Here are some tips for caring for Kentucky Bluegrass.
Kentucky Bluegrass is one of the most widely used grasses in the United States. Most of those beautiful, healthy lawns that you see and love are either all Kentucky bluegrass or a Kentucky bluegrass mixed with another cool-season grass. It is a good choice for cool zones and transition zones, but it requires a significant amount of work. It is not an insurmountable amount of work if you are really devoted to having a healthy Kentucky bluegrass lawn.
Mow Regularly
Kentucky bluegrass tends to have shallower roots, so letting it grow long is important (grass roots are proportional to blade height). For best results, you should be mowing your Kentucky bluegrass to about 2-3 inches each time. However, you don’t ever want to cut off more than a third of the blade at a time. This means that your Kentucky bluegrass should only get to about 4 inches tall before you mow – this can happen quickly, so for a really lush and healthy lawn, you’re going to be mowing very frequently.
Water Liberally
The great thing about cool-season grasses is that they are relatively tolerant of both the cold winter and the heat of summer. In most cases, when summer brings drought conditions, Kentucky bluegrass will go dormant. This means that it gets brown and looks a little dead, but it is not (no need to order new sod yet). This process protects the plant from the scorching heat and drought. You can keep it green, however, by watering freely and often – sometimes over an inch of water a week. This will help it survive the summer heat without going dormant.
Fertilize Regularly
Kentucky bluegrass will look its best when regularly fertilized. For starters, leave the clippings on the grass when you mow – this is an instant nitrogen infusion as the clippings break down. Kentucky bluegrass loves nitrogen, so even with leaving the clippings, you should plan to fertilize 2-4 times each year, with one always being at the end of summer and beginning of fall to help the grass recover from summer stress. When applying fertilizer in the spring, use a slow-release type and wait until the grass is fully grown and green before application.
Dethatch, Aerate, Weed
While leaving the clippings to help fertilize is good, if the thatch gets to be too thick (more than ½ inch) it will block air and water from reaching the soil and the roots of the plant. Using a core aeration machine to both aerate and dethatch at the same time is a good solution. Finally, don’t forget to weed as needed. The thicker and healthier your Kentucky bluegrass is, the fewer weeds you will encounter.
Get Your Yard Ready for Fall!
Since our inception from a humble 30-acre field to over 4,500 acres of turf grasses, Quantico Creek Sod Farm is now the LARGEST SOD FARM IN THE TRI-STATE AREA. Our service areas cover Pennsylvania, Maryland, DC Delaware, Virginia and Northern North Carolina. Order early and order often to ensure the best service possible. Contact us through our online page. Please find us at 27616 Little Lane, Salisbury, Maryland 21801. Our phone number is 410-726-6103, and our fax number is 410-742-6550. Speak to Jason Anderson for Turf Grass Sales. Reach him by email at jason@quanticocreeksod.com. Finally, follow us on social media on Facebook, LinkedIn, and our blog.