Tag: turfgrass

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What is Blue grama grass?


Turfgrass Quick Facts: Blue grama (Boutaloua gracilis)

Blue grama grass seedheads Phtoto credit: colorado art studio CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Blue grama grass plants Phtoto credit: colorado art studio CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Blue grama is a perennial warm season bunch grass native to the U.S. and Canada.  It has become popular as a drought tolerant alternative grass in water wise landscapes and is often planted with Buffalograss.

Blue grama (Boutaloua gracilis) characteristics

  • Very cold tolerant
  • Drought tolerant
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What is Kentucky bluegrass?

 

Turfgrass Quick Facts: Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis)

Kentucky bluegrass is one of the most popular cool season turfgrasses in the United States. Its dark green leaf color and superior traffic tolerance makes it a top choice for the residential and recreational landscape.Kentucky bluegrass is more drought tolerant than many people realize due to its strong dormancy period during hot dry spells. It will, however, turn brown in summer without supplemental water.

Kentucky bluegrass characteristics

  • Native of
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Selecting Appropriate Turfgrass Species

The lawn is generally a significant and permanent part of the home landscape; therefore, selecting the appropriate turfgrass species for the landscape is an important decision. Remember that regional differences exist in wear, drought, heat, and cold tolerance.

Turf species are often planted in mixes. Blends of cultivars or species increase genetic diversity which improves resistance to disease and pest problems.

When selecting turfgrass species, consider the following qualities:

  • Winter hardiness
  • Heat tolerance
  • Amount of sunlight
  • Water requirements
  • Fertilizer needs
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Transition Zone Turfgrass Species

Transition zones are areas where neither cool nor warm season grasses are completely adapted. Summers tend to be too hot for cool season turfgrass to do well, while winters are too cold for good warm season grass survival.

This region ranges from the coastal states of Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, far eastern Oklahoma, and Kansas.

Tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass are cool season turfgrasses used in the northern parts of the transition zone. Warm season …

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Irrigating the Parking Strip

Irrigating the parking strip (also called a park strip) is often a challenge.  Parking strips are often long and narrow and in some cases irregular in shape.

 

Irrigation of these areas is often overlooked, and parking strips can become unsightly.  Property owners adjacent to the park strip are required to maintain it. Some ways that that this can be done include the following:

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Parking Strips: Water Conserving or Weed Magnet?

Parking strips can be either water conserving or weed magnets. Parking strips are often “out of sight, out of  mind” for many homeowners, especially in older neighborhoods without pressurized irrigation systems and can quickly become weed magnets.

Dragging a hose across the sidewalk is inconvenient and possibly dangerous to pedestrians.

One way to address this issue is to create a water conserving park strip. A water conserving parking strip is simply a parking strip that uses less water than …

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