- Cool-season grass<\/a>
- Kentucky bluegrass: Best for full sun<\/a><\/li>
- Tall fescue: Best for varying soil conditions<\/a><\/li>
- Perennial ryegrass: Best for rapid growth<\/a><\/li>
- Fine fescue: Best for tough conditions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Warm-season grass<\/a>
- Buffalograss: Best for dry areas<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Best seed mixes for South Dakota<\/a><\/li>
- More lawn care resources for South Dakota<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>
Cool-season grass seed for South Dakota lawns <\/span><\/h2>
South Dakota experiences large swings in temperature, which is important to remember when selecting cool-season grass seed for your lawn. These cool-season grasses can survive the -30 winter temperatures in Aberdeen and also tolerate the warm summer days of July and August.<\/p>
Kentucky bluegrass: Best for full sun<\/span><\/h3>
![\"closeup](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/kentucky-grass-1.jpg\")
Shutterstock<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> The best cool-season grass seed for South Dakota is Kentucky bluegrass (KBG). This grass is well-adapted to the cold winters of South Dakota and grows best in full sun. However, it may require extra watering during prolonged dry spells and doesn’t thrive in shade. <\/p>
To achieve a top-quality KBG lawn, expect to put in time and resources, as this grass needs regular watering and fertilizer applications to look its best.<\/p>
Check out our guide to learn more: \u201cKentucky Bluegrass: How to Grow and Care for It<\/a>.\u201d<\/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 for varying soil conditions<\/span><\/h3>
![\"tall](\"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 a medium to dark green, coarse-textured bunch-type grass with deep roots. Out of all the cool-season grasses, tall fescue is the toughest regarding its ability to handle heat, drought, and traffic. Additionally, it is known for its ability to tolerate unfavorable soil conditions. It thrives best in cool, humid climates and soils with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. <\/p>
Learn more about tall fescue in our article: \u201cTall Fescue: How to Grow and Care for It<\/a>.\u201d<\/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>Perennial ryegrass: Best for rapid growth<\/span><\/h3>
![\"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> Frequently used in grass seed mixes and favored for its rapid germination, perennial ryegrass is often used to repair bare spots and thin areas in your lawn. This grass loves full sun and appreciates good surface drainage. <\/p>
Perennial ryegrass is often included in seed mixes with Kentucky bluegrass because Kentucky bluegrass, when grown from seed, is slower to establish. In this kind of seed mix, the percentage of perennial ryegrass is typically 20 percent or less.<\/p>
Our perennial ryegrass guide<\/a> will give you all the details you need to have success using perennial ryegrass in your lawn.<\/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>Fine fescue: Best for tough conditions<\/span><\/h3>
![\"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 fescues are well-suited to handle tough environmental conditions, such as shade, moderate drought, and poor soils. They are commonly used in cool-season grass seed mixes as a companion grass. <\/p>
Fine fescues (and in South Dakota, red fescue in particular) are often included in seed mixes with Kentucky bluegrass. Kentucky bluegrass thrives in areas of your lawn with full sun, while red fescue is for the heavily shaded areas in your yard.<\/p>
Check out our fine fescue guide<\/a> to learn how to work with fine fescues in your South Dakota lawn.<\/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>Warm-season grass seed for South Dakota lawns<\/span><\/h2>
Buffalograss: Best for dry areas<\/span><\/h3>
![\"buffalograss\"](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/3139246071_47110d3ef9_c-1.jpg\")
John Tann<\/a> | Flickr | CC BY 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Buffalograss, a warm-season grass native to South Dakota, is gaining attention for its ability to thrive in extremely dry areas and help prevent soil erosion. It is increasingly used in low-traffic areas and is sometimes used as an alternative to nonnative warm-season grasses like St. Augustine, Bermudagrass, and Zoysia in home lawns.<\/p>
Grass Seed Options:<\/strong>
\u2013 <\/strong>Everwilde Farms Buffalograss Seeds<\/a> (1 lb. of seeds)<\/p>Best seed mixes for your South Dakota lawn<\/span><\/h2>
According to the South Dakota State University Cooperative Extension, these grass seed mixes will give you the best results for these varying conditions for your lawn:<\/p>
- Full sun\/moist areas:<\/strong> Opt for a mix of 60% Kentucky bluegrass, 30% creeping red fescue, and I0% redtop, a type of bentgrass, also known as black bent. <\/li> <\/ul>
- Heavy shade:<\/strong> For heavy shade, these seeds work well together in a mix: 60% creeping red fescue, 30% Kentucky bluegrass, and 10% redtop.<\/li> <\/ul>
More lawn care and landscaping resources for South Dakota<\/span><\/h2>
Check out our other article about lawn care and landscaping for South Dakota, which go into more detail. They will help you to navigate the ins-and-outs of everything lawn care, from how to water and fertilize to landscaping with native plants, finding your planting zone, and everything in between. They are as follows:<\/p>
- Planting Zones of South Dakota<\/a><\/li>
- When to Plant Grass Seed in South Dakota<\/a><\/li>
- South Dakota Native Grasses for Lawns and Landscapes<\/a><\/li>
- Beautiful South Dakota Flowers for Landscaping<\/a><\/li>
- South Dakota Native Plants for Landscaping<\/a><\/li>
- Sioux Falls Lawn Watering Schedule<\/a><\/li>
- How to Follow the Sioux Falls Lawn Ordinance<\/a><\/li>
- The Best Lawn Fertilization Schedule for Sioux Falls<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>
Call in the Pros<\/span><\/h2>
Does planting grass seed fall to the bottom of your honey-do list? If it does, you\u2019re not alone. Our local lawn care experts<\/a> will put your lawn care at the top of their list.<\/p>
\t\t\t\t\t\tResources:<\/p> \t\t\t
<\/span><\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t- NDSU Extension: Fescue Grasses<\