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When starting a new lawn, selecting the best lawn
grass is as critical as selecting the right plant for your gardens.
Look for a mixture of grasses that thrive in your growing conditions
and activity level, provide the aesthetics you prefer and with the
care you are willing and able to provide.
Fescues are known for their shade and drought tolerance and ability
to thrive in warm and cold climates. Tall fescues are among the
toughest with their dense root system, ability to tolerate heavy
foot traffic and other wear and compaction. Turf-type tall fescues
have finer leaf texture, denser growth, and tend to spread better
than the bunching tall fescues.
When selecting a tall fescue grass seed, look for one with several
varieties to create an attractive, resilient and low maintenance
lawn. Varieties like Annihilator, Marauder, Rhizing Moon, and
Bloodhound have excellent heat resistance while Channell is great
for high traffic and low maintenance areas. Barbarian can be managed
at a moderate height. Roman tolerates diverse soils and Warhawk
produces a beautiful dark green lawn.
Using a mixture of grass seed allows the various
varieties to fill in where they excel, tolerate the
often-challenging growing conditions and work together to create an
attractive lawn. Grass seed mixes, like Combat Extreme Transition
Zone (Outsidepride.com), contain several tall turf type fescue seeds
to create a heat, cold, and drought resistant lawn that looks good
and requires less watering and fertilizing and is suitable for zones
3 to 8.
Prepare the soil and begin planting the seeds when the soil
temperature is 55 degrees and warmer or up to six weeks before the
first fall frost. Use this seed calculator to help you determine how
much seed you’ll need.
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Broadcast the seed over the soil surface and lightly
rake to ensure adequate seed to soil contact. Water often enough to
keep the soil slightly moist and mulch to conserve moisture. Look
for seedlings to sprout in 7 to 14 days and be ready to start mowing
in 21 to 30 days.
Mow high, 2 ½ to 3”, and often enough to remove no more than 1” at a
time. Regular mowing is less stressful on the lawn and the short
clippings quickly decompose, adding nutrients and organic matter to
the soil.
Save even more time, fuel, and water with sharp mower blades when
cutting the grass. You can cut more efficiently when the blades are
sharp, your mower will consume 22% less fuel, and the lawn will use
up to 30% less water when using sharp blades.
Put away the rake and mow over fall leaves in the lawn. As long as
they are the size of a quarter or less, they will not pose a problem
to the grass. You may need to make several passes, but the leaf
pieces will decompose, adding nutrients organic matter to the soil
for your lawn to benefit.
Selecting the best grass seed for your climate and growing
conditions and making a few changes in maintenance can help you grow
a beautiful lawn.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books,
including the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small
Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything”
instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s
Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and
contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned
by Summit for her expertise to write this article. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
[Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com]
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