Cool Season Grass Basics

Knowing how grass grows provides much insight into care and management strategies.

Watch this video:

• How Grass Grows (University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension), an animated look at how cool-season grasses grow and why this impacts the management decisions we make.

Site Adapted Lawns

Timing and practices of lawn care and management vary by your local conditions and areas defined by the site of optimum adaptation. Use Figure 1, the Turf Site of Optimum Adaptation Map, to best identify your site of optimum adaptation, then find resources that will help you manage your lawn.

Figure 1. Turf Site of Optimum Adaptation Map. (Photo credit: USDA)

If you identify your growing area as being in the transition zone, review the following article. Otherwise, find information for your lawn's site of optimum adaptation in the "Care and Management Resources by Site" section below:

• Transition Zone Lawns.

Care and Management Resources by Site

Select resources that best match your lawn's site of optimum adaptation and local conditions:

Cool/Humid

Lack of soil preparation for the lawn in the forefront makes it difficult to survive. Compare it to the lush lawn behind it, which received proper soil preparation, and you'll see why preparing and caring for your lawn correctly makes a difference. (Photo credit: Karen Jeannette).

• Cool/ Humid Adapted Grasses (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).

• Lawn Care Library (Cornell University).

• Lawn Challenge (University of Illinois Extension).

• The Home Lawn (University of Minnesota Extension).

• Lawn Care Publications (Kansas State University Extension).

Cool/Semiarid

Cool Semiarid Adapted Grasses (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).

• CSU Turf Publications (Colorado State University Extension).

• Lawn Care lawn publication listing (Colorado State University Extension).

• Idaho Landscapes and Gardens: Lawn and Turf (University of Idaho Extension), a how-to site for home lawns.

• Lawn Care Publications (Kansas State University Extension).

Cool/Humid Northwest

Cool/Humid Northwest Adapted Grasses (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).

Maintaining a Healthy Lawn (Oregon State University Extension).

Oregon State lawn publication listing (Oregon State University Extension).

Detecting and Diagnosing Problems

Use the following pictorial diagnostic Web sites to detect and diagnose lawn problems by signs and symptoms.

• Turfgrass Disease Diagnosis (University of Minnesota).

• Plant Disease Diagnostics (University of Maryland). Select the lawns button on the left to begin diagnosing lawn problems.

Additional Resources

• Calibrating a Spreader (Soil and Crop Sciences Department, Texas A&M University). Ever wonder how much fertilizer your spreader is actually applying? This resource will walk you through steps for calibration.

• Ultra (Low) Maintenance Lawns (Yard and Garden Line, University of Minnesota).