The Best Grass Seeds for Montana Lawns

The best grass seeds for Montana lawns are Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescues, tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass. For semi-arid regions, use buffalograss or blue grama grass.

For non-arid Montana lawns, use Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass mix or a mix of perennial ryegrass and creeping red fescue or Chewings fescue. Buffalograss or blue grama grass work well in very dry eastern Montana or as low-maintenance lawns.

Let’s take a closer look at your choices.

Cool-season grasses

Kentucky bluegrass

Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) is emerald to blue-green and is medium to finely textured. It grows best in northwestern Montana lawns where the soil is nutrient rich but still fares well in well-drained soils throughout Montana. KGB’s ideal pH is 6 to 7.5, perfect for most of Montana, though you may have to add limestone if you live along the central or southern Idaho border.

Pros: High tolerance for Montana’s cold winters, drought, foot traffic, and is fire-resistant. Creates a dense, attractive lawn.

Cons: Requires regular watering and fertilizing, moderate to high potential for disease, low shade tolerance. 

The expert’s take: According to Planning and Planting Successful Lawns in Montana published by Montana State University, a Kentucky bluegrass mix is best. “A typical mix consists of about 60 percent Kentucky bluegrass, 30 percent red or Chewings fescue, and 10 percent perennial ryegrass.”

Grass Seed Options:
– Jonathan Green (11970) Blue Panther Kentucky Bluegrass Grass Seed (3 lbs.)
– SeedRanch Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass Seed (5 lbs.)

For more information, check out Kentucky Bluegrass: How to Grow and Care for It.

Fine fescues

Fine fescues consist of creeping red fescue, Chewings fescue, hard fescue, and sheep fescue. For most of Montana’s lawns, you’ll use either creeping red fescue or Chewings fescue in a mix with Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. If you live in semi-arid eastern Montana, choose sheep fescue or hard fescue alone (not in a mix).

Classification: Cool-season grass

Grass Seed Options:
– Outsidepride Legacy Fine Fescue Grass Seed (5 lbs.)
– Eretz Creeping Red Fine Fescue Seed (choose your size)
– Outsidepride Creeping Red Fine Fescue Grass Seed (25 lbs.)

Here’s Fine Fescue: How to Grow and Care for It for more information.

Tall fescue

Tall fescue is medium to dark green, coarsely textured, and produces a relatively low-maintenance lawn. Seed thickly to form a desirable lawn. Tall fescue adapts to most soils but prefers clay soils found in north-central and central Montana. It’s preferred pH is 5.5 to 6.5, so you’ll likely need to add sulfur to lawns outside northwest and central-west Montana.

Pros: Moderate to high tolerance for shade, drought, foot traffic, disease, and it doesn’t produce thatch.

Cons: Frequent mowing. Must seed thickly to create a desirable turf. Several other grasses typically create a more attractive lawn.

Note: Don’t mix tall fescue with other turfgrasses; differing textures and growth will produce an uneven lawn.

Grass Seed Options:
– Triple-Play Tall Fescue Grass Seed Blend (5000 sq ft)
– Eretz Kentucky 31 K31 Tall Fescue Grass Seed (choose your size)
– Pennington The Rebels Tall Fescue Grass Seed Mix (7 lb.)

Have a look at Tall Fescue: How to Grow and Care for It for more information.

Perennial ryegrass

Perennial ryegrass germinates quickly and will be the first to go green each spring. Its fast germination makes it a perfect nurse grass to mix with slower-growing grasses like Kentucky bluegrass. It grows best in the wet, fertile soils of western Montana, but most Montana soils, including some clay. It grows in a wide pH range of 5 to 8, perfect for Montana.

Pros: High tolerance for foot traffic, moderate mowing and fertilization requirements, and thatch is not significant.

Cons: Low tolerance for cold, shade, and drought. High potential for disease.

