subject: What Is The Best Type Of Grass For My Lawn? [print this page] Even though most turf is a mixture of grasses and probably contains many weeds, a basic knowledge of common grass types will help you provide a more professional service.
So what are the most common grasses you will find?
Couch Grass
This is fairly common and is rarely planted deliberately in home gardens. It just seems to appear. It is a reliable grower but is coarse and has no use in a lawn at all. The grass cover will be greatly reduced and other weeds will have room to creep in.
It spreads by stolons that grow across the surface, taking root at the nodes and sending out more shoots. It also spreads by underground rhizomes that may be 15cm under the ground. That's why it is almost impossible to remove couch from garden beds by hand weeding. You will always leave sections of rhizomes behind. If there is a large amount of this grass in a lawn the best thing would be to dig up the lawn and start again.
Browntop Bentgrass
This is a fine turf grass used extensively on bowling greens, lawn tennis courts and anywhere a fine even surface is required. It has small leaves up to 30mm long of a blue green colour. It spreads by runners (rhizomatous or stoloniferous) and has a tendency to invade garden beds. The seed of bent grass is really quite tiny, almost like dust and very expensive. Sowing can be difficult. It is a good idea to mix the seed with equal quantities of dry sand and sow this mix.
Bent grasses can be mowed exceptionally short, down to 5mm, which is why they are so common in fine turf areas.
Their major benefits are that they will grow in lightly shaded areas, although disease can be a problem. They cover an area rapidly, but do not tolerate heavy prolonged wear.
Bent grass has a very high water requirement, requires copious amounts of fertiliser to stay green and produces a lot of thatch. It is also susceptible to many fungal diseases such as dollar spot and fusarium.
For best effect, Bentgrass should be cut with a cylinder mower and very short indeed. This gives a high quality finish and encourages growth.
Do not be tempted to sow a fine lawn as the maintenance schedule will be massive and you will need a spraying licence to keep it disease free.
Most turf companies will only sell this to the sports industry as it is too difficult to maintain.
Perennial Ryegrass
Rye grass is the most common turf species found in instant turf and commercial seed mixes. Rye is a fine leafed grass growing to a height of around 30-45cm if not mowed. The leaves are a dark green to blue green and exceptionally tough. It is a clump forming grass as opposed to the running bent grasses.
The beauty of Rye grass is its tremendous speed of germination. In warmer weather from May on, Rye grass will germinate in 3-4 days, giving an almost instant lawn. This is why it is used in seed mixes. It tends to act as a nurse crop giving other grasses a chance to establish.
Rye grass is reasonably drought and heat tolerant but additional summer water will ensure a good quality turf. It has average fertiliser requirements. Rye grass grows through most of the year and will tolerate a fair amount of shade. The major drawback to Ryegrass is the pollen produced if the plant has a chance to flower. It is one of the major causes of hay fever, asthma and sinusitis in the spring and early summer. Also the disease 'Red thread' is most common on Rye grass. This disease is a sign of lack of nutrients.
Fine Fescue
The fine Fescues are an exceptionally tough group of grasses ideally suited to dry summers and cool winters. There are two main types of fine fescue:
Rubra - The main species which tolerates close mowing and is often used to produce putting greens.
Ovina - Common enough but it has a whorled, tufted growth that doesn't form a neat knitted turf.
Fine Fescue has good drought tolerance, a very deep root system, low fertiliser requirements, is very dense so suppresses weed growth, is hard wearing and low maintenance. Varieties such as Ovina have a mycorrhizal fungus growing with their roots that helps with drought tolerance and disease resistance.
The biggest problem with fine Fescue is that it is hard to establish new plants. It doesn't grow much at all in the winter, so there is little point in sowing fine Fescue seed in the autumn. It can take some time, up to 40 days in fact to germinate in the cooler weather. The best time to be sowing is late spring and early summer, which lets the seed establish before the onset of winter.
It is also a good idea to have some other type of grass in the seed mix
Mowing heights are also important if you want to maintain a healthy turf. It is best not to mow grass below 8mm, otherwise crown damage may occur.
Meadow Grasses
Meadow Grass has a pale coloured base, folded stems and short leaves with a characteristic boat shaped tip. It forms open turf and often appears yellow / green and is clearly appears less healthy under adverse conditions. Meadow Grass has variable growth habits.
For more detail on turf grasses, a good reference book is 'The Lawn Expert' by Dr D.G. Hessayon.
