Lawn seed mixes in the right composition lay the foundation for your lawn care success.
Contents
Considerations before buying lawn seed
It is worthwhile to conduct a brief site analysis and answer for yourself the question of whether the lawn will be located primarily in shade or sun, or perhaps more in partial shade. It would also be necessary to answer the question of whether the planned lawn is located in dry or wet areas.
Tip: Perform this analysis for each section of the planned lawn.
At the same time, the question of the intended purpose of the lawn would also be important: Is this to be a playground for the kids, or primarily a beautiful feast for the eyes, or a place to set up a garden lounger and enjoy the sun?
What will grow there?
Every lawn seed mix (RSM) is different and yet there are some seed varieties that can be found in almost every packet. The proportion of different grass seeds determines whether the lawn is tread-resistant or frost-resistant, for example. Among the most common lawn seeds is meadow bluegrass (Poa pratensis), a perennial that can grow up to 60 inches tall and is tread-resistant. European ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is another popular plant for RSM. This is a hardy grass variety that can also grow up to 60 cm tall. This grass is quite tread resistant and recovers quite quickly after stresses.
The third important component of many RSM are different forms of red fescue (Festuca). These grasses are perennial and make the lawn look especially uniform. Ryegrass (Poa supina) is a perennial that grows well in shaded areas. Another grass variety for shade lawns is grove switchgrass (Poa nemoralis).
Lawn for romping and playing: Play and sports turf
Play or sports turf is one of the most common forms of utility turf. This turf consists of grass varieties that are particularly tread-resistant and robust.
Typical for a play lawn mixture is a high proportion of grass seed from the European ryegrass (up to
50%).
As a rule, however, not one but several cultivars are used, such as Barrage, Mondiall or Shagall.
Furthermore, the RSM consists of the grass seeds of meadow ryegrass, whose share can be between 10% and 30%.
Among the popular varieties here are Compact or Liberator.
In general, the more resilient the area is to be, the higher the proportion of Poa grass seed. Thirdly, red fescue species in the proportion of about 30% belong in a RSM for play and sports turf. RSM for sports and play turf are suitable mainly for sunny locations. If the planned play lawn is in the shade or partial shade, then it is worth looking for RSM with a high proportion of lawn seed from the leygrass. Sports and play turf, in addition to regular mowing (once a week or every 10 days), requires fertilization and sprinkling during dry periods.
Beautiful utility lawn: the ornamental lawn.
This lawn is still called English lawn. The ornamental lawn delights with the dense and fine turf. This lawn is resistant to trampling, but not particularly resilient. Such lawn requires relatively high maintenance, including mowing every 5 to 7 days and dethatching (in spring and autumn). The ornamental lawn tolerates a fairly deep cut. Grass seeds of red fescue varieties are best for ornamental turf. These can make up to 80% of the RSM, including cultivars such as ‘Bargreen’,
‘Samanta’ or ‘Bossanova’ are used. European ryegrass, which is also often represented in RSMs for ornamental turf, adds some treading resistance.
Green despite lack of light: shade lawns
There are also special RSMs for shady locations:
In these mixtures, the proportion of grove switchgrass and barnyard switchgrass is particularly high.
Grass seeds of specially bred forms of meadow bluegrass, including ‘Julius’ or ‘Linare’ are also suitable for this mixture.
The following red fescue varieties are also suitable for shady or semi-shady locations: ‘Wrangler’, ‘Aida’ or ‘Mustang’.
The mixtures for shade lawns are used, for example, for greening areas under the deciduous trees. The shade lawn looks effective, but is usually less tread-resistant than the play lawn.
- Grass seed – special features for dry and wet areas
- For an ornamental lawn in wet locations, an RSM with equal amounts of red fescue varieties ‘Olivia’, ‘Bornito’ and ‘Rapid’ will fit the bill.
- Also, lawn seed of red fescue species ‘Bach’ or ‘Livista’ can be used.
- For dry sites, RSM with up to 60% grass seed from the ‘Bornito’ variety is recommended.
- ‘Bach’, ‘Rapid’ or ‘Olivia’ grass seed can be added in equal proportions.
Garden meadow – beautiful to look at
Flower meadow in your own garden – this is a real gem.
An ingredient of many mixtures are:
Seeds of Atlas flower, marigold, stone silverweed and carnations, …
usually also lawn seeds of meadow rispel, European ryegrass and red fescue varieties.
These provide pleasant greenery among the flowers. This type of lawn does not require mowing or rarely. The plus point of this lawn is its beautiful colorful appearance. The minus point – this lawn is not suitable as a utility lawn. A tip: create only a part of the planned lawn as a meadow, for example, in the front garden.
- Lawn seeds at a glance
- Meadow bluegrass: treads well, tolerates drought quite well;
- European ryegrass: tread-resistant, robust;
- Red fescue: hardy, provides particularly dense turf;
- Sow-grass: robust, tolerates shade;
- grove switchgrass: less tread-resistant, suitable for shaded areas.
- Interesting facts about lawn & grass seeds in brief
- A lawn can be sown in a wide variety of areas: in gardens, playgrounds, campsites, parks, etc. .
In the meantime, the relatively easy to handle turf is often used, since a visible result is already available after a short time. However, it can happen in this context that parts of the turf rolls do not grow completely on the ground, because perhaps not enough moisture has been absorbed and accordingly brown, unsightly areas quickly appear in the green.
To counteract this mishap in advance, some amateur gardeners prefer to sow real grass. If you take a look around on the Internet or in a specialist gardening store, you will find that there are lawn seeds of all possible types and stalk thicknesses. Not all lawns are the same! So the amateur gardener should be clear in good time, if possible, about what requirements will be placed on the future grass area.