The Best Grass Seeds for Southeast Pennsylvania Lawns

lawn in front of a house in allentown pa

The best grass seeds for southeast Pennsylvania include cool-season varieties like Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass, but also Zoysiagrass, which loves the heat but is surprisingly tolerant of cold weather as well. 

It’s important to know because building and keeping a great lawn starts with choosing a grass that is suited for our climate and weather conditions. And while each of these grasses has different strengths and weaknesses, they share this trait: they thrive here.

Let’s take a look. 

Fine fescue: Blend with other grasses to strengthen lawns

fine fescue grass
Aaron Patton | Purdue’s Turfgrass Science Program

Fine fescue is actually a family of grasses that includes creeping red, Chewings, hard, and sheep fescue. They are all well adapted to southeast Pennsylvania’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.

Like Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue mixes well with other grass types to improve drought and shade tolerance. Combine it with Kentucky bluegrass or perennial ryegrass to strengthen your lawn.

Key Characteristics

  • Good in shade; prefers less than four hours of sunlight per day
  • Not drought-tolerant; needs water 
  • Does moderately well in busy yards
  • Doesn’t require heavy maintenance

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
Aaron Patton | Purdue’s Turfgrass Science Program

Tall fescue is a resilient 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. 

Key Characteristics

  • Moderate to high durability under foot
  • Requires low to moderate maintenance 
  • Potential for disease is low
  • Stays green through hot summers 

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.)

Kentucky bluegrass: Durable and attractive

closeup of kentucky grass in a lawn
Shutterstock

There’s a reason Kentucky bluegrass is popular everywhere in the North: It withstands cooler winters and bounces back great in the spring. It does especially well here in southeast Pennsylvania because it doesn’t care for blistering temperatures you find in Southern states but is perfectly at home in our mid 80s summer temperatures.

Key Characteristics

  • Requires four to six hours of sunlight
  • Thrives with proper irrigation; goes dormant during dry periods 
  • Hardy; endures foot traffic
  • Needs a good bit of maintenance

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

pyrennial ryegrass in a lawn
Aaron Patton | Purdue’s Turfgrass Science Program

The key quality of perennial ryegrass is its versatility: you can plant it 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 southeast Pennsylvania summers.

Key Characteristics

  • Prefers full sun
  • Very drought-tolerant; goes dormant but rebounds quickly when watered.
  • Durable under foot; good for busy yards
  • Pretty low maintenance
  • Produces less thatch than other cool-season grasses. 

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

Zoysiagrass: Thrives in summer

Grass Plug and Seed Options:
Zoysia Plugs (50 Large Grass Plugs)
Zoysia Plugs (50 Full & Lush Grass Plugs)
Zoysia Plugs (100 Plugs)
Zenith Zenith Grass Seeds (1/8 lb. of seeds)

Zoysiagrass is the only warm-season grass you’d dare try to grow this far north. It has traditionally been viewed as a Southern grass because it grows thick and dark in temperatures up to 120 degrees. But newer cultivars of Zoysia withstand temps as low as -30 degrees and are gaining popularity as far north as Connecticut.

So why do we recommend it only for southeast Pennsylvania? Because while it can survive very cold temps, Zoysiagrass grows best in warm weather and is likely to go dormant for longer in north and west Pennsylvania. So it’ll work best in the Philly area, which is about 5 to 10 degrees warmer, on average, than the rest of the state.

Key Characteristics

  • Tolerates light to moderate shade 
  • Withstands drought
  • Stand up well to busy yards
  • Low to moderate nitrogen requirement; moderate mowing frequency

For more information about caring for your Pennsylvania lawn and landscape, see these guides:

Trust the pros

A beautiful lawn adds so much appeal to a home, but it’s not easy to achieve. Building a lawn takes time, money and know-how. Lawn Love gives you the yard you want at a price you can love. Call, click, or tap the app to get a free quote and see what Lawn Love can do for you.

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Main Image Credit: 2018 – 1600 Hamilton Street – Allentown PA | Atwngirl | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0

Whitney Lehnecker

A native of Ohio, Whitney Lehnecker is a career journalist and newspaper designer. She now lives in Central Florida with her husband and two pups, Goose and Bindi.