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| Low-Maintenance Lawns (Summer 2007) |
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New turf grasses ease the effort and expense of a beautiful yard.
By Larry Reichenberger
There's no better welcome mat than the rich, green color and deep,
soft texture of a beautiful lawn. In the past, that invitation has
come at considerable cost — and a lot of work. However, a new generation
of turf grasses promise to make picture-perfect lawns more
affordable, more efficient, and more friendly to the environment.
Low-maintenance traits are being added to traditional turf grasses,
and native grasses are being fine-tuned to fit their rugged
nature into suburban lawns. "We're testing grasses with improved
tolerance to drought, better disease and insect resistance, and enhanced
color and density," says Kevin Morris, director of the National
Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) in Beltsville, Md. "These new
grasses also use significantly less fertilizer, water, and pesticide."
Morris explains that NTEP annually
evaluates 17 turfgrass species in 40 U.S.
states and six Canadian provinces. "The information is used by plant breeders, researchers, Extension agents, and homeowners to pick seed and sod that's drought tolerant, pest resistant, and also attractive and durable," he says.
Focus on water savings.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 32 percent of the water used by a typical household is applied to the lawn. This fact has made drought-tolerant turfgrass a major focus, and buffalo grass — a warm-season species native to the Great Plains — is at the top of the list.
For twenty years horticulturists at the
University of Nebraska have been working
with the U.S. Golf Association to
transform this rugged pasture species
into an urbanized turfgrass. That effort
has resulted in nine new buffalo-grass
varieties that combine tough ancestry with
the deep-green color, fine-bladed texture, and
thick density envied in suburban lawns.
"Turf-type buffalo grasses stay green on
75 percent less water than cool-season types like
bluegrass and 40 percent less than warm-season
Bermuda and zoysia," says Wayne Thorson,
owner of Todd Valley Farms at Mead, Neb.
Todd Valley owns exclusive rights to two
of these Nebraska varieties (Legacy and Prestige)
as well as a third (UC Verde) developed
at the University of California-Davis.
All three are vegetative species which are propagated as plugs or sod. Plugs, which cost
about 35 cents each, are typically planted on
a one-foot spacing to establish a lawn.
"These varieties are greener because they
contain only female plants — there's no male
pollen heads," Thorson explains.
Other buffalo-grass options.
Nebraska turf specialists Terry Riordan and Robert Shearman also developed turf-type buffalo grass species that grow from seed. Two of these,
Bowie and Cody, are adapted to all of the U.S.
but the far north and southeast and are distributed by Stock Seed Farms, Murdock, Neb.
"With seed it takes longer to establish a
lawn than with plugs or sod, but it's more economical," according to general manager Rod
Fritz. "A seeding rate of three pounds costs
$33 to cover 1,000 square feet."
Turffalo's Tech Turf is another improved
species that's allowing buffalo grass to move
from its home on the range to a home in the
front yard. Developed in conjunction with
Texas Tech University, Tech Turf is suited to portions of the lawn that receive 50 percent sun.
Also available is a partner species — Shadow
Turf — that excels in shady parts of the lawn.
"Both species have deep roots and require
less water," says Trent Ryan, president of
Frontier Hybrids, Abernathy, Texas. "Tech
Turf stays green on only 2 inches of water
a month—one-fourth of other turf grasses."
Ryan says Tech Turf spreads aggressively.
"When plugs are planted on a 12-inch spacing, the lawn is covered in 30 days. A
17-inch spacing cuts planting cost in half
and provides coverage in 60 days," he says.
Popular fescue turfgrass is also being
retooled for low maintenance. "It's traditionally
a bunch grass that thins out and must
be overseeded to maintain a thick lawn,"
says Thorson. "However, new Rhizomatous
Tall Fescue (RTF) spreads by underground
rhizomes to maintain itself automatically."
Developed by Barenburg USA, a company
based in Tangent, Ore., the new grass roots 4-
to 6-feet deep for improved drought tolerance.
Seeding with a blend containing an RTF variety
costs about $22 per 1,000 square feet. Sod
costs around 20 cents per square foot.
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