On this no fuss page you will find the best type of grass for your lawn.
It is divided into easy to understand categories to make picking which is best for you a cinch.
Click the ‘Learn more here…’ link to find out each grasses’ detailed lawn mowing and lawn care needs.
Best Grass For Hot Climate Lawns Like The Southern USA
The grasses best suited to hot climates are listed below. Warm season grasses go dormant in the winter in cold climate areas like the the northern states. Cool season grasses listed below do most of their growing in the cooler months of the south and then resist through the hotter months.
Fine Fescue – Cool season grass. Although fine fescue is a cool season grass it is highly resistant to hot climates. It tolerates shade, drought and is a low maintenance lawn grass. Its weakness is heavy foot traffic as its a fine leaf it gets damaged easily.
Bahia Grass – Warm season grass. Known to be shade tolerant, drought resistant and low maintenance. Bahia grass is a great choice for hot climate lawns. It is, however, not tolerant of heavy foot traffic.
Bermuda Grass – Warm season grass. Bermuda is known to be drought resistant and tolerant of heavy foot traffic. It requires maintenance as it tends to accumulate thatch. It needs to get lots of sun.
St Augustine Grass – Warm season grass. Very robust and blocks out weeds. Requires maintenance – mowing, watering and fertilizing. Is tolerant of shade.
Zoysia Grass – Warm season and transitional season grass. Drought tolerant. Needs sun. Tolerant of heavy traffic. Not considered low maintenance.
Kentucky Bluegrass – Cool and transitional season grass. Very popular. Requires lots of sun and water. Tolerant of salt so ideal for coastal areas. Tolerant of high traffic.
Best Grass For Transitional Climate Lawns
Transitional climate lawns are best suited to warm season grass that is resistant to cooler temperatures and cool season grasses that are tolerant of hotter temperatures.
Zoysia – Warm season and transitional season grass. Drought tolerant. Needs sun. Tolerant of heavy traffic. Not considered low maintenance.
Tall Fescue – Cool and transitional season grass. Tolerant of shade. Drought resistant. A low maintenance lawn grass that puts up with high foot traffic.
Kentucky Bluegrass – Cool and transitional season grass. Very popular. Requires lots of sun and water. Tolerant of salt so ideal for coastal areas. Tolerant of high traffic.
Ryegrass – Transitional and cool season grass. Is a hardy grass that puts up with heavy traffic with ease. Perfect grass for a lawn that will be used as a sports field. Requires frequent watering in drought. Needs lots of sun.
Best Grass For Cold Climate Lawns
Cold climate lawns require cool season grasses like ryegrass and kentucky bluegrass because they thrive with cold winters and hot summers.
Fine Fescue – Cool season grass. Although fine fescue is a cool season grass it is highly resistant to hot climates. It tolerates shade, drought and is a low maintenance lawn grass. Its weakness is heavy foot traffic as its a fine leaf it gets damaged easily.
Kentucky Bluegrass – Cool and transitional season grass. Very popular. Requires lots of sun and water. Tolerant of salt so ideal for coastal areas. Tolerant of high traffic.
Ryegrass – Transitional and cool season grass. Is a hardy grass that puts up with heavy traffic with ease. Perfect grass for a lawn that will be used as a sports field. Requires frequent watering in drought. Needs lots of sun.
Best Grass For Shaded Lawns
Grass loves sun. All grass needs some sun (4+ hours) to grow. But there are some types that can stay healthy on less sun than others and we can call these shade tolerant. The below 4 grass types are the ones that are most shade tolerant.
Tall Fescue – Transitional season grass. Tolerant of shade. Drought resistant. A low maintenance lawn grass that puts up with high foot traffic.
Fine Fescue – Cool season grass. Although fine fescue is a cool season grass it is highly resistant to hot climates. It tolerates shade, drought and is a low maintenance lawn grass. Its weakness is heavy foot traffic as its a fine leaf it gets damaged easily.
Bahia – Warm season grass. Known to be shade tolerant, drought resistant and low maintenance. Bahia grass is a great choice for hot climate lawns. It is, however, not tolerant of heavy foot traffic.
St Augustine – Warm season grass. Very robust and blocks out weeds. Requires maintenance – mowing, watering and fertilizing. Is tolerant of shade.
Best Grass To Water Less
Tall Fescue – Transitional season grass. Tolerant of shade. Drought resistant. A low maintenance lawn grass that puts up with high foot traffic. It is a very good looking grass with a light green color.
Bahia – Warm season grass. Known to be shade tolerant, drought resistant and low maintenance. Bahia grass is a great choice for hot climate lawns. It is, however, not tolerant of heavy foot traffic.
Bermuda – Warm season grass. Bermuda is known to be drought resistant and tolerant of heavy foot traffic. It requires maintenance as it tends to accumulate thatch. It needs to get lots of sun.
Buffalo – Warm season grass. Very drought resistant and low maintenance. You plant buffalo grass and forget about it – and it just grows. The downside is that it isn’t the prettiest lawn.
Zoysia – Warm season and transitional season grass. Drought tolerant. Needs sun. Tolerant of heavy traffic. Not considered low maintenance.
Sources
1. American-lawns.com is a resource website for everything to do with maintaining a lawn in the US. I used this page to research the different grasses that are best for different lawn conditions.
2. The Landscaping Network has this page which was used to quickly scan which type of grass was best for shady areas and which was best for drought areas.
3. Knowing how long to let your grass lawn get before mowing is crucial to maintaining its health. I read this page on Lowes.com to determine the ideal mowing heights for each different type of grass.
4. Cornell University made an extensive Lawn Care Library resource that will help you with the knowledge needed to maintain an awesome lawn. I used the Choosing Lawn Grasses section for this page.
5. Better Homes and Gardens did up a useful page on picking the right type of grass for your lawn that I used when researching this page.
6. Some of the images used above were sourced from this page and also the page has a good summary of the 10 most popular grasses used for lawns.
