Which Variety Is the Right One?

Are you adding sod to a location that will be used by people and/or pets on a regular basis? The first thing you will want to observe is how much sun the area is receiving each day. If it receives 8 or more hours of sun each day when the grass is actively growing and not under snow … and you are not building a putting green … your best option will be Kentucky bluegrass. Kentucky bluegrass requires full sun to flourish.

Central Wisconsin Sod offers several different varieties of Kentucky bluegrass. If you are a homeowner, you will most likely want to choose one with a slower growth rate, or you will be mowing every other day throughout the growing season! The varieties with a faster rate of growth are bred to repair themselves quickly after heavy use during a sporting event, so these varieties would be suitable for soccer, football, and baseball fields.

What if your space has less than 8 hours of sun each day? Well, you can still choose Kentucky bluegrass, but over time (in years) it will begin to thin out, and these thin spaces are the ones that weed seeds like to grow in. The better option for areas that are part shade would be our turf-type tall fescue blend. The tall fescue (90% of the blend) does well even if it receives some shade during the day.

When would you use our fine fescue? Think out-of-the-way locations that no one walks on … seedheads blowing in the breeze … natural spaces that don’t require much, if any, maintenance. These areas must receive 8 or more hours of sun for the fine fescue to flourish.

And bentgrass … if you are indeed building a putting green, bentgrass is the type of grass you will want to use. Bentgrass requires full sun each day for your greatest success.

Please feel free to call our farm and we will be happy to answer additional questions.