For some obscure reason, the average homeowner bogs down almost completely when faced with the necessity of choosing grass for a new lawn. Instead, he may talk authoritatively and at length on the merits of 100 different rose varieties.
He can exhaustively discuss the disease or insect tolerances and fertility requirements of various annuals in his flower garden.
But he freely admits his confusion when it comes to selecting the grass that will best meet his requirements and grow in his garden for many years to come.
Unfortunately, the troubled homeowner usually settles the whole thing by buying lawn seed on a price basis. And he may go to either extreme, paying an extravagant price on the theory that the most expensive seed must be the best, or buying the cheapest he can find.
Choosing Grass For a Particular Location
Choosing grass that will make good turf in a particular location with the kind of maintenance available is neither difficult nor complicated. There just isn’t much choice.
Although several thousand native and introduced grasses grow in the United States, there are not more than six which can be depended upon to make a good permanent lawn turf in any one of the broad climatic regions of the country.
The number is particularly small in the cool, humid region to which this discussion is limited. This region comprises roughly the area from the East Coast west to a few hundred miles beyond the Mississippi river and north of Ohio.
It extends somewhat farther south than Ohio in those sections where elevations are high enough to keep summer temperatures comparable to those of the more northern areas.
Best For Permanent Lawns
The safest bets for permanent lawns in this region are:
- Bluegrasses
- Fescues
- Bent grasses
There are several types of each and they behave differently under given conditions, such as:
- Shade
- The height of mowing
- Soil moisture
- Fertility
Once these individual peculiarities are recognized, choosing the grass or mixture best suited to any particular combination of conditions is relatively simple.
Let’s take a detailed look at each group. There are two bluegrasses: Kentucky bluegrass and rough stalk bluegrass. The latter is often listed as Poa trivialis.
Kentucky Bluegrass
Kentucky bluegrass will grow anywhere in the cool, humid region if the soil is well-drained, reasonably fertile, and sweet. However, it thrives in open sunny locations and does not like shade.
It is a true Sod-forming grass, spread by underground runners, which, like strawberries, produce new plants at the joints.
It has two serious weaknesses. First, it will not stand continuous close cutting. Where a lawn must be clipped to less than 11” or 11” inches, common Kentucky bluegrass turf will almost invariably thin out and permit weeds to come in. Second.
It is highly susceptible to leaf-spot diseases. In many sections of the bluegrass area, these diseases cause serious damage to turf. Unfortunately, no very practicable control measure has been found to date.
When bluegrass turf is destroyed by a leaf spot, the only recourse is a complete renovation.
Merion Variety of Kentucky Bluegrass
The Merion variety of Kentucky bluegrass materially reduces some of the worst hazards in keeping a good lawn. It is tolerant of leaf spots and stays healthier throughout the growing season.
This greater vigor and its low-growing habit make it capable of standing much closer clipping than common bluegrass.
It is not exceptional to find it cut as close as an inch without noticeable injury. Commercial production of Merlon Kentucky bluegrass is just beginning.
Seed is still scarce, and the price is high —about four to six times the cost of common grass seed. Because of this, much of the Merion seed is used in high-quality lawn mixtures where a certain amount of bluegrass is desired.
When these mixtures contain a minimum of 15% to 20% percent Merion, they do a good job seeded at normal rates.
Soil Requirements For Kentucky Bluegrass
Rough stalk bluegrass has the same general soil requirements as Kentucky blue. However, its particular claim for recognition is its tolerance of shade.
Conversely, it does not like high temperatures and is seldom used alone or in mixtures for open sunny areas. It makes good turf in the open only in cooler sections of the cool, humid region.
Rough stalk bluegrass requires more attention to regular fertilization than Kentucky bluegrass. In addition to having essentially the same growth requirements, it usually must compete for fertilizer and moisture with the trees or shrubbery under which it is planted.
It is a true creeper, spreading rapidly by above-ground creeping stems. For this reason, it is unnecessary to use more than 10% to 15% percent of it in mixtures.
Two Types Of Fescue
Chewings and Creeping Red—are commonly used for lawns. The principal difference between these is that the latter spreads by underground runners while the Chewings does not. Both have a wide range of tolerance for soil acidity and fertility levels.
In addition, they do well on dry soils and in the shade. Unfortunately, the common types are highly susceptible to the same leaf spot diseases that injure Kentucky bluegrass.
Fescues grow best in cool weather and will not make a satisfactory turf where high temperatures and humidities are prevalent. This eliminates the common types from southern sections of the cool, humid region.
The fact that these fescues tolerate poor, dry soil conditions is no justification for not doing everything possible to give them a good start. It should be emphasized that they grow despite poor conditions and not because of them.
Seed Of Two Named Creeping Fescue Varieties
Illahee and Trinity—are available but cost slightly more than common Chewings and Creeping Red. In areas where fescue does well, these new varieties will make a somewhat better turf than the common types.
Results will be disappointing, as it is hard to grow good fescue turf. The newcomers are not better enough to resist 10° degrees Fahrenheit high temperatures, humidity, and disease to justify their use under such conditions.
Bentgrass Produce Fine Lawns
When properly cared for, bent grasses produce fine lawns, but they require such exacting attention they are not practical for the average homeowner.
Seeds of two kinds, creeping and colonial, are available.
Creeping Bentgrass
The creeping bent is a very vigorous grower and must lie cut close frequently to keep it under control. Otherwise, it will form a heavy, hard-to-manage mat.
In addition, creeping bent is severely attacked by several grass diseases and must be treated regularly during the summer with fungicides.
It also attracts chinch bugs, sod webworms, Japanese beetles, and common white grubs, all of which may cause serious damage unless destroyed by insecticides.
This grass must be watered frequently during dry weather, and it requires liberal fertilization. Usually, creeping bent is more trouble than it is worth.
Colonial Bentgrass
Colonial bentgrass is marketed under various names, including Astoria, Highland, Oregon colonial, New Zealand colonial, and Browntop. While these may differ slightly, all are essentially upright, non-creeping types and will produce about the same kind of turf.
They grow quite well during warm summer weather when bluegrasses and fescues slow down. They germinate quickly after seeding and develop fast.
Colonial bents require fertile soil for good turf but are much more tolerant of wet, soggy conditions than bluegrass and fescue.
When used alone, they should be cut regularly to a height of 4” inches or less. When in mixtures with Kentucky bluegrass or fescue, the cutting height should be raised to 1 ¼” inches. The same diseases and insects that are active on creeping bent will attack the colonial types.
Making occasional control treatments for these pests where turf is predominantly colonial bent may be necessary.
Two Types Of Grass Ingredients Of Lawn Seed Mixtures
Two other types of grass are common ingredients of lawn seed mixtures. These are the short-lived and fast-growing ryegrass and red top.
They cannot be expected to persist under close mowing for more than a year or two but are included in seed mixtures on the theory that they will give quicker protection against washing and weeds than the slower-growing permanent grasses.
If they are used too liberally, this may become a hazard rather than an advantage, for they can do an excellent job of crowding out the good grasses. Because of this danger, lawn seed mixtures should not contain more than 20% percent ryegrass or 10% percent red top.
If mixtures contain bent grass, there is little justification for using either, as the bent will do a good quick protective job over the lawn area.
Essential Differences in Grass Characteristics
If essential differences in grass characteristics and care are kept in mind, it should be relatively easy to decide which will do the best job on your lawn.
Once the right grass or mixture for any particular set of conditions is determined, the actual growing of the turf becomes an almost routine operation.
44659 by H. B. Musser