Note: Perennial ryegrass is often used to seed areas hit by wildfire. The grass’ quick growth stabilizes the soil to halt erosion. 

Grass Seed Options:
– Outsidepride Perennial Ryegrass Seed (5 lbs.)
– Eretz ProTurf Perennial Ryegrass Fine Lawn Seed (choose your size)

Find more information at Perennial Ryegrass: How to Grow and Care for It.

Warm-season grasses

Buffalograss

Buffalograss is native to the Great Plains and is fine textured, fire-resistant, and dark green with hints of blueish-gray. It prefers arid soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5, ideal for eastern Montana. While it prefers clay soils, it struggles with sandy soil.

Pros: Tolerates cold and drought, requires little fertilizer and mowing, and resists diseases and insects. 

Cons: Low shade tolerance, low foot-traffic tolerance, requires weed control

Note: Weeds can overtake buffalograss with irrigation and in higher rainfall areas.

Grass Seed Options:
– Everwilde Farms Buffalograss Seeds (1 lb. of seeds)
– Buffalograss seed (primed) (5-lb. bag)

Check out Buffalograss: How to Grow and Care for It for more information.

Blue grama grass

Blue grama is a slow-growing, light green, fine-bladed, and native grass to the Great Plains. It’s often mixed with buffalograss. It tolerates a wide range of soils, including sandy and clay. Blue grama prefers arid soil with a pH of 6.6 to 8.4, ideal for eastern Montana.

Pros: High drought and cold tolerance, low potential for disease, low maintenance needs

Cons: Low shade tolerance, low foot traffic tolerance

Grass Seed Options:
– Everwilde Farms Blue Grama Grass Seeds (1 lb.)
– Nature’s Seed Blue Grama Grass Seeds (1 lb.)

Choosing the Best Grass Type for Your Montana Lawn

While all these grasses create a lovely Montana lawn, what’s best for your lawn will vary by your location, maintenance needs, drought tolerance, and foot traffic tolerance. Use this quick guide to help you understand which grass to choose for your Montana lawn.

Best grass types for western Montana

• Kentucky bluegrass (for areas outside drought zones)
• Creeping red and Chewings fine fescues (best used in a mix with Kentucky bluegrass).
• Tall fescue (for drier areas)
• Perennial ryegrass (best used as a nurse grass for Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescues).

Best grass types for eastern Montana

• Sheep and hard fescues
• Tall fescue
• Buffalograss
• Blue grama

Maintenance needs

• Moderate: Perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass
• Low: Tall fescue, fine fescues, blue grama, and buffalograss

Drought Tolerance

• High: Tall fescue and fine fescues (depending on cultivar), buffalograss, blue grama.
• Moderate: Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, and fine fescues (depending on cultivar). 
• Low: Perennial ryegrass.

Foot traffic Tolerance

• High: Perennial ryegrass
• Moderate: Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, and fine fescues (depending on the cultivar).
• Low: Fine fescues (depending on the variety), buffalograss, and blue grama.

Related Articles:

• How to Grow Grass
• How to Plant Grass Seed
• When to Plant Grass Seed in Montana
• Montana Growing Zones
• Montana Native Plants for Your Landscape

Should I hire a professional?

While we love the outdoors, most of us would rather enjoy outdoor hobbies, not lawn care and maintenance. If you don’t have the time, energy, or desire, Lawn Love can help. We’ll connect you with a vetted, experienced, affordable, local lawn care professional who will take care of your lawn so you can enjoy your weekend without breaking a sweat or the bank.

Lawn Love participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. Lawn Love may earn revenue from products promoted in this article.

Main Image Credit: Tmork08 | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0

Nicki DeStasi

Nicki DeStasi is a writer, author, and teacher who grew up in western Massachusetts and currently resides in the Austin area. She enjoys flower and vegetable gardening, reading, cooking, listening to true-crime podcasts, and spending time with her husband, three children, dog, and cat.

Posts by Nicki DeStasi