Lawns have a long history in the American imagination, and our relationship with our pristine carpets of green is more than just aesthetic.

Though they started as matters of prestige and markers of wealth, lawns today support families — homeowners — who spend time outdoors, especially in regions that experience distinct seasons.

Growing efforts directed toward cultivating a thriving lawn help build a growing awareness in new homeowners about the state of gardens and the importance of nurturing green spaces.

A thriving lawn can connect individuals, families, and encourage other gardening practices for homeowners who take pride in having a green thumb. But to cultivate a great lawn, you'll need to find the right type of turfgrass.

What's the right type of grass seed? It's one that aligns with your climate, your intended use, your property's unique geography, and how much shade you have.

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about choosing the right grass seed for your lawn. Here's what you can expect to learn:

• Why Choosing the Right Seed is Essential
• Growing Factors
• Types of Grass Seed
• How to Choose the Right Grass Seed

GROWING FACTORS

Before we look at seed types, let's look at some of the factors that can affect how well grass will grow in your lawn.

Your choice of grass seed will need to consider a few external factors. You may have noticed that several of the above descriptions of grass seed types included considerations like "traffic" and levels of shade.

These factors matter because they're all about your lifestyle and the expected use of your lawn. After all, lawns are no longer simply fashionable — they're functional too.

TYPES OF GRASS SEED

Your grass seed decision on varieties depends on a host of factors, including land and soil readiness, region, geography, season, and how much work you're willing to put in to maintain it.

As you can see, there are a couple of types of "species" of grass seed. These include fescues, perennial ryegrass, bentgrass, bluegrass, buffalo, bermuda, bahia and more.

The table above gives you a good sense of the natural features of each type of grass. Even the grass species themselves can have seed variations. For example, fine fescues include creeping red fescue, chewings fescue, hard fescue, and sheep fescue varieties.

So let's take a look at the features of some of the most common seed types, besides the ones above:

WARM SEASON V.S. COOL SEASON GRASS SEED

The best way to distinguish seed types — besides their characteristics — is via season. Which season or climate does your preferred seed type thrive in?

As you can see, your region deeply affects your choice of grass seed — and whether it will thrive or fall.

If you're in border states, where the climate changes, it's also important to choose a versatile turfgrass type.

This will become the basis of your seed type choice so make sure to choose a variety or mixture that conforms to your type of soil, sun exposure, as well as overall climate conditions.

Generally, there are two types of seed type:

 

Blends and Mixtures

Different mixes of grass seeds, as long as they don't contain too many additives or low-quality fillers, are usually designed to be sold together to address very specific issues.

Let's say you wanted to get a drought-resistant species, or you're specifically looking to repair a damaged lawn. You might turn to a seed mixture or a lawn repair mix, respectively.

Seed mixtures are mixes that combine several different kinds of grasses in one package. These help offset each other, which keeps your lawn green and healthy.

Then there are blended-seed mixtures, which combine several different kinds of the same grass species in one.

Opting for a blended-seed mixture, you can take advantage of the strengths of each. An example of this would be combining multiple kinds of fescues together. The resulting appearance is the same when you use a blended-seed mixture.

And, finally, you can go specifically for function: the lawn repair mix.

Along with grass seed, your mix also includes starter fertilizer and mulch, making this an all-purpose solution for addressing those brown and patchy spots. You don't need to buy these three items separately or guess at the proportions.

The best part?

Because they're specifically designed to address lawn repair, these seed mixtures often include attenuated to allow for water absorption and retention to improve growth.

Pro-tip: Use mixes containing variations of Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, and even small amounts of perennial ryegrass. These "repair" seed mixtures will address those bare, patchy, and brown spots, giving your entire lawn a uniformly green look.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT GRASS SEED

Now that you know why choosing the best seed is important and which varieties work best, let's dig into how you can choose the right grass seed.

First and foremost, you need high-quality grass seed, and local nurseries and grass seed vendors are usually the best place to find quality. Each variety has its own needs for levels of water, fertilizer, pesticides and even mowing frequencies.

For example, Kentucky bluegrass is a kind of turfgrass seed that calls for more fertilizer and more frequent watering to thrive.

No matter which grass seed type you choose, however, always make the investment in top-quality seed, rather than going for cheaper retail outlets that mix the seed with a whole variety of "fillers."

Your lawn will thank you.

Now, let's look at how to choose your seed type in four easy steps.

Step #1: Perform a Soil Test

It's essential to start with a soil test, but you may wonder: "why?"

Your soil's pH will largely determine whether your lawn thrives once it starts growing, or whether it looks patchy and tired.

In general, turf grasses require well-aerated soil that has a slightly acidic pH balance of between 6 and 7.0.

As you can see, taking a soil sample is an easy process that requires you to divvy up your site, collect samples and data, and then send off the samples for further testing.

To test your soil, grab a soil test kit and begin gathering small samples from several differentiated spots where you're planning to seed. Mix the soil and place it into the bag.

Because it takes about two weeks to receive the results back, make sure you're planning to perform the test well in advance. Just in case results don't come back as you expected, you'll need time to make adjustments to your soil before planting.

Step #2: Study Up on Seeds

We covered seed varieties earlier, but this is where you can put that knowledge into practice.

But there's more to finding varieties than knowing what's out there. You also need to know how some big-box seed companies work, and you need to know what to watch out for.

For instance, sometimes reduced priced seeds are sold as "variety not stated." However, seed mixes usually also come with labels that state the variety of each grass species included. Read it thoroughly!

And if there's no such label, avoid purchasing the seed bag. Why? Because there's usually a certain about of chaff, dust, weed seeds, and crop seeds included. You want to make sure that what you're paying for is actual seed.

You should know that seed mixtures will often bring in seed types like "Boreal" creeping red fescue, annual ryegrass/Italian ryegrass, and other inferior species.

These are mostly fillers that won't do too much for your lawn so don't bother paying for a mixture that includes them.

But you'll only be able to catch these flaws if you read the label and know what to look for - and now you do!

Step #3: Check On Local Variety Performance Data

Once you know which varieties are good and bad, check up on which varieties perform well in your area.

A great source for this is The University of Minnesota. They have a portal dedicated to data on variety performance known as the Cultivar Evaluation Results. This can help you to check on the historical performance of seed types.

You can also visit the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program for data and rankings of most turf cultivars, as well as the performance of ongoing trials.

Or of course, just ask the experts here at Nature's Seed!

Step #4: Decide On Your Species

Once you've finished your research, it's time to pick a seed.

From fine fescues to bluegrass and bermudagrass, your choice depends on factors like:

• Your region
• How much shade you have on your property
• How much work and maintenance you intend to put in (moving, fertilization, growth rates)

Some grass types, for example, call for very particular amounts of nitrogen fertilizer. Others can hold a green color all season long and take very little input from you to root and grow quickly.

Choose the best seed for your lawn, and then enjoy your pristine carpet of green!

CONCLUSION

Ready to take charge of your lawn this spring and summer?

It's definitely not rocket science, but there is a blend of art and science here: The art of growing and cultivation, and the science of testing your soil and choosing the right seed.

Because this is a multi-step process, you'll need to patient as you choose the right grass seed for your lawn.

Your efforts at growing a lush lawn should begin with a soil sample.

Once that comes back, you'll know definitively if you're spending some time improving the pH of your soil, or if you're ready to seed.

From there, you should also consider other growth factors like your region, how much shade there is on your lawn, and wear and tear.

It's only at this point that you should check local data, zone in on a specific variety, and buy your grass seed.

All of these things together will help you craft the perfect lawn.