Let’s look at the type of grass that is best for your yard.  One of the first factors is to decide what zone you are in.  There is a difference between the cool season zone and the warm season zone.  Warm season grasses are used best in the southern states in the United States and the cool season grasses are used in the North as well as Canada.  You may well be found in the middle of these two zones; in that case, you can contact your local county extension to ask which types of grass are best for your zone.

Warm season grasses are:

Bermudagrass

Buffalograss

Zoysiagrass

These are the most common grasses used in the warm season zone.

Cool season grasses include:

Bentgrasses

Bluegrasses

Fescues

Ryegrasses

The grasses can be mixed in your lawn to take advantage of the strength of the various types of grasses.  One of the items you may need to consider is if your lawn has shady spots.  Along with that, spaces in your yard that have at one time been covered by pine tree branches or have heavy foot traffic deserve special attention.  You may also be in a region that often is affected by drought.  For shaded spots, some of the cool season grasses such as bentgrass and bluegrass may be the answer to your problem.  In areas of heavy traffic, try the sturdy Kentucky bluegrass.  Some new strains of Kentucky bluegrass are also specially designed to be drought tolerant.

Red fescue is used to keep the lawn together and show a tighter appearance.  It is fine leaved and can stand close mowing.  Especially good for cool zones, it is strong and durable.  Meadowgrass is an excellent choice for regions that are prone to drought conditions.  It has a beautiful dark green color and has a good resistance to fungus diseases.  Bentgrass provides a good base to a lawn and by over seeding can give you an attractive tight looking lawn.  Ryegrass has a newly developed strain that stays green all year and has great wear tolerance.

Here are some recommendations of grasses for different parts of the country.  Kentucky bluegrass still seems to be the favorite grass for the Rocky Mountain and Plains states.  Bluegrass varieties that need minimal maintenance are; Belmont, Caliber, Cobalt, Monopoly, and Unique.  Kentucky bluegrass needs to be watered often, as the roots don’t grow deep and is an excellent choice for sports fields and for parks.  It likes to be mowed to a height of about two inches.

The grass recommended for the Northeast and Midwest is a good fescue.  This grass grows slowly, has wiry blades, and has a height of only six inches.  Lots of shade and moisture requires a hardy perennial relative of bluegrass called Poa supine.

The Southeast has a grass called centipede grass.  The grass is light colored, grows slowly, and requires less maintenance than other warm season grasses.

Sources say that grass is hard to grow in the Southwest.  A popular grass is regular Zoysia.  It turns brown in October and stays brown through March.  Zoysia loves the warm weather, turns brown if the temperature gets below 55 degrees, and loves to be cut short.  This grass is not a good grass to use in areas that get a full-blown winter.

In the great Northwest, bent grasses are well adapted to the climate of that area.  They do tend to be high maintenance but there are strains that have been developed for cool areas and are also low maintenance such as Velvet bentgrass.  Ryegrass is also a good choice for cooler weather climates.  You can use annual ryegrass for a quick fix on a lawn or you can choose perennial ryegrass for keeping your grass year after year.

Bermudagrass can be both a blessing and curse.  It can be uncontrollable and can invade your flowerbeds and produce an uncontrollable amount of grass seeds.  All of this stress and aggravation is worth it though, especially if you have neither the time nor the inclination to nurture your lawn.  Bermudagrass can survive for decades with very little care and can also work well as a winter lawn in place of perennial ryegrass.  This grass is tough and hardy and is often used on roadsides in the south because of its ability to stand up to real wear and tear with little maintenance.

Bermudagrass needs a warm climate.  It is both drought and wear resistant.  It is fast growing and the comma Bermuda variety is quite cheap.  It does need full sun to thrive and has a very low tolerance for shady areas.  Don’t plant Bermudagrass if your lawn does not get a great deal of direct sunlight.

Centipede

Like Bermudagrass, centipede is quite low maintenance and does not require frequent mowing or fertilization.  It does not, however, grow quickly and it cannot withstand heavy traffic in the way that Bermudagrass can.

Centipede is a tough grass variety that is particularly suited to areas in the lower South and where the soil is quite acidic.  This variety of grass can take root where many other grasses have failed.  Centipede grass can grow in some shade, but you will get best results if it is full sun or almost full sunspots.

