Types of lawn: which grass fits your yard?

What type of grass do most lawns have?

None of the university extension guides on this page gives a national count of lawn grasses. UF/IFAS says “St. Augustinegrass is the most commonly used lawn grass in Florida”, and Texas A&M AgriLife (Texas, 2010) calls Kentucky bluegrass a fine-leaved turfgrass “widely used for lawns in the northern states.”

Which grass fits depends first on climate. Texas A&M AgriLife (Texas, 2010) says to select a species adapted to the climate of your area. NC State Extension says warm-season grasses are slow to green up in spring and go dormant after the first heavy frost, while cool-season grasses grow less actively in summer and stay reasonably green in winter.

Which is better, bluegrass or fescue?

It depends on what you need. UMass Extension (Northeast, undated) says tall fescue is “more shade tolerant than Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass but is less so than the fine fescues.”

NC State Extension (North Carolina) describes a seed mix of the two: “The tall fescue enhances drought and heat tolerance, whereas the Kentucky bluegrass provides finer texture and greater recuperative potential.”

In the transition zone, the University of Kentucky (2016) says Kentucky bluegrass tends to struggle during the heat of Kentucky summers, and that tall fescue has good heat and cold tolerance.

What does fescue grass look like?

Fine fescues have very narrow leaves. NC State Extension (North Carolina) says the name comes from “the very finely textured leaves, which are almost as fine as pine needles,” and UMass Extension (Northeast, undated) calls them “narrow-leaf, medium to dark green grasses.”

For tall fescue, UMass Extension says newer turf-type varieties are finer textured and darker green, and that they “now make tall fescue an option for lawns.” NC State Extension adds that tall fescue is a bunch-type grass, so damaged or bare areas need re-seeding.

How do I repair bare spots in my lawn?

Replant the larger ones: NC State Extension (North Carolina) says “Bare spots larger than 4 inches in diameter should be replanted,” and that smaller areas tend to fill in naturally if the lawn grass is capable of spreading.

To prepare a small bare spot, NC State says to “loosen the top 4 to 6 inches of the soil with a rake, hoe, or shovel”, and that seeded bare areas should be mulched to help the seed germinate.

Seed or plug depending on the grass. NC State says tall fescue and perennial ryegrass grow as bunch-type grasses that are incapable of spreading, and that plugging (moving plugs of healthy turf into bare areas) suits only grasses that spread sideways, not tall fescue, ryegrass, bahiagrass or fine fescue.

NC State names a renovation season for each group: for cool-season lawns, late summer into early fall; for warm-season lawns, late spring into early summer.