Adaptation
Of Kentucky Bluegrass - USA
Kentucky Bluegrass
is a cool season grass growing best in soils with better
fertility, more water and good drainage. Adapted for the
very upper south with cooler, damper nights,
into Canada, toward the Rockies and the Pacific
Northwest. Bluegrass is the number one cool season lawn grass grown. This grass is mostly planted in the mid
to eastern U.S. and into Canada. Southern Tennessee and the Piedmont region is the imaginary line for the best area of southern adaptation of Kentucky Bluegrass.
Uses For Kentucky Bluegrass
Bluegrass is adapted for use in:
- Commercial & Home lawns
- Beautiful in meadows with wildflowers
- Sports Fields - Football, Soccer, Baseball and more
- Golf greens & fairways ( not suitable for golfing putting greens)
- Pasture Grass
- Reclamation and erosion control areas
- Areas of coolness and high moisture
Improved Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties
In years past blue grass has been described as
being disease and insect ridden. Years of genetic breeding have
produced many new improved varieties with specific disease and insect
tolerance bred onto the seed. A vast number of varieties (about 200+) were developed to improve specific desirable characteristics. The Kentucky Bluegrass seed blends are carefully
chosen to represent the best all purpose bluegrass lawn for your area of adaptation. A good maintenance program can
help to avoid many of the insect and weed problems that plague
bluegrass. Healthy turf cut at the correct mowing height can
greatly reduce insects and disease from developing.
Irrigation of Kentucky Bluegrass
Although requiring a lot of water, in extreme
cases, bluegrass is adapted to enter a dormant stage and will loose
its color and may appear dead. Lightly watering during this
time will keep the grass from completely dying and when sufficient
water is available the grass can reestablish above ground growth.
Bluegrass is adapted to be fast growing when receiving fertilizer and water on a regular basis and will require more mowing in peak seasons. Keeping the grass cut to the correct height
enables the sod to thicken at the base and become the dense lawn cover that bluegrass is praised for.
Never mow off more than 1/3 of the grass leaf. Optimum mowing
height for Kentucky Bluegrass is 2 to 2 1/2 inches. When lowering height, it is best to do it
gradually -- reducing the height in 1/4 to 1/2 inch increments.
Soil
Adapted to a variety of soils growing best in a pH of 6.5 to
8.0. This means that many lawns will need additional lime added in
the beginning stage and periodically throughout the lifetime of
the grass and bluegrass can live many, many years if well
maintained. Of course in some areas of the country the soil and
water conditions are just right and very little amounts of
additives may be needed.
The lawn itself is slower to establish taking up to 8-10 weeks to fully become "wearable".
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