Choosing the Right Grass

Considerations for choosing the appropriate type of grass include:

Your climate zone:

Whether you live in the South, North or transition zone will determine your need for warm season or cool season grass. Proximity to coastal areas, how much sunlight your yard gets and elevation will further determine what species to use.

What you intend to use it for:

You will need different types of grass or different mixtures of species depending on if your lawn is mainly for aesthetics or if it is used by children and pets. Certain species are better suited to heavy traffic and play, while others can provide a beautiful looking lawn but will not stand up to wear and tear.

What level of maintenance you want to put into it:

Some species are high maintenance and require plenty of water, fertilizer and upkeep, while others are slow growing and drought tolerant and can be mowed infrequently. A low maintenance lawn will not look as lush as a highly manicured lawn, but it is still perfectly acceptable as a lawn.

There are two groups of grass commonly found on lawns: cool season grasses and warm season grasses.

Kentucky Bluegrassthe most common lawn grass in the North and transition zoneexcellent color, texture and densitynot very shade or drought toleranttends to be high maintenancePerennial ryegrassdesirable for its rapid germination ratesexcellent wear tolerance, great in high traffic lawnsused to overseed dormant southern lawns in the winterFine fescueincluding Red fescue and Chewings fescueexcellent shade and drought tolerance

In northern climates and most of the the transition zone a typical lawn will contain a mixture of Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass and fine fescue, allowing the ability to be adapted to your specific conditions.

Bermudagrassdrought resistantprefers full sunSt. Augustinevery popular Southern lawn grass.high tolerance for heatZoysiagrasscommon transition zone grassheat and drought tolerantBahiagrassresistant to drought,disease and insectsdoes well in a variety of soilsCentipede Grasscan grow in low fertility soilslow maintenance requirementsSeashore Paspalumexcellent salt tolerance, popular in coastal regionslow fertility requirements with excellent disease, insect, and drought tolerance

Warm season grasses don't mix well as they end up competing with one another. Which is the best warm season grass is largely determined by soil composition and personal preference. Most warm season grasses turn brown under extended cooler temperatures which may warrant winter overseeding with perennial ryegrass

Read about drought tolerant cool season grasses here

Read about the best drought resistant warm season grasses here