More heat-, drought-resistant grass?
Turf-type tall fescue is the most heat- and drought-resistant type of grass for central Pa., but the look is a bit coarser than the more common fine fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.
A tall-fescue lawn.
One person told me Kentucky bluegrass is the best and that it also fills bare spots better because it spreads. Another guy says tall fescue is the best. If it were your yard, which would you use?
A: I agree with the second guy — but with conditions. Turf-type tall fescue is the best grass type in our area for heat and drought resistance and for tolerating traffic.
The main reason everyone isn’t switching to it is that it’s wider and coarser in appearance than the main three grass types that make up most lawns — Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and fine fescue.
Some of the new, shorter, turf-type tall fescues actually look pretty good compared to some of the older types, which stood out almost as much as quackgrass when mixed into a finer-bladed lawn.
Still, there’s enough difference that when you mix a tall fescue into a typical bluegrass/ryegrass/fine-fescue lawn, you can tell which is which. That’s why most turf experts and seed companies recommend using turf-type tall fescue all by itself. In other words, it’s a good choice for seeding a new lawn but not as good for overseeding an existing thin lawn.
Personally, I overseed most falls with traditional seed mixes of the best quality I can get. These are bluegrass/ryegrass/fine-fescue mixes that contain varieties bred for heat- and drought-resistance as well as improved color, improved disease resistance and better overall performance.
I often order online from Seedland (www.seedland.com), which offers a variety of top-quality mixes. At the very least, I buy only the top-quality choices at garden centers.
The truth is that there are a lot of superior grass varieties out there, but it’s mainly the golf courses and athletic fields using them.
Most homeowners assume grass is grass, and so they shop solely on price. Retailers realize that and so gravitate toward the cheap stuff that’s also some of the weakest-performing grass.
Even the top-of-the-line mixes at stores only rates out at about average in the overall scheme of grass performance. Online vendors like Seedland are a cut above that. You’ll pay a little more, but seed isn’t that terribly expensive. I think it’s worth a few extra dollars to get improved performance.
If you really want to hunt down the best of the best, the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program posts trial results from university turfgrass trials all around the country. These trials help golf courses and athletic fields figure out what are the best current performers.
Go to www.ntep.org to see the results. Hit the “State Data” button in the top menu to go to a map that’ll zero you in on Penn State University’s research (or any other state you’d like to see).
There you’ll find charts for each type of grass along with numerical ratings on how each variety has fared. Once you’ve got a list of the best, then you can check seed bags and/or do an online search to find vendors selling those types.
I did a garden column on this issue a few years ago. Here’s a link to it: http://georgeweigel.net/favorite-past-garden-columns/the-best-grass-seed.
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