The best grass seeds for lawns in north Jersey are cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass. These grasses all tolerate cold winters and bounce back beautifully in the spring with proper care.
It’s important to know because building and keeping a great lawn starts with choosing a grass type that is suited for our climate and weather conditions. But beyond that, you’ll want to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each type and select one that suits your needs and preferences for appearance, durability, and other factors.
Kentucky bluegrass: High maintenance but durable and beautiful
Perhaps the most ubiquitous grass type in the Northern United States, Kentucky bluegrass is popular everywhere in New Jersey because it withstands the state’s cooler winters and bounces back great in the spring. It does especially well here in north Jersey and west Jersey because it doesn’t care for very hot temperatures, and those areas experience half as many summer days over 90 degrees as the southern areas of the Garden State.
When you’re establishing a new lawn, know that Kentucky bluegrass germinates slowly. It takes between 10 and 30 days, which is why it’s often mixed with fast-germinating grasses like perennial ryegrass or fine fescues in new lawns.
Another downside: to look its best, Kentucky bluegrass requires more attention and more fertilizer than some other grass types.
Grass Seed Options:
– Jonathan Green (11970) Blue Panther Kentucky Bluegrass Grass Seed (3 lbs.)
– SeedRanch Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass Seed (5 lbs.)
Perennial ryegrass: Establishes quickly, handles heat
This is a super versatile grass that you can plant alone as a lawn or mix it with other grass seed to quickly repair bare spots or improve the durability of a lawn that gets heavy use. Perennial ryegrass also tolerates heat relatively well, which means it is less likely to go dormant at the peak of north Jersey summers when the average daily temperatures are between 80 and 85 degrees.
Perennial ryegrass may have trouble with super cold or very icy winters, but those are fairly infrequent here in Jersey. But, with its rapid growth rate, it’s still a great choice for a quick cover-up when fixing bald patches on your lawn.
Grass Seed Options:
– Outsidepride Perennial Ryegrass Seed (5 lbs.)
– Eretz ProTurf Perennial Ryegrass Fine Lawn Seed (choose your size)
Fine fescue: Good in shade, handles drought
This group is made up of several cultivars, such as creeping red, Chewings, hard, and sheep fescue. They are all well adapted to north Jersey’s cool climate and thrive in shady lawns. They’re less needy when it comes to fertilization, requiring only 2 pounds or less per 1,000 square feet per year.
Just like Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue mixes well with other grass types to improve drought and shade tolerance. If you want to tweak the appearance or bolster a weaker lawn, you can combine it with Kentucky bluegrass or perennial ryegrass.
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.)
Tall fescue: Hardy and low-maintenance
Tall fescue is a fairly hardy grass that can go long stretches without supplemental irrigation, so it’s good for those who don’t want to invest hours and hours a week on their lawns. It’s also a good choice for yards exposed to direct sunlight throughout the day or communities that restrict water usage.
Along with this drought resistance, tall fescue also has fewer problems with the insects and diseases than other cool-season grasses, but it is still susceptible to some diseases like brown patch if it’s overwatered or overfertilized.
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.)
Grasses to avoid in north Jersey
Annual ryegrass
You might be enticed to reach for annual ryegrass because it grows fast and, therefore, can be a quick fix as a new lawn or to patch bare spots in existing lawns. Don’t do it. Annual ryegrass creates a coarse, sparse turf that grows quickly but doesn’t last long.
Zoysiagrass
Zoysia is a staple of Southern lawns because it creates a thick green carpet and endures heat exceptionally well. And while newer cultivars resist cold better and are gaining popularity as far north as Connecticut, they’re still optimal in warmer climates. We can recommend them for south Jersey, where winters are five degrees warmer on average, but not here.
Trust the pros
Lawn maintenance can be time-consuming and tough. Starting a new lawn? Tougher still because tender young seeds require a lot of care until they can thrive on their own.
If you don’t have the patience for all this, or perhaps you’re just not confident that you have the green thumb to pull it off, contact Lawn Love. Our lawn care professionals can guide you in finding the best grass for your needs and location.
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Main Image Credit: Jrogers123 | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0
