Grasses used in Utah can be placed in two main categories: Cool season and Warm season turf.
Cool-Season Grasses: Kentucky bluegrass - Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is the most common type of grass used in Utah. Cool season grasses characteristically endure cooler weather better than other types of grass. For instance, a Kentucky bluegrass lawn will stay green later in the season when temperatures begin to cool off. However, cool season grasses do not tolerate the heat of summer very well. If left to their own devices, cool season grasses will go dormant during the hottest months of the year.
Perennial ryegrass - Ryegrass is a persistent, dark-green, fine to medium-textured turfgrass that is used for home lawns, parks, grounds, golf courses, and athletic fields. This species produces a bunch-type growth habit and does not form rhizomes or stolons. Its recuperative potential is not as strong as Kentucky bluegrass. Perennial ryegrass germinates rapidly (5 to 7 days) and establishes quickly. It is very competitive with other turfgrasses and is used extensively for overseeding thin or damaged turf. Because of its aggressive nature, perennial ryegrass is generally not used in amounts over 20 percent in a mixture with other turfgrasses. It is suitable for use alone or in combination with Kentucky bluegrass and/or fine fescues.
Fine fescues - Fine Fescue is a shade tolerant turf grass with a medium to dark green color. Adapted to the Pacific Northwest, Fine Fescue grows best in cool humid regions, coastal regions and in high elevations. All varieties require little maintenance and like to be mowed at 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches. They have the finest leaves, the most shade tolerance and the lowest fertilizer, mowing and moisture requirements of all the cool season turf grasses. Chewings Fescue, Red Fescue, Creeping Red Fescue, Sheep Fescue and Hard Fescue are popular varieties of Fine Fescue. These varieties can be found on lawns, in parks, along road sides and other turf grass areas and extensively used in grass seed blends and mixes for both sunny and shady areas. Fine Fescues are not recommended for sports fields and golf tees because they have a low wear tolerance. Most of these varieties have all the same characteristics. Chewings Fescue has a noncreeping, bunch-type growth habit unlike Red Fescue. All varieties germinate rapidly and are well adapted to poor, dry, sandy soils.
Tall fescue - Turf Type - Tall Fescue is also a good general purpose turfgrass for Utah. It often has greater heat tolerance and can tolerate more shade than Kentucky bluegrass. It also requires somewhat less irrigation. While older varieties were coarse in texture, most tall fescue varieties available today look very much like Kentucky bluegrass.Tall fescue is a persistent and durable plant that forms acceptable turf for home lawns, grounds, parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields. It is commonly used in low maintenance situations such as utility areas, highway medials, airstrips, and fairgrounds. Many new and improved varieties have finer texture, higher tiller densities, and a darker-green color than the coarse-textured, light-green varieties such as 'Kentucky 31' and 'Alta.' Tall fescue is considered by many individuals to be incompatible with the finer-textured and darker-green Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fine fescues. Tall fescue may be objectionable in a mixture with fine-textured turfgrass species because it tends to form coarse-textured clumps in an otherwise uniform stand.
Tall fescue is primarily a bunch-type grass that occasionally produces short rhizomes. It is somewhat slow to establish extensive root systems and has only fair recovery potential. This species is the most heat and drought tolerant of the cool-season turfgrasses. The increased drought tolerance is a function of its ability to produce a deep root system. Tall fescue performs well in open, sunny areas and is moderately shade tolerant. It is less suited to heavily-shaded conditions than the fine fescues, but is more shade tolerant than Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. Tall fescue is best suited to well-drained soils.
Warm-Season Grasses:
Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides). Is a warm season turf that can be planted in any area in Utah, and it has many positive attributes. For instance, its color is a rich gray/blue that compliments many landscape plants. It does not grow very tall, making mowing completely optional. When it goes to seed, a quaint little bell-shaped seed head hangs from many of the stalks, making a decorative statement in your landscape. One drawback to Buffalograss - it’s not very cold tolerant. It takes longer in the spring to green up, and is among the first plants to go dormant in the fall. However, the dormant color of the Buffalograss is a uniform gold color- not the brown, dead looking color of dormant Kentucky bluegrass.
Warm season turfs are most common in Southern Utah. These grasses include Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactlyon) and Zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica). These grasses can tolerate the extremely warm temperatures common in Southern Utah. Because these grasses are heat tolerant, they will not go dormant in the summer. However, because they are heat-loving grasses, warm season turfs have little tolerance for cold weather. A warm season grass will normally go dormant when temperatures begin to chill considerably. One beneficial aspect of warm season grasses is that they generally use less water than coolseason species.
Although Bermudagrass is a popular grass for Southern Utah, it is listed as a noxious weed in Utah, and is only allowed to be planted in Washington County.
This vigorous, fine-bladed cultivar adds color and density to any warm-season blend. Blackjack lawn seed produces a sun-loving turf that performs throughout the hottest summer months, and in addition, Blackjack shows remarkable cold tolerance even in cold winter areas. If planting sprigs or plugs makes your back sore, consider Blackjack seeded Bermudagrass. You'll get a dense green lawn all summer long. Bermudagrass is the species most adapted to and most frequently used throughtout the state. Many new and improved seeded varieties have been developed and released during the last 10 years.
Combat Southern is a 3-way mixture of turf type fescue and Hybrid Bluegrass which is heat and drought tolerant enough to be used in USDA Zones 8 - 10 (partial shade recommend for USDA Zone 9 and 10). This mixture is approximately 90% turf type fescue grass seed and 10% hybrid bluegrass seed by weight. By seed count, this makes almost a 50/50 blend of fescue and hybrid drought tolerant bluegrass.
Wear Tolerant
Cost Efficient
Lawns
USDA ZONE MAP
Below is the USDA Zone Map for Utah so you can determine which zone you reside in. Below that are our picks for your state which will do best in your area. Next on this page are tables which list various grasses and their characteristics so you can compare before you decide on your purchase. Click on the product name (ie. Midnight) for more information about that grass and to make your purchase.
USDA Zone Map For Utah
Compare Various Grasses For Their Characteristics
Cool Season Grasses
Leaf Texture
Establish Rate
Nitrogen Use
Water Use
Drought Tolerance
Salinity Tolerance
Shade Tolerance
Fescue - Hard
Fine
Slow to Moderate
Low to Very Low
Moderate
Excellent
Low to Moderate
Excellent
Fescue - Creeping
Fine
Moderate
Low to Moderate
Moderate
Good
Low
Excellent
Fescue - Turf Type
Moderate to Coarse
Moderate
Moderate to High
Low to Moderate
Excellent
Low
Good to Excellent
Ryegrass - Perennial
Fine to Moderate
Very Fast
Moderate to High
Moderate to High
Good
Poor to Moderate
Poor to Moderate
Warm Season Grasses
Leaf Texture
Establish Rate
Nitrogen Use
Water Use
Drought Tolerance
Salinity Tolerance
Shade Tolerance
Bahiagrass
Coarse toVery Coarse
Slow to Moderate
Low
Low
Excellent
Excellent
Moderate to Good
Bermudagrass
Fine to Moderate
Moderate to Fast
Moderate
Moderate to High
Excellent
Very Good
Poor
Centipedegrass
Moderate to Coarse
Slow
Low
Low
Good
Moderate
Moderate to Good
Seashore Paspalum
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Excellent
Excellent
Good
Compare Various Grasses For Their Characteristics - Continued
