- Kentucky bluegrass: Best grass for full sun<\/a><\/li>
- Tall fescue: Best grass for sandy soils<\/a><\/li>
- Fine fescues: Best grass for shade seed mixes<\/a><\/li>
- Perennial ryegrass: Best grass for quick establishment<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>
Kentucky bluegrass: Best grass for full sun<\/span><\/h2>
![\"closeup](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/kentucky-grass-1.jpg\")
Shutterstock<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Kentucky bluegrass is the best grass type for Grand Rapids<\/a> and also the most common across Michigan. It is known for its beautiful blue-green hue, which can make any yard look amazing. This grass is moderately resistant to foot traffic and will tolerate the hot, humid summers typical of cities near Lake Michigan as well as the cold winters.<\/p>
However, this grass needs full sun and requires more maintenance than other grass types. You might need to fertilize it four times per season for it to look its best. Read When to Fertilize Your Lawn in Michigan<\/a> to learn when to do it.<\/p>
Tip:<\/strong> For more information on this grass, check out our guide: Kentucky Bluegrass: How to Grow and Care for It<\/a>.<\/p>
Grass Seed Options:
<\/strong>\u2013 Jonathan Green (11970) Blue Panther Kentucky Bluegrass Grass Seed<\/a> (3 lbs.)
\u2013 SeedRanch Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass Seed<\/a> (5 lbs.)<\/p>Tall fescue: Best grass for sandy soils<\/span><\/h2>
![\"closeup](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Tall-fescue-1.jpg\")
Aaron Patton | Purdue’s Turfgrass Science Program<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Tall fescue is the best option for grass seed if you have poor soil conditions, such as the sandy soils that are most common in West Michigan. Thanks to its deep roots, this grass is also the most heat tolerant of all the cool-season grasses. It will survive this region\u2019s hot summers.<\/p>
Tall fescue can be used alone or in mixes with Kentucky bluegrass. It is a relatively low-maintenance grass, but it will need mowing often. To learn more about this grass\u2019s maintenance, check out our guide: Tall Fescue: How to Grow and Care for It<\/a>.<\/p>
Grass Seed Options:
<\/strong>\u2013 Triple-Play Tall Fescue Grass Seed Blend<\/a> (5000 sq ft)
\u2013 Eretz Kentucky 31 K31 Tall Fescue Grass Seed<\/a> (choose your size)
\u2013 Pennington The Rebels Tall Fescue Grass Seed Mix<\/a> (7 lb.)<\/p>Fine fescues: Best grass for shade seed mixes<\/span><\/h2>
![\"closeup](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Fine-fescue-1.jpg\")
Aaron Patton | Purdue’s Turfgrass Science Program<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Fine fescues are a group of grasses that includes creeping red fescue (the most common in West Michigan), Chewings fescue, hard fescue, and sheep fescue. These grasses are known for their shade tolerance and low maintenance, but they do not tolerate high foot traffic. Learn more in our guide: Fine Fescue: How to Grow and Care for It<\/a>.<\/p>
Fine fescues are often used in seed mixes with Kentucky bluegrass for added shade tolerance. Typically, these mixes contain 85 to 90 percent Kentucky bluegrass and 10 to 15 percent fine fescue in Michigan.<\/p>
Grass Seed Options:
<\/strong>\u2013 Outsidepride Legacy Fine Fescue Grass Seed<\/a> (5 lbs.)
\u2013 Eretz Creeping Red Fine Fescue Seed<\/a> (choose your size)
\u2013 Outsidepride Creeping Red Fine Fescue Grass Seed<\/a> (25 lbs.)
\u2013 Outsidepride Hard Fine Fescue Grass Seed<\/a> (10 lbs.)<\/p>Perennial ryegrass: Best grass for quick establishment<\/span><\/h2>
![\"perennial](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/pyrennial-ryegrass-1-1.jpeg\")
Aaron Patton | Purdue’s Turfgrass Science Program<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Perennial ryegrass is the best grass for quickly filling up your lawn and fixing bare patches thanks to its rapid germination and establishment. Although you won\u2019t have to worry about dethatching this grass, there are some lawn care practices that are necessary. Check out our guide, Perennial Ryegrass: How to Grow and Care for It<\/a>, to learn more.<\/p>
In West Michigan, this grass is not recommended as a pure stand. Instead, it is commonly used in mixes with Kentucky bluegrass. This combination allows perennial ryegrass to provide quick coverage and prevent weeds, while the slower-establishing Kentucky bluegrass has time to take root.<\/p>
Grass Seed Options:
<\/strong>\u2013 Outsidepride Perennial Ryegrass Seed<\/a> (5 lbs.)
\u2013 Eretz ProTurf Perennial Ryegrass Fine Lawn Seed<\/a> (choose your size)<\/p>Call a professional<\/span><\/h2>
If you decide to go with the most common Kentucky bluegrass and its seed mixes, you\u2019ll probably spend a lot of time on maintenance. But not if we can help it! Call a local lawn care professional<\/a> and go enjoy a game of Euchre while they handle all the work. We have pros in Grand Rapids<\/a> and other West Michigan cities ready to assist you.<\/p>
\t\t\t\t\t\tSources:<\/p> \t\t\t
<\/span><\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t- Bulletin E2910 – Michigan State University<\/a><\/li>
- Bulletin E2912 – Michigan State University<\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div> \t\t<\/div> <\/div>
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.<\/em><\/p>
Main Image Credit: en:User:Jaydec<\/a> | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Discover the best grass seeds for West Michigan: Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, fine fescues, and perennial ryegrass. Learn to choose the best for your yard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":25563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[578],"class_list":["post-25521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-michigan","tag-lawn-care-mi"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/house-in-grand-rapids-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Maria Isabela Reis","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/maria-isabela-reis\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Bulletin E2912 – Michigan State University<\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div> \t\t<\/div> <\/div>
- Tall fescue: Best grass for sandy soils<\/a><\/li>