Pick Your Zone, Then Pick Your Seed
This post will help more than just those of you in the Midwest. In fact, the grass seed types I will talk about today can be grown from Tennessee to Minnesota and Main to Colorado and plenty of places in between. So look at the pretty, colorful picture below and figure out what zone you are in before you look at the grass pictures.
Most of these will work in zones 3-6 and in parts of zone 7. Is that you?… chances are “yes” so keep looking and reading and then feel free to ask questions about each type of grass I list below.
Kentucky Blue Grass
By far, the best-est (awesomest) and most popular type of grass to grow in our area is Kentucky Bluegrass. It makes a very lush yet soft lawn and can stand up to foot traffic as well. It does good to resist heat and drought and newer varieties are disease resistant and resilient. Kentucky Blue will thicken from the roots out with proper fertilization and irrigation. It grows well from seed and take around 21 days to begin germination.
Kentucky BlueGrass
If you are seeding with Kentucky Blue, I always recommend around 5lbs of seed per 1,000 square feet for existing lawns and up to 25 lbs per 1,000 for a brand new start up!
Most times when you go to buy Kentucky Blue Grass seed it will be a mixture of 3 or more cultivars of KY Blue. This is done to strengthen the overall turf structure so a mono-culture isn’t created in the lawn. I also find that mixtures containing Perennial Ryegrass are a good idea as well.
Some of the more popular types or single varieties of Kentucky BlueGrass are High Noon, Midnight, Moonshine and KenBlue. When you buy grass seed, don’t be concerned about the single varieties included. You should look more for seed quality (no “noxious weed seed”) and sun and/or shade composition.
PRO TIP: adding iron to your Kentucky Blue Grass lawn will turn it a deep blue color! Sweet!
Perennial Rye Grass
You’d be hard pressed to tell the difference in bluegrass and perennial rye grass when they are both fully mature. Rye is truly the best companion grass for other grasses and comes mixed with them often. It is soft under foot and grows fast from seed. In fact, it will begin germinating (if well watered) in 5 or 6 days from seed. This is another reason you find it blended with bluegrass because it
Closeup Of My Lawn
offers faster results.
PRO TIP: never purchase annual ryegrass as it will just die after winter. Don’t buy seed bags that are labeled “quick grow.”
Turf Type Tall Fescue
This is what my lawn is mostly made up of. I seeded mine by hand in 2005. It was painstaking to say the least, but the results are thick and beautiful. I used a little more than 30 lbs per 1,000 square feet (my lawn is approx 8,000 sq ft) or 250 lbs total. There was nothing special to it… I just threw it out by hand and kept it watered. Simple!
Today’s turf type tall fescue varieties are quite soft and make a great turf grass that is highly drought tolerant. In fact, that is the main reason I chose tall fescue for my lawn because it takes less watering during the hot summer.
Turf Type Tall fescue is susceptible to disease but if you get a mix and a newer variety you will be just fine. My lawn contains Armada tall fescue and some Kentucky 31. I also weaved in some perennial rye here and there.
Turf Type Tall Fescue can also take on a nice blue-green appearance when you add some iron to it.
These are the top three grass seed types that I find most in the Midwest. Your questions are welcomed in the comment section below, or you can hit me up on the Facebook page if that’s easier for you!
