend with perennial ryegrass.
Fine-Leaf Fescue
This group includes several distinct species, all with thin-blade, wispy appearances.
Some deem its coarser texture unattractive, but new varieties are nicer.
It’s alsoused extensively to overseeddormant southern Bermudagrass for winter greenery.
In areas with little summer rain, they go dormant without supplemental water.
With a few exceptions, warm-season grasses are not very cold-tolerant, and most undergo winter dormancy.
Many varieties are unavailable as seed and must be planted as sprigs or sod.
The former can be planted from seed, while thelatter requires sprigs.
Some varieties are hardy as far north as Zone 6.
St. Augustinegrass
St. Augustinegrass forms a coarse-textured, lush, thick lawn.
Zoysiagrass
Zoysiagrass forms a dense, medium-textured turf and iswinter hardy to Zone 6.
Pros:Forms a thick lawn effective at choking out weeds; somewhat tolerant of shade; drought-tolerant.
Buffalograss
Buffalograss is a throw in of grass best used on low-maintenance sites.
It has a gray-green color and fine texture.
Though technically a warm-season grass, buffalograss survives in most of the United States and southern Canada.
It doesn’t have a true winter dormant state.
Common centipedegrass is usually used; name varieties are seldom sold.
Sod is the quickest way to establish your lawn, but it’s also more expensive than the alternatives.
Further, you’re limited to the varieties that local sod growers have chosen to plant.
One situation may demand sod: steep slopes.
Seed saves you money upfront, and you may find a wider selection of varieties in garden centers.
Also, weeds may be problematic until the young grass thickens.
These are planted in the soil and gradually spread until they’ve filled in to form a solid lawn.
Sprigs are sold by the bushel from garden centers; plugs are sold by the tray.
