Originally Published in My Home Improvement Atlanta, SEP/OCT 2022 Issue
Fall is a fabulous season for landscaping projects. Cooler temperatures and less intense sunshine make for pleasant days spent outside. Fall is optimal for planting many shrubs, flowers and trees, and with proper care, sod can be laid in any season. So if you’ve been dreaming of a new lawn, it’s time to get started.
For bluegrasses and fescues, fall provides perfect planting conditions. These grasses thrive in cooler weather and stay green year round. They do best in areas around Atlanta and northward, tolerating shade and winter’s bite better than warm season varieties.
Bluegrasses
Southern Blue™ and Sunbelt Blue™ are innovative new grass varieties developed through a partnership between Texas A&M and NG Turf. They are both crosses of Kentucky bluegrass and Texas bluegrass, giving homeowners in our area another sod option for a year round green lawn.
Southern Blue vs. Sunbelt Blue
These two new bluegrass varieties differ only slightly. Southern Blue has a darker blue-green color, whereas Sunbelt Blue is a lighter, brighter blue-green, and Sunbelt tends to be more disease resistant. Both create beautiful, hardy lawns perfect for our part of the country.
New Bluegrasses at a Glance
- Innovative hybrids of Kentucky bluegrass and Texas bluegrass
- Cool season varieties developed to withstand summer heat and drought
- Better recovery from wear and damage than fescue
- Green color year round in sun to partial shade
Fescue
Rebel Supreme® fescue, a popular cool season grass for our area, also maintains its green color year round. Offering improved heat and drought resistance compared to most tall fescues, Rebel Supreme performs well in full sun, but also tolerates partial shade. It features a dark green color and medium blade.
Bluegrass vs Fescue
Southern Blue and Sunbelt Blue share many attributes with Rebel Supreme fescue, such as heat and drought tolerance compared to other cool season grasses. The new bluegrasses are clearly the hardiest cool season grasses for our area due to their ability to recover from stress and damage without replanting as well as improved disease resistance compared to fescue.
Grasses like zoysia and Bermuda are built for summer’s heat and drought, thriving in warm weather and full sun. They go dormant to survive during winter months and turn a characteristic golden brown. These grasses grow throughout our area, including south of Atlanta where cool season lawns may struggle.
There are many warm season varieties to choose from, but two of the best are TifTuf™ Bermuda and Zeon® zoysia.
TifTuf Bermuda
TifTuf offers proven drought resistance, maintaining quality and color while using 38% less water than other varieties. TifTuf’s vigorous growth allows for faster establishment and quicker recovery compared to other Bermudas as well.
Zeon Zoysia
A wonderful barefoot grass, Zeon is soft to the touch, developed with a superior fine blade. Its remarkable shade performance, low maintenance, low thatch production and improved wear tolerance make it an ideal grass for home lawns.
Questions?
If you have questions contact our Certified Turfgrass Professionals at 770-832-8608 or email info@NGTurf.com.
