If you live along the Wasatch Front and are renovating or putting in a new lawn, you’ve probably been wondering what is the most common grass seed for northern Utah?
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Kentucky Bluegrass
Yep, you guessed it. Kentucky Bluegrass is the most common grass seed in Northern Utah. The main reason for this is due to the characteristics that Kentucky Bluegrass has that makes it a perfect fit for the cold snowy winters and the extreme dry heat in the summertime.
Kentucky Bluegrass is soft, durable, and is great at withstanding foot traffic, which makes it the perfect grass for Utah families. It is also drought tolerant and resistant to extreme cold.
One of the biggest features of Kentucky Bluegrass is it’s ability to fill in and “heal” itself. This makes it the perfect grass type for pets or active kids that have a tendency to create bare spots in lawns. With Kentucky Bluegrass, these spots will eventually fill in as this grass type uses rhizomes that grow horizontally under the soil to sprout new grass plants.
When To Seed Kentucky Bluegrass In Northern Utah
The best time to seed Kentucky Bluegrass is in the late summer which is usually the last week of August and into September. The main reason for this is because the soil stays nice and warm, which is ideal to help Kentucky Bluegrass seeds germinate faster.
Kentucky Bluegrass has a very long germination time (14-30 days) compared to perennial ryegrass which can germinate within 5-7 days. This means timing is everything when it comes to making sure that your Kentucky Bluegrass has the optimal conditions to germinate and thrive.
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Perennial Ryegrass Is Also Popular
If you are looking for a fast germinating grass that is soft and stripes really well when mowing, then perennial ryegrass is hard to beat! In fact, most sod farms in Utah mix ryegrass into their Kentucky Bluegrass thus making perennial ryegrass the second most common grass type in northern Utah.
New cultivars of perennial ryegrass, such as Fireball grass seed, have been designed to be drought and disease resistant, making it a very popular choice.
The only downside to ryegrass vs Kentucky Bluegrass is that ryegrass does not repair itself. This means that if you get thinning patches, or even bare patches in your lawn, you will need to overseed in order to fill it back in as ryegrass will not fill in these patches naturally.
Tall Fescue May Be The Future In Utah
With drought becoming more and and more common in Utah, the population may need to switch to a different grass type that can tolerate more heat than Kentucky Bluegrass can.
Tall Fescue may just be answer as it can tolerate more heat than Kentucky Bluegrass can, and it can also tolerate more shade, making it perfect for lawns that have tall trees.
While tall fescue can’t be cut as short and isn’t quite as soft as Kentucky Bluegrass, it’s ability to be resilient to heat is making it a much more popular grass type for those that are trying to be as environmentally friendly as possible with Utah’s ever-changing climate.
Kentucky Bluegrass Is A Great Utah Grass Type
With the soft feel and the ability to cut it golf-course short, Kentucky Bluegrass is the most common grass in northern Utah for a reason. With it’s self-repairing ability, it’s a great grass type to choose to keep your lawn looking great all summer long.