Centipede grass should be fertilized in the spring with low-nitrogen fertilizer.  You need to make sure that your fertilizer does not contain phosphorus.  The ideal mix to look for is 15-0-15.  The ideal pH level for centipede grass is between four and a half and five and a half.

Zoysia

Zoysia is a very dark and dense turf and it the most tolerant of cold of the entire southern climate suited grasses.  The ideal pH level for this variety of grass is between six and seven.

Zoysia is quite slow to take root if grown right from seed.  You can bypass this difficultly by laying sod, rather than growing the grass right from seed.  If you decide to go with sees, then you will have to have a great deal of patience.

Zoysia does best in full sun, but there are some sub-varieties that can do well in the shade.  The Emerald Zoysia variety has a high shade tolerance.  Zoysia also has somewhat of a drought tolerance, though you will need to stay on top of the water level and make sure that you water your grass if the drought lasts longer than a week.  Zoysia can deal with some dry spells, but not really lengthy ones.  Zoysia grasses should be fertilized in both the spring and the fall.

This variety of grass is the most attractive of the warm season grasses, but it comes at a price.  Zoysia grass takes a great deal of care and nurturing on your part to achieve the luxurious look it is known for.  If you don’t have the time or energy to devote to this type of grass, then you should probably consider planting one of the other varieties of warm climate grasses.

There are some other warm climate grasses that will do well if you live in a southern climate.  There are also some tall fescue varieties that can do well in southern areas too, especially those that are resistant to droughts.

At your local garden center, they should have a mix for your area.  Grass companies have spent a great deal of time and money researching the best mix for your area.  If you don’t have the time or want to do extensive research into the specific kinds of grass that are best suited to your land, then one of these grass seeds mixtures may be your best bet.

St. Augustine grass is usually a light to medium green color and as mentioned before is course in texture.  Its growth habit is fast and it creeps along, filling in the lawn as it goes.

St. Augustine grass needs to be mowed to a height of 2.5 to 3.5 inches for best results.  If you have shady areas, you need to let the grass grow a little longer.  In the hottest part of summer, raise the mowing height and don’t mow at all if you’re experiencing a season of drought.  St. Augustine grass will knit itself into a tight turf that naturally resists weeds if you fertilize properly.  It actually smothers weeds, as the grass grows so thick.  The grass has aggressive aboveground runners called stolons that can grow 3/4 inches per day laterally.  In addition, iron in a fertilizer will give you the maximum green color that lawn enthusiasts desire.  Fertilization is best done in Spring, Summer and Fall.  Early in Spring your St. Augustine lawn needs a weed and feed pesticide that will kill broadleaf that is already up and growing and stops new weed seeds from germinating.  Also in late spring you should use a fertilizer and pest control if it is needed.  You should use lawn fertilizer in the summer and insect control but only as needed.  In the early fall, St. Augustine grass should be winterized with a winter conditioner.  If your lawn’s ph level is discovered to be too low, then lime should be added in late winter or early spring.  It is important to remember when fertilizing your lawn to use a fertilizer spreader to spread lawn care products evenly over your lawn.

Maintenance will depend on the temperature of the soil, water levels, and your mowing and fertilization schedule.  If temperatures are cool, the grass will grow slower and less mowing is required.  St. Augustine grass needs to be regularly irrigated or watered to keep it healthy.  It requires two inches of water every seven days to preserve its green color and keeping it from going dormant.  If it does go dormant, it will green right up again as soon as it receives the moisture it needs.  If you have more than 1/2 inch of dead stems and debris on the soils surface, you will need to thin and clear out the dead thatch for a healthy lawn.  You should do this in the spring just before new growth begins.  The root-growing season starts in April and goes through October.

Two pests cause damage to any lawn with St. Augustine grass.  One is known as St. Augustine Decline, which is a virus and the other, is a bug called a chinch bug.  These are tiny black insects with white wings.  You will probably find them in hot dry spots of your lawn.  If you are unsure if you have them, you can make them come to the surface by soaking the spot with a bucket of soapy water.  To repair spots damaged by the virus or the chinch bugs you will need to plant sprigs of a resistant strain of St. Augustine grass such as Floratam or Floralawn.  Check with your county extension to see how and when to best control both problems.