Released Sept. 6, 2007
OLATHE, Kan. - This year´s weather was hard on tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass lawns. By August, many were suffering from drought and heat stress. Some were riddled with weeds and dead spots.
So, Rodney St. John is now getting lots of questions about better, stronger, prettier turf varieties.
Typically, people just want to know the best or top three varieties for their yard. But, St. John doesn´t have that answer, even though he´s a Kansas State University Research and Extension turf expert.
"The top 10 to 20 tall fescue varieties for the Midwest are always so similar in growth and performance that picking a hard-and-fast winner is basically impossible," he explained. "Besides, no one can forecast which varieties are going to be available at local stores from year to year. That depends on many factors."
So, if homeowners plan to stay with the region´s favorite turfs, St. John recommends that they go shopping with the names of at least 10 fescue or bluegrass varieties that have performed well in their area.
For example, as do many land-grant universities, K-State takes part in the U.S. Department of Agriculture´s National Turfgrass Evaluation Program. K-State horticulturists test turf varieties at experiment fields statewide, ranking the grasses´ quality, density, color and the like. The current field trial leaders for Kansas include:
- Tall fescue - Apache III, Avenger, BE 1, Coshise III, Finelawn Elite, Focus, Gremlin, Inferno, Justice, Matador, Millennium, Padre, Plantation, Regiment II, Riverside, Scorpion, 2nd Millennium, SR8550, Trooper, and Wolfpack.
- High-quality, high-maintenance Kentucky bluegrass - America, Apollo, Award, Awesome, Champagne, Champlain, Excursion, Freedom II, Impact, Langara, Liberator, Misty, Moon Shadow, NU Destiny, Odyssey, Princeton 105, Sonoma, and Unique.
- Good-quality, low-maintenance Kentucky bluegrass - Baron, Baronie, Caliber, Canterbury, Dragon, Eagelton, Kenblue, North Star, and South Dakota.
K-State´s recommendations on total lawn care are at http://www.ksuturf.com/Homeowners.html.
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Contact: Mary Lou Peter-Blecha, mlpeter@ksu.edu
