Are you trying to get the best lawn grass seed for growing your lawn? Then you have just come to the right place. Finding the correct type of best lawn grass seed is a crucial factor, especially if you are looking to extend the longevity of your lawn greens. Be a lazy gardener with an awesome lawn!
But with the many varieties in the market to choose from, picking the best lawn grass seed can be daunting. You can also have issues to match your lawn grass seed to the climate in your region and growing conditions.
Fortunately, we have reviewed the top 5 best lawn grass seed that you can consider planting in your lawn. Besides, we also have a cultivating guide to help you get all the answers for most of your questions regarding lawn grass seeds, for instance, what is the best grass seed for your lawn?
You will also be able to understand the crucial considerations in buying lawn grass seeds.
Which Grass Seed Is Best For My Lawn? Comparison Table
1. Scotts Turf Builder – Bermudagrass – Best Grass Seed For A New Lawn
This Scotts Turf Builder – Bermudagrass is everything you need to turn your weak, thin grass into a thicker and greener lawn. Well, if subjected to proper care. Nonetheless, the results may differ based on the present condition of your lawn.
One thing about Bermudagrass grass seed is that it grows and spreads aggressively to cover the open gaps in your lawn. It also crowds out to weed any kind of weeds therein. It is designed to grow in full sun, thus can withstand the scorching sun with its fine blade texture.
These lawn grass seeds are designed for use in lawns that have full exposure to the sun. Because of its drought resistance, they can put up with long periods of drought. The seeds come in exclusive 4 in 1 WaterSmart PLUS Coating that absorbs two times more water than uncoated seeds.
- Drought resistant
- Aggressively spreads to fill the bare spots.
- Grows to a thick, durable, and fine-textured lawn
- May contain a few weeds.
2. Pennington Smart Seed Dense Shade – Best Grass Seed For Lawn Repair
The Pennington Smart Seed Dense Shade is a premium lawn grass seed of varieties of grasses that are sorted for superior shade tolerance. If your lawn is receiving little hours of daily sun, you can still transform the thin, struggling grass to a lush green lawn with Pennington Smart Seed Dense Shade.
When grown and well-taken care, this grass seed produces a fine-textured and rich-green lawn. The grass has a good drought-resistance and heat disease rating. Once it establishes, the Pennington Smart Seed grasses will require 30% less water than the ordinary grasses. It can stay green for up to three weeks without water.
These seeds are a product of Penkoted seed technology, which protects them from various fungal diseases. As such, you will get a quick establishment of healthier, better grass growth, even in your dense shade.
- Great for shaded lawns
- Requires minimal effort during planting
- Grows into a thick and rich-green lawn with soft fine blades
- Cannot survive without water for long
- Turns brown under severe drought
3. Jacklin Seed – Biltmore Blue Blend – 100% Kentucky Bluegrass – Great for Cool-season Climates
The Jacklin lawn grass seed is a premium mix of four different Kentucky Bluegrasses. Since this is elite lawn grass, it is an ideal pick for cool-season climates, especially where summers are warm and winters are colder.
The four different Kentucky Bluegrasses are responsible for providing turf density, shade, and are heat tolerant. They are also disease-resistance making it a premium blend for an excellent looking lawn.
The grass blend contains 25% Everest Kentucky Bluegrass, 25% Jackpot Kentucky Bluegrass, 25% Nuglade Kentucky Bluegrass, and 25% Impact Kentucky Bluegrass. All these kinds of Kentucky bluegrass mix to create drought tolerance, winter, and frost hardiness.
These lawn grass seeds are products of Jacklin Seed, leading breeding and production of turfgrass research. They, therefore, produce expert and innovative grass seeds for the golf course as well as those that the sod farm’s value.
- Great for cool-seasons
- Excellent turf density
- Great color and spreads a lot of space
- Sprouts in shady areas
- Some may not germinate.
4. Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed Zoysia Grass Seed and Mulch – Best Grass Seed For Full Sun Lawn
The Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed Zoysia Grass Seed and Mulch is a medium-bladed texture grass that is medium to high drought-resistance. These lawn grass seeds take about two to three weeks to sprout.
These seeds combine with mulch, which makes them grow into a tight, long-lasting, and low-maintenance lawn. These grass seeds thrive in heat, drought, and partial shade. It can also do well in cold temperatures.
