Maintaining a smart-looking home also means tending to outdoor areas like the lawn. A beautiful, plush lawn is a joy to look at and makes an ideal foundation for plenty of outdoor activities in the warmer months. By paying attention to climate zones and the type of grass you’re seeding, you can create a gorgeous outdoor environment for your home and while simultaneously raising its value.
Whether you’re thinking about overseeding your existing lawn, reseeding thinning or balding spots, or establishing a brand new lawn, the type of grass you use to create it depends on where you live. Before you choose a grass type that fits your budget and expectations, discern which zone you live in, so that you can pick the appropriate grass for your region.
At first glance, there may not seem to be a lot of differences between the types of grass you see in the lawns across your neighborhood. But if you learn a few of the grass’s characteristics, you can easily pick each one out of a lineup.
You can identify grasses by three components of their appearance: vernation shape, growing style and tip shape.
Vernation shape: The vernation shape is the way the leaves are positioned in the bud. Some grasses have a circular, rolled vernation shape, while others have a folded, V-shaped vernation.
Growing styles: Grasses grow in two different ways — creeping or bunching. Some grass spurts up from the ground in a bunch, while some sprouts from a common creeping root just under the surface of the soil.
Tip shape: Three types of tip shapes — pointed, rounded, or boat-shaped — help to identify what kind of grass you have growing your yard.
If you’re looking to establish a new lawn, you need to know which zone you live in before you pick a species of grass. Three different zones are recognized in the continental United States: cool season zone, warm season zone and a transition zone.
Cool Season Grasses
In this zone, grasses have adapted to surviving in environments that see wide fluctuations in temperature. In the upper two-thirds of the U.S., in places like New England, the High Plains, and the northwest, winters are freezing (often with snow and ice) and summers are sweltering.
These types of grasses grow best when the temperature is between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which is why lawns in these areas exhibit the most growth and activity in the spring and fall. Cool season grasses grow from seed or sod, and are the healthiest when maintained at a mowing height of three to four inches.
The most common types of cool season grasses are fescue (both tall and fine), Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. You can often find a mix of all these for sale at your local gardening center, as different blends of grasses do better in sunny spots, shaded portions or high-traffic areas of your lawn. The most versatile and common type of blend is well-suited for a mix of sun and shade.
Fescue
There are two types of fescue that work well in cooler climates with wide fluctuations of high and low temps: fine fescue and tall fescue. Both types have fine blades of grass and feel almost like hair. Along with tall and fine fescue, there are myriad other types, including chewings fescue, sheep fescue, red fescue and hard fescue. However, tall and fine are the two that are most commonly found in the U.S.
Fine Fescue: This type of grass works well in areas saturated in shade that don’t get a lot of sun. Intolerant of high temperatures and direct sunlight, fine fescue is perfect for an area that gets minimal light because of large trees or buildings.
Tall Fescue: One of the most flexible and durable types of grasses, tall fescue is a great pick for high-traffic areas like parks, paths and playgrounds. Tall fescue has wide leaf blades with equal-sized veins and no discernible midrib. If left unmowed, tall fescue can grow in uneven patches. It’s for this reason that tall fescue seed should not be blended with other grass seeds.
- Kentucky bluegrass: The most common type of grass found in the northern U.S., Kentucky bluegrass is praised for its resilience and lively emerald color. It is soft and velvety and very tolerant of high traffic. If you look closely, you can identify Kentucky bluegrass by its canoe-shaped tip and prominent midrib.
- Perennial ryegrass: In the cooler areas by the coast, ryegrass is a popular choice as it withstands foot traffic and quickly germinates, creating an effective ground cover in no time at all. Many people blend Kentucky bluegrass with perennial ryegrass for overseeding, especially in southern areas. One way to tell ryegrass from other types is its shiny backside and reddish-purplish stem base.
You have to be especially attentive to your mower blades when you’re cutting your ryegrass, as dulled mower blades may shred the blades of grass and ruin patches of your lawn. Always cut ryegrass with very sharp blades on your mower.
Warm Season Grasses
Originally from tropical areas, warm season grasses are well-suited to the southern parts of the country as they are highly tolerant to drought and can withstand both scorching sun and high temperatures. Warm season grasses like it best when the temperature is between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and these types of grasses do most of their growing in the summer when temperatures are high.
When cooler temperatures arrive in the fall, warm season grasses will grow dormant, leaving a brown lawn until spring. The most common types of grass in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the U.S. are Bermuda grass, Bahiagrass, centipede grass, and Zoysia grass.
- Bermuda grass: Commonly used on golf courses across the south, Bermuda grass is tolerant of a very low mowing height. This type of grass spreads in two different ways — above ground (by stolons) and underground (by rhizomes) — making it easy to grow in many conditions. This is a high-maintenance carpet, however, and you will have to regularly water, fertilize, and mow a Bermuda grass lawn to keep it looking its best.
- Bahiagrass: Many lawns in Arizona, Florida and California sport Bahiagrass, which creates a lovely, dense turf but is vulnerable to attack from common lawn weeds. These types of grasses can grow in soil that has some sand mixed in, and develop from opposite sides from a creeping stem. It’s quite durable, and is often used near walkways, sidewalks and driveways. Bahiagrass has to be mowed fairly often to maintain its appearance and health.
- Centipede grass: For the warm and humid regions in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, and occasionally in California, centipede grass is a common choice. This type of grass needs a lot of water to survive and is not very tolerant of colder temperatures. Centipede grass has a broader blade with a bulbous tip, and the blades grow up from aboveground stolons.
- Zoysia: This type of grass forms a prickly carpet and inhabits areas from the Carolinas and through the middle parts of the U.S. It is slower to germinate than other types of warm season grasses, and it may take a full year to establish it as a lawn. If left unmowed, Zoysia grass produces a lot of seed heads.
Transition Zone
In this zone, both the warm season grasses and cool season grasses overlap in the middle. You can find grass like tall fescue that can withstand cooler temperatures, as well as Bermuda grass that can tolerate the dry, hot summer.
Bermuda grass, centipede grass, and Zoysia grass are the best choices for anyone trying to grow a lawn in the transition zone. If temperatures are consistently below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, these types of grasses will turn brown until temperatures rise again.
One of the best ways you can build a thriving lawn is to learn as much as you can about the climate zone in which you live, and about the grass you’re thinking of seeding in your lawn. Knowing which types of grass need extra care or those that cannot tolerate your climate will help you create an ideal environment for the cultivation of thick green turf come the next growing season.
Winterizing Your Yard
When cooler temperatures start to arrive, you need to tend to your lawn, just as you would to your HVAC system or other elements of your home’s infrastructure. Although you may live in an area that has spectacular displays of foliage in the autumn, you should also pay attention to the grass underneath the leaves.
With a close mow, aeration, fertilizer and compost, and lots of watering, you can prep your lawn for the long winter ahead. For some projects, like draining your sprinkler lines, you may want to hire a professional to help you. At Home Pros is the hassle-free way to find the right service provider in your area, so you can create the lawn of your dreams that’s perfect for the area in which you live.