What Kind of Grass Should I Have? Help! (Cleveland, Shaker Heights: house, price)

[marjoriexxx]

I have looked all over the Cleveland area and many of the lawns are full of brown patches or just more brown than green. The fertilizer companies say that the grass is stressed out as a result of the high heat that we have been having. Is it a good idea to just plant bermuda grass or a grass that is dormant in the winter? I want a geen lawn in summer and fall. I've watered and had a high priced fertilizer company do their thing. Now, I just fired them because my lawn is a mess. I have that thin, sensitive golf course grass. Again, I want geen grass in the summer. HELP!

[jas3443]

I've actually been researching this myself and the best grass for our climate is Kentucky Blue Grass and a grass called Fescue.

Google those. That should get you in the right direction.

[orion1778]

Originally Posted by marjoriexxx

Again, I want geen grass in the summer. HELP!

Believe it or not - having green grass year round is not a natural phenomenon. Grass is supposed to dormant in the winter and a little brown in the summer.

Ted Steinberg from CWRU has an interesting book on this topic:

Amazon.com: American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn: Ted Steinberg: Books

He also takes pride in having the crummiest looking lawn in Shaker Heights.

[AndyF667]

Look up Zoysia.
My parents have this and it does turn brown in the winter, but in the spring it pops back and is soft and so lush that it chokes out weeds. They never have to apply chemicals.
I would do this if I was starting over.

[marjoriexxx]

I have a buddie who has ZOYSIA grass. I wondered why he never has weeds and he uses no fertilizer services. Yes, it does get dormant in winter. If I can find zoysia , I'll get it. If I can't find that I will get Kentucky blue grass. I'll also read the book suggested.

[nlschr0]

We had Kentucky blue grass, and it would go dormant in the summer without lots of TLC and irrigation. For us, we let it go dormant and somewhat brown during the hottest parts of the year, and it would perk back and be lush and green once the weather cooled a bit.

I was under the impression from our landscapers that a warm-weather grass may not survive a Cleveland winter, even in a dormant state. Of course some have to be re-plugged or re-planted every year anyway.

[121804]

We have a mix of fescue & blue grass. Fescue loves the sun but it's very think & I don't think it looks very nice.

In the areas that are not directly in sunlight, the blue grass has done great this summer.

Also make sure that you are not cutting your grass too short.

We used a company this summer b/c it was our first summer in the house & we wanted to get some weed problems under control. Not impressed & we are going to just fertilize on our own next year in spring, mid summer & fall.