Since this is a versatile grass seed mix, it has 99.99% free of weeds. Before and after applying the seeds, add a thin layer of Scotts Turf Builder LawnSoil. It requires watering at least twice daily for at least three weeks for the best results.
To get the best results from these seeds, make sure you apply Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food for new grass after seeding. This will make the grass grow thicker and quicker. Moreover, keep the soil surface moist until the seedlings reach the height of 2-inches tall.
- High drought resistance
- Designed for full sun and light shade
- It is easy to grow and maintain
- It is challenging to spread properly.
- It requires good-handling and proper care when planting.
5. Scotts Turf Builder Clover Lawn – Best Grass Seed For Organic Lawn
Do you plan to make your lawn greener and with less maintenance? Adding clover to your lawn is one way to achieve low maintenance while you green up your grass, without requiring more water.
The Scotts Turf Builder Clover is deep-rooted hence will reach down to the deep soil to stay green all year round. This way, it will help your lawn stay greener and for longer, especially during short-term drought conditions.
When you blend clover into an existing lawn grass, you get a uniform appearance. Clovers act as natural fertilizers to your lawn grass, especially when you mow.
Bear in mind that clover and nitrogen-fixing bacteria work together in converting nitrogen from the air into usable nitrogen fertilizer. So, once you cut them, they naturally clip in to feed your lawn.
- Sprouts quickly
- Requires less maintenance
- Keeps the lawn greener with less frequent watering
- Some may have a low germination rate.
Best Lawn Grass Seed – Buyer’s Guide
A green and plush lawn does more than just beautify your backyard. With the right lawn grass, you can reduce soil erosion around your home compound. It can also help filter groundwater, purify the air around your homestead, and absorb excess rainfall. Better yet, it can absorb all the dust and other particulate matter, which is great for leading a healthy life.
It doesn’t matter whether you want to enhance your current lawn appearance status or just want a beautiful lawn around your home. Selecting the best lawn grass seed is crucial for the success of your project.
There are different kinds of seeds that can work great with your lawn. Some will be great when planted from scratch; others will be good at filling the empty gaps, while others will work depending on the climatic conditions and need.
Selecting the best lawn grass seed variety for your needs can be challenging. For this reason, we have this buyer’s guide to lead you throughout the process of picking the right lawn grass seed for your lawn.
Things to Consider when Choosing the Best Lawn Grass Seed
Before you go to the market in search of the best lawn grass seed for your lawn, there are things you have to bear in mind. These things are the ones that will guide you to the right grass seeds that will suit your needs. Let’s check them out!
Ask Yourself Questions
Before anything else, ask yourself the following essential questions:
Are you planting a new lawn or reseeding the existing one on empty or bare spots?
- What is the level of traffic is your lawn subjected? Is it low, medium, or high traffic?
- What is your lawn care budget?
- How much time can you dedicate to caring and maintaining your lawn?
- What level of the sun does your lawn receive?
- Would you prefer straight grass seed types or a blend of different varieties?
Narrow your Lawn Seeds choices
There are several types of lawn grass seeds flooded in the market. Narrowing down your choices is the only way you can get closer to finding the best ones that suit your lawn. Your geographical location is an essential factor that will affect how your lawn grass will grow. And this is what you will mainly use to narrow down your choices.
- Northern Zone
The northern regions of the US and Canada experience moderate summer and extreme winters. Grasses like Tall Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, and Ryegrass thrive in these areas. Therefore, this should be your primary choice.
- Southern Zone
The southern zone experiences moderate winters and sweltering summers. As such, grasses that thrive in warm-season should be your primary choice. These may include Zoysia grass, Bermuda grass, Centipede grass, and St. Augustinegrass, among others.
- Transition Zone
Transition zones are regions that experience hot summers and cold winters. For this reason, it is difficult to get lawn grass that thrives in these regions. Those grasses that thrive in cold winter seasons will have it difficult during the summer season. The warm-season type will remain brownish for half of the year. Regardless, you won’t lack choices.
Consider Your Site
Think of the condition in which your lawn is currently. If your grass lawn has no challenges, any primary lawn grass will thrive. However, for challenging sites, picking grasses that withstand deeper shade, less water, and salty soils is ideal. Check out the region your lawn might be in:
- Shaded Sites
These are sites that have shades from tall canopy trees. Such sites accommodate lawn grasses like fine-leaf fescues. But, for the southern region, St. Augustine and its varieties – except for Floratam, are shade tolerant.
