Cool Season Grasses

There are a number of cool season grasses used throughout the United States. The three major cool season grasses are: Kentucky bluegrass, fescues and perennial ryegrass. Mixes which include different varieties of the different types are available and chosen based on the needs of the particular lawn. A detailed description of the cool season grasses follows.

Kentucky Bluegrass

Kentucky bluegrass is the most popular cool-season grass. It has a greenish-blue color and is identified by its canoe shaped blades. It is best suited for those climates with cold winters. This grass has a fine texture and creates beautiful lawns. It is known for its tolerance to extreme winter weather. It can also handle full sunlight with moderate amounts of moisture. It does not tolerate droughts well however, and needs to be watered in the hot summer months. It is slow to germinate and doesn’t like shaded areas and wet soils. Many people will mix Kentucky bluegrass with fescues to provide more tolerance to drought and high heat making the lawn more durable.

Fescue Grasses

Fescue grasses come in four varieties: Chewing, Creeping, Hard and Tall. Tall is the most common. Fescues are commonly found in the transitional zones where it is too hot of cool season grasses and too cool for warm season grasses. They are typically dark green and medium fine in texture. Fescues are very durable with a deep root system and are low maintenance. They usually stay green year round and are tolerant to moderate shade, heat and drought. The downside of fescue grasses are they aren’t as pretty as other cool season grasses and need to be properly maintained to ensure they don’t go dormant in extreme temperatures.

Bent Grass – Colonial

Bent Grass – Colonial is most often found in Pacific Northwest and Northwestern areas of Canada. It has a fine texture and is used for golf course fairways in these regions. It likes lots of rainfall and moderately cool weather but is also drought tolerant. It is a very attractive grass if properly maintained. The downside of bent grass – colonial is that it produces thatch requiring frequent dethatching and aerating and it has shallow root systems which need frequent watering. It also is susceptible to diseases and pests.

Bent Grass – Creeping

Creeping bent grass is a fine-textured grass commonly found in Pacific Northwest and Northwestern areas of Canada. It does really well in areas with a lot of rainfall and moderately cool weather. The creeping bent grass is often used for golf course putting greens. This grass likes sunlight, can tolerate shade and droughts and looks good if properly maintained. Like bent grass colonial its downside is it tends to produce thatch, requires frequent watering, isn’t very durable and is susceptible to disease and pests.

Annual Ryegrass

Annual ryegrass is only planted for one season and is used as a transitional grass. It is reseeded over warm season grasses in the fall to keep lawns green year round in the south and northern areas of the U.S. where warm season grasses are planted. It is cheap and germinates quickly. The downside is a low tolerance to heat, drought and shade and needs a lot of water.

Perennial Ryegrass

Perennial ryegrass is a tough grass that is deep green and fine textured. It is often mixed with other grasses, particularly Kentucky Bluegrass because it provides increased durability and faster growth. It does best in areas with mildly cool climates and damp summer conditions in the coastal west and northwest regions of the U.S. and Canada. The downside to perennial ryegrass is that it can delay growth of other grasses if seeded over them.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years,she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.