Is Warm or Cool Season Grass the Right Choice for Your Lawn?
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Different types of grasses, such as warm season grasses and cool season grasses, have unique benefits and challenges. Learn how to determine which will work best for your yard.
Understanding the qualities of warm season and cool season grasses can solve landscaping dilemmas – and lead you to plant grass that will thrive, look good and complement nearby wildlife and the region.
Cool season grasses
What kinds: Grasses such as bromegrass, fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and perennial rye thrive in temperatures from 60 to 75 degrees. In a Midwestern yard, this grass does best in spring and fall, growing quickly and staying quite green. In summer and winter, cool season grasses go dormant; the grass may be brown and look dead, but it’s just napping.
Planting: Seeding for cool season grasses can be done with seed or sod, which typically get settled within a year.
Maintenance: These grasses need regular mowing and maintenance while growing.
Regions: Typically, cool season grasses do best in the Midwest and North, as they can’t handle very hot or very cold weather.
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Warm season grasses
What kinds: These grasses, such as native prairie and zoysia, love the heat and thrive in warm climates.
Planting: Seeding warm season grasses can be a bit labor intensive, as the lightweight seeds can blow away quickly.
While it might take these grasses up to three years to truly settle and thrive, they can provide both beautiful, green landscapes in the hot months and support nature. Birds and other wildlife love warm season grasses for the ground cover and safety they provide, as well as nesting opportunities during cooler months.
Maintenance: Prairie grass, for example, does best at longer lengths, so maintenance and other tasks are low.
Regions: Warm season grasses do best in the South but can be seen as far north as Indiana.
RELATED: Tips for Choosing the Right Type of Grass for Your Yard
Transition locations
You may be in a geographic border area that can support cool and warm season grasses. If so, planting both types can assure you green and lush landscaping almost all year.
Finding a professional
If you’re considering planting either type of grass but need some more help, contact an experienced landscaper and read reviews (you can check Angie's List). Your professional landscaper will be well-versed in the kind of grass or grasses that would be best for your yard and needs.
RELATED: Angie’s List Guide to Landscaping
When working with your landscaping professional, be upfront about any budget concerns as well as your grass preferences and expectations. Once you establish a good relationship, you can be sure that your yard will be beautiful and green many months of the year.