The Grass Doctor

What is the best grass seed to put out to get a pretty green lawn without the weeds?

Public Comments

1. kentucky blue
2. a bluegrass mix....it takes more watering, but fescue is so prone to weeds it's ridiculous. Scott's is the only brand I use.
3. Wow there are so many variables to that question! Where do you live, how much sunlight, how much foot traffic, do you want to walk/use the lawn or is it for show, whats the soil like, do you have a dog.... I will try to generalize though. The good news is that weeds aren't really a factor of the seed. Most grass seed these days has very little weed seeds. Weeds really are a matter of maintaining a lawn once it is established. There are (again ) many options. DIY, have a service like Tru -Green, organic (strongly recommended), again where you live.Assuming you're kind of middle of the road (4 seasons ) you should choose a grass seed that is a mixture. A good ball park is thirds each of;, fescue, perennial rye and creeping blue. This balances out things like speed of growth, wearability and pest /drought resistance. If you want to be sneaky, call a tru-green type service, have them give you a detailed estimate including seed type and fert/weed apps. and just do it yourself. However, if you have a really big yard, its really worthwhile to have a pro do any pest/weed apps as the have a liscense and can get the good stuff and can put it down faster and better than most homeowners (just because of equipment and experience). Enjoy!
4. Zoysia grass, it comes in plugs and is VERY hardy, in fact it is almost a weed in itself. However, it turns brown faster than other grass in the colder climates ( northeast) during fall and winter. If you would rather have seed put down, then it depends on whether this is a new project with bare dirt or an existing lawn that you want to spruce up. An annual rye grass mix is great to get a lawn established quickly as it will germinate within a few days and sprout. However, as its name suggests it is only good for one year and will not come in very ell the next year. So what you typically do is to seed with an annual rye grass, let that come in, and then seed again with the whatever grass that you want to keep. Kentucky blue grass is a beautiful lawn that has fine grass blades as oppose to thick blades perrenial rye grass looks good and is hardier. hey have mixes of both that blend very well. if you are overseeding an existing lawn, you have oto kill the weeds first, but you will not be able to seed for several months after you apply the weedkiller. If you can kill the weeds earlier in the season, or stop them from growing with a pre-emergence then you can typcally seed in early fall and next year it will be much nicer and thicker. Understand that seeding is not jut throwing some seed around and sprinkling some water every once in a while. it takes time and dedication. Good luck