- Tall fescue: Adaptable and easy to maintain<\/a><\/li>
- Fine fescue: Grows in shade but not as cold-hardy<\/a><\/li>
- Kentucky bluegrass: Tolerates cold, takes a beating<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>
Tall fescue: Adaptable and easy to maintain<\/span><\/h2>
![\"tall](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Tall-fescue-1.jpg\")
Photo Credit: Aaron Patton \/ Purdue’s Turfgrass Science Program<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Tall fescue is suitable for hardiness zones 3 to 8, so it grows perfectly well in all of Minnesota. It withstands temperatures as low as -35 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, which some parts of northern Minnesota, like parts of Koochiching and St. Louis counties, encounter in the winter.<\/p>
The grass grows best when the soil temperature is 59 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and it takes 7 to 21 days to germinate. That means the best time to seed it is anytime from mid-August to mid-September, well in advance of the fall’s first frost.<\/p>
Moreover, tall fescue<\/a> is easy to maintain and adapts to a variety of soil types, including the common local sandy soil. It\u2019s also a great overseeding grass.<\/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 fescue: Grows in shade but not as cold-hardy<\/span><\/h2>
![\"fine](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Fine-fescue-1.jpg\")
Aaron Patton | Purdue’s Turfgrass Science Program<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Fine fescue is a fine, shade-tolerant grass that\u2019s cold hardy to zone 4. That means that it won\u2019t grow well in all of northern Minnesota but will be just fine in western cities like Ada, as well as some eastern cities like Grand Rapids and Duluth. In these areas, annual minimum temperatures typically don\u2019t drop below -30 degrees Fahrenheit, so fine fescue<\/a> doesn\u2019t have difficulty surviving there. Otherwise, fine fescue grows well in the rest of the state. Check out our article The Best Grass Seed for Minnesota Lawns for more information.<\/p>
You can seed fine fescue when the soil temperature is 50 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the grass takes 5 to 12 days to germinate, you should seed it in mid-September. Alternatively, early May is fine, too.<\/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.)<\/p>Kentucky bluegrass: Tolerates cold, takes a beating<\/span><\/h2>
![\"closeup](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/kentucky-grass-1.jpg\")
Shutterstock<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Kentucky bluegrass grows in hardiness zones 3 to 7, which means it handles temperatures as low as -35 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit. But not only does Kentucky bluegrass<\/a> resist northern Minnesota\u2019s cool climate, it also recovers well when damaged. When carefully maintained, it creates a beautiful carpet. However, remember that it does need more care than other grasses. <\/p>
Kentucky bluegrass takes 14 to 28 days to germinate. This grass grows best in temperatures ranging from 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. In northern Minnesota, it\u2019s best to seed it in mid-August. But if you need to, you can also seed it in late May. You can read up about the best time to seed Minnesota grasses in our article When to Plant Grass Seed in Minnesota.<\/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>FAQ<\/span><\/h2>
What grass is best for overseeding in northern Minnesota?<\/span><\/h3>
Tall fescue is the best option for overseeding in northern Minnesota, but Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue also work.<\/p>
Can you plant Bermudagrass in Duluth?<\/span><\/h3>
No, Bermudagrass isn\u2019t suitable for Duluth or any part of Minnesota. The best choices are tall fescue, fine fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass. If you need help with taking care of your Duluth grass, don\u2019t hesitate to call a pro.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>
Can you plant Zoysiagrass in Minnesota?<\/span><\/h3>
No. Although Zoysiagrass is more cold-hardy than other warm-season grasses, it\u2019s not hardy enough for northern Minnesota.<\/p>
Get a pro to handle lawn care for you<\/span><\/h2>
We\u2019re sure you have plenty to do on top of taking care of your lawn. Instead of worrying about it, let an experienced pro handle it for you. Get an instant quote.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>
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: Myotus<\/a> | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The best grasses for northern Minnesota are tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and in some regions, fine fescue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":29179,"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":[202],"tags":[586],"class_list":["post-29174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-minnesota","tag-lawn-care-mn"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/house-in-two-harbors-mn-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Judith van der Weij","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/judith-gallova\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29174","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\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Fine fescue: Grows in shade but not as cold-hardy<\/a><\/li>