Across the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, cool season lawn grasses perform best. Bluegrass, often called “Kentucky bluegrass”, grows in zones with cool summer night temperatures and adequate annual rainfall. Bluegrass is not as heat and drought tolerant and a higher water use rate than tall fescue and warm-season grasses. Bluegrass performs best in moist sunny areas and red fescues and chewings fescues prosper in moist shady areas.

Because bluegrass seed is slow to germinate, it is best seeded from late August to mid-October and not in the cool spring. In mixed stands with tall fescue, bluegrass thrives in swales or sunken ground areas that tend to stay moist over extended time periods. Sod producers often mix a limited amount of bluegrass with seeds of the improved, turf-type tall fescues.

University and seed company trials of bluegrass continue to select better varieties for cool Northern regions. In the listing that follows, if a variety is not listed, it may have still performed well.

Recommended bluegrass cultivars for high-quality lawns, include Alexa II, Aura, Award, Bewitched, Barrister, Belissimo, Beyond, Diva, Everest, Everglade, Excursion, Ginney II, Granite, Impact, Midnight, NuChicago, NuGlade, NuDestiny, Rhapsody, Rhythm, Rugby, Skye, Solar Eclipse, STR 2485, Sudden Impact, Washington, and Zifandel.

Bluegrass is best fertilized in early spring and in late summer with 3-4 lbs. of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet annually and irrigated over long dry periods. Expect cool season grasses to look their best in the spring and fall, and brown off (go dormant) in the hot, dry summer.

In a transition zone tall fescues possess better heat and drought tolerances than either perennial ryegrass and bluegrass. Homeowners living here frequently mix bluegrasses with tall fescues and irrigate during hot dry summer periods.

Special thanks to Dr. Tom Samples for his assistance.