The best grass seeds for Northern Wisconsin are cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, and fine fescues, which are adapted for the plunging sub-zero winter temperatures.
Whether overhauling your entire lawn in Ashland or just overseeding some bare spots in Bayfield, choosing the right cool-season grasses will get you a lush, healthy lawn. If you’re curious about the rest of Wisconsin, look no further than our article: “The Best Grass Seed for Wisconsin Lawns.”
Kentucky bluegrass: Best for full sun
Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) is the most commonly used turfgrass in Northern Wisconsin. This cool-season grass has narrow dark green leaves that resemble tiny boats at the tips and a medium to fine texture. It thrives in full sun, can handle foot traffic, and is also equipped for the cold winters of Northern Wisconsin.
If you’d like to learn more about KBG, read our guide: “Kentucky Bluegrass: How to Grow and Care for It.”
Note: Consider dethatching and aerating before putting down your KBG seed. Preparing the soil means your new KBG seedlings’ roots will have more oxygen, water, and nutrients. However, determining the proper timing for these lawn care chores can be confusing. Our two articles below will give you more clarity on timing:
Grass Seed Options:
– Jonathan Green (11970) Blue Panther Kentucky Bluegrass Grass Seed (3 lbs.)
– SeedRanch Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass Seed (5 lbs.)
Tall fescue: Best for a wide range of temperatures
Tall fescue is known for being able to grow in many different climates and withstand cold, heat, and partial shade. It has deep roots, making it very good at surviving droughts, and is often chosen for low-maintenance lawns. Learn more about this grass in our guide: “Tall Fescue: How to Grow and Care for It.”
Note: Weeds and lawn pests can cause you frustration and disrupt the growth of tall fescue. To prevent them from taking hold of your lawn, it’s important to recognize their appearance and understand how and when to prevent their growth. Our articles will give you some insight into those pesky lawn intruders:
- The Most Common Weeds in Wisconsin
- When to Apply Crabgrass Preventer in Wisconsin
- When to Apply Grub Control in Wisconsin
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.)
Perennial ryegrass: Best for bare spots
If you want to quickly establish a lawn from seed, perennial ryegrass should be one of the cool-season grass seeds in your bag of lawn care tricks. The first to germinate out of all the cool-season grasses, it is often used to fill bare spots when overseeding. It’s medium to dark green, can handle high foot traffic, and is not susceptible to thatch.
However, Northern Wisconsin winter temperatures can dip so low (-30 degrees Fahrenheit in Hayward, for example) that perennial ryegrass often doesn’t survive, so there aren’t large populations of it in most lawns. Our perennial ryegrass guide will walk you through the ins and outs of this cool-season grass.
Note: Sure, perennial ryegrass wins first place in the first-to-germinate race of the cool-season grasses. So, why not enhance its performance even more with fertilizer and keep those weeds at bay with weed and feed? Here are two of our articles to help you do just that:
Grass Seed Options:
– Outsidepride Perennial Ryegrass Seed (5 lbs.)
– Eretz ProTurf Perennial Ryegrass Fine Lawn Seed (choose your size)
Fine fescues: Best for shady areas
These grasses, including strong creeping red fescue, slender creeping red fescue, Chewings fescue, hard fescue, and sheep fescue, are commonly referred to as fine fescues. Fine fescues are frequently mixed with Kentucky bluegrass in sun-shade lawns because fine fescue loves shade, and Kentucky bluegrass loves full sun.
Fine fescues could be the answer for Wisconsin homeowners who want an eco-friendly, low-input lawn with less maintenance. So, what does that mean for homeowners? It translates to:
- Less mowing: Fine fescues grow more slowly.
- Less watering: Fine fescues are drought-tolerant.
- Less fertilizer: Fine fescues need less nitrogen.
- Fewer pesticides: Fine fescues don’t need as many pesticides.
Note: Learn more about this grass in our guide: “Fine Fescue: How to Grow and Care for It.”
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.)
More lawn care and landscaping resources for Wisconsin
Maintaining a lawn and landscaping can be challenging for the typical homeowner, particularly regarding timing, execution, and integrating turfgrass alternatives. Check out our articles below to learn more:
Timing:
- The Best Time to Plant Grass Seed in Wisconsin
- When Does Grass Stop Growing in Wisconsin?
- Month-to-Month Wisconsin Lawn Care Calendar
Alternatives to turfgrass:
- Should You Plant a Clover Lawn in Wisconsin?
- When to Plant Clover in Wisconsin
- The Best Ornamental Grasses for Wisconsin
- The Best Ground Cover Plants for Wisconsin
Call in the Pros
Who wants to spend their precious free time putting down grass seed? Not me. Why not let Lawn Love’s Wisconsin lawn care pros take over your chores? So, instead of worrying about your lawn, you can hike on Trampers Trail.
Resources:
- NC State Extension: Kentucky Bluegrass
- Oregon State University: Tall Fescue
- Pennington: All You Need to Know About Kentucky Bluegrass
- Purdue University: Fine Fescues Understanding the Differences
- Scotts: What are Cool-Season Grasses
- University of Illinois Extension: How to Identify Tall Fescue
- University of Wisconsin Extension: Growing Resilient Turf
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Main Image Credit: Hudson, Wisconsin | Doug Kerr | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0
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