- Low-Input Sites
These are areas that have little or no access to good water supply or fertilizer. In such regions, Buffalo grass has proven resilience. Other variants include Centipede grass and fine-leaf Fescues. They all require low maintenance.
- High Traffic Sites
Lawn grasses like Ryegrass or Kentucky are best-known grass seed for new lawns in the northern zone with regular foot traffic. In the south, Bermuda grass is most preferred for its faster recovery rate. Some companies pack mixes a selected variety of lawn grass seeds to work for specific sites. Research is conducted to get the correct mixing ratio.
- Salty Sites
Grasses such as Seashore Paspalum are great lawn grass seeds for sites with high salt levels. These grasses are suited for coastal and sandy sites that are mostly by high salt levels or regular salt sprays.
Choosing the Best Lawn Seed: Does Variety of Grass Matter?
The variety of lawn grass matters a lot. Different types have different colors, texture, and growth rates. However, some differences may not be seen by naked eyes. For example, some species are cheaper, require low maintenance, and are drought resistance, while others are disease tolerant.
If you want the best performance from various species, it is advisable to get a mix of their varieties. Let’s check out some species and varieties that you can consider choosing for your lawn.
- Cool Season Species
The cool-season grasses are adapted to the northern climates. They also thrive during the fall and spring. They are often greener during winter when the temperatures are moderate. However, during the summer seasons, they turn brown if not regularly watered.
- Kentucky Bluegrass
The Kentucky Bluegrass species are also adapted to the north climatic conditions. It is the best lawn grass you can find in lawns in the northern areas, especially along the West Coast and in the transition zones. This type of grass is dark-colored with a medium texture. You can find a mix with perennial ryegrass to get the best results for your lawn.
- Tall Fescue
This variety does well in heat and drought areas. You can find them in the transition zones of the south. However, they have course texture thus less attractive. Nonetheless, its newer variants are beautiful.
- Fine-Leaf Fescue
The fine-leaf Fescue category has several species that are identified by their delicate appearance and thin-blade. It can be blended with other grass species that expose lawns to shade and drought-susceptibility. Grasses of these species require low-maintenance.
- Warm-Season Species
These are grasses that are heat-loving and thrive in the southern and southwest areas. These grasses often become dormant during summer, even without being watered. Seeds of these types are not readily available. Therefore, they require planting as either sprig or sod.
- Perennial Ryegrass
Perennial Ryegrass species are dark in color with a more gentle texture. They are used alone in lawns, though, can combine with Kentucky Bluegrass.
- Buffalograss
Species is the best if you want a low-maintenance lawn. It has a greyish tint that combines with the green color. It has a delicate texture. It is a warm-seasoned grass thus thrives in the southern regions.
- Bermudagrass
The standard Bermuda species feature a very coarse texture. The hybrid types have a more delicate surface, which makes lawns attractive. Bermuda is grown in the southern and western regions and can be over-seeded with ryegrass during fall. This way, Bermudagrass will maintain its winter color.
- Zoysiagrass
These grass species feature a medium texture with a dense turf. They can withstand the harsh winter conditions. It can extend its dormancy though it needs regular scalping to reduce its covering.
- Centipedegrass
This grass type is adapted to the south-eastern areas and requires low- maintenance. But, it is sold without any varieties included in the packages. They don’t have any real dormant state.
- St. Augustine Grass
The St. Augustine grass forms a thick, plush lawn with coarse texture. It thrives in hotter regions, even without much water, and it is tolerant to cold.
Conclusion
There are several grass types out there that come with their unique characteristics. It takes time to identify and assess each of them. However, you should get familiar with the grass type.
This way, you will make it easy to choose one that is appealing and suitable for your lawn condition. Make sure you select the grass type that suits the climate of your region. Weather conditions play a significant role in helping you narrow down to the grass type that is perfect for your lawn.
For example, some grass variants reviewed above thrive in heat conditions, while others do well under the shade. Some of these are factors that you need to keep at the back of your mind when searching for your best lawn grass seed. Also, factor in the pros and cons we mentioned in our top 5 best picks before making the final decision on the type of grass seed for your lawn.
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