The grass is the most fundamental part of every landscape. Regardless of the type of trees, shrubs, and flowers that may populate the rest of the yard, grass fills in the areas between to create a usable, easy-to-manage surface for socializing, playing, and working.
Thanks to the internet, we have access to more kinds of grass than most people ever thought would be possible. It has given us lots of flexibility in how we cover the ground, but it has also left us overwhelmed. When you have too many choices, how do you settle on just one option?
To get through that decision, it’s essential that you set aside some of the exotic and impractical grasses, narrowing your choices to a few top candidates. From there, you can consider your particular situation and settle on that ideal turf for your home lawn.
Fescues
If fescue were a boxer, it would be introduced as “the winner and still champion.” Fescue is very well-adapted to much of the United States. It provides full, durable coverage that can tolerate lots of foot traffic while still looking like a lawn instead of a cow pasture.
Fescue is not just one type of grass. It is a whole family that encompasses great types, unique types, and even an entire spectrum of species optimized for pastures and hay. Fescues are cool-season species that will green up quickly in the spring. You’ll get a break from mowing as the mercury soars each summer, but you’ll still be cutting it well into the fall. Fescues are typically a little slower to establish, taking a few days longer to germinate than most others. If you’re seeding from scratch on bare soil after construction or tilling, you can mix a little annual ryegrass into the fescue seed to get some quicker coverage and reduce the mud problem.
Bermudagrass
Often overlooked in the lexicon of grass options, bermudagrass can be the ideal covering for busy yards with lots of foot traffic in the summertime. Fescue and its cool-season cousins mostly just lay there and take the abuse in the hottest weather, but bermudagrass is just then hitting its stride.
As temperatures rise, bermudagrass goes to work, thriving in hot, dry conditions. Which permits it to withstand backyard baseball, galloping dogs, and all the other activity that summer is sure to bring–without developing thin areas that invite weeds. Bermudagrass is a little tougher to install, so Charlotte Landscaping would be a better way to ensure a healthy stand.
Bluegrass
Bluegrass isn’t just for Kentucky, even though that’s where it was born. For the right lawn, bluegrass can be a great choice in many parts of the country.
The name is no exaggeration, but the blue cast is very subtle. A thick stand of bluegrass in bright sunshine will indeed show some blue color. As a cool-season grass like fescue, it will go through an early spring green-up before a likely summer dormancy, followed by another advance in the fall. It does better in areas with good sunlight exposure, as it hates damp conditions that favor the development of the disease.
Zoysia Grass
Another warm-season performer is zoysia grass. If you hate weeds and aren’t crazy about mid-summer mowing (or you’re just too busy to do it), zoysia might be a good option for you. It chokes out the competition but still grows slowly enough to keep you free from the lawnmower, while still protecting from the stress of foot and paw traffic in the summer.
Zoysia, like its warm-season buddy bermudagrass, will call it a day at the first frost, eliminating the late-fall mowing that is a hallmark of cool-season species. You’ll also get a later start to mowing each spring, as zoysia likes things to warm up pretty well before getting started. Bear in mind that both zoysia and bermudagrass are ambitious; they will work their way into adjacent yards, so make sure you know where things stand with your neighbors.
Bentgrass
This one is a bit of an outsider since it’s a reasonably specialized type. Unrestricted use for bentgrass golf greens, so that should tell you what kind of grass we’re dealing with here. It’s not for every lawn, but for the right situation, it has potential.
It’s a low-growing grass that tolerates foot traffic pretty well. Because it looks best at such a low height, it requires frequent mowing at a shallow height. It may be more upkeep than some homeowners are interested in, but the very meticulous lawn owner will love grooming bentgrass into a flawless carpet that will catch a lot of eyes. It’s a somewhat unique choice, but it’s just the thing for sure homeowners.
The grass is one of those things that started as a necessity but has evolved into an aesthetic option. Mowing has turned from a way to manage growth into a patterned work of art, and homeowners spend lots of time and money trying to get a perfect stand of healthy, weed-free grass.
Winning in that game requires a lot of work, but it also takes the right choices. Starting with the correct species of grass for your particular interests and abilities is crucial. The underlying message in the information contained here is that there is no one right grass for every single lawn. It’s all about thinking over your situation and settling on that one best grass for you.
In a market that is flooded with choices, don’t get distracted by fancy claims and smart advertising. Instead, choose a grass that is likely to grow and thrive in your lawn. Make a choice that will provide the right performance for your particular needs, matching your interest and availability for mowing.
With the little bit of research contained here, you can cut through a lot of confusing statements and big promises to narrow down your choices to a level that you can handle.
