Good grass seed choices
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Emporia, Kans. — If planting a new lawn, or overseeding an existing lawn is on your to-do list, fall is the best time to accomplish this.
Tall fescue is the most common grass in Lyon county, and rightfully so. It is a cool-season grass so it greens up in early spring and may stay green into December. It is heat, drought, and shade tolerant. There are many good varieties to choose from and it has few disease and insect problems.
Kansas is in the “transition zone” when it comes to grasses. Both cool-season and warm-season grasses will grow here, which gives us choices but also means none of them are ideal for this area. We are too hot and too dry for many cool-season grasses. Warm-season grasses don’t green-up until May and go dormant in October. Also, they may be damaged during the winter by cold temperatures.
Tall fescue has proven to be the most reliable choice for our part of the state. While the most commonly planted variety used to be Kentucky-31 (K-31), a forage-type fescue, the newer turf-type tall fescues have become popular and perform well. Turf- type fescues have a finer leaf blade, darker green color, stay green longer, and have a smoother overall texture than the forage fescues.
When selecting grass seed, there are many things to keep in mind. Avoid a “shade blend” because these usually consist of fine fescues that do not survive our hot summers. Turf-type fescues have good shade tolerance, and are the best choice for shady areas. However, no grass will grow well in deep shade, especially under a large tree in competition with tree roots. In that situation, ground covers are usually the best option.
Turf-type tall fescue blends are recommended because they consist of several varieties selected for their best characteristics while their weakness are masked by the strengths of another variety. While one may have excellent drought tolerance, it may be susceptible to disease, but another variety in the blend has superb disease resistance yet average drought tolerance. If a single variety is planted there are only the traits of that variety that are available.
Seed quality is also important in the establishment of an attractive lawn. Every bag of seed should have a label listing the contents. Pay close attention to “other crop” and “weed seed”. The other crops that may be contained in that bag could consist of orchard grass or rough bluegrass. Both are difficult to get rid of once they are growing in the lawn. Weeds could be a wide range of plants, none of which you would want in your lawn. Look for seed that contains 0.00 percent “other crop” and “weed seed”; it is available. It may cost more, but even half of one percent (.5 percent) “other crop” could mean up to 16 orchard grass seeds in one square foot.
• For more information on establishing a lawn, contact the K-State Research and Extension office at 620-341-3220 or stop by to pick up turfgrass publications at 618 Commercial St., Emporia.