The Grass Seed Complexity

I have a yard full of weeds. If I put down weed killer, I suspect I’ll have a yard full of dirt with patches of grass here and there. So first I’d like to plant grass. But what kind of grass?

There are a number of varieties, and new varieties come out all the time. Within each variety of grass there are sub-varieties.

There’s Bahiagrass and Bentgrass, Bermudagrass and Centipedegrass. There’s Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass and Ryegrass. There’s St. Augustinegrass and Zoysiagrass.

Within a variety there are sub-varieties. Take Fescue: there is Tall Fescue and Fine Fescue. There is Creeping Red Fescue and Hard Fescue. There’s Chewings Fescue and Sheep Fescue.

Within the sub-varieties there are sub-sub-varieties and blends. Want to plant a Tall Fescue? There’s Georgia 51 and Kentucky 31 and Titan RX. Want a blend? There’s Defiance XRE, Titan LTD, Defiance XRE/Blue, Rebel Shade, Greystone, and Pennington's Smart Seed, to name a few. There’s Dense Shade, Rebel Tall, Smart Tall, T.L.C. Tall, and Titan Fescue/Bluegrass. And these are just some of the Tall Fescue varieties and blends.

Every variety and sub-variety has its strengths and weaknesses. Some like hot, humid weather, some thrive in cold weather. Some like lots of sun, some grow well in shade. Some are high maintenance, requiring a lot of water and fertilizer. Some are eco-friendly and grow well with occasional rain and infrequent fertilizing.

I already know what will happen. The more research I do, the less I will know. I’ll develop brain fatigue: it’s all very confusing. So I will go to Home Depot or Lowe’s, and I’ll wander around looking at bags of grass seed, and I’ll ask someone who has worked there for maybe two weeks what he/she would recommend, and that person, who has done far less research on the subject than I have done, will hand me a bag of seed and say, “Try this.”

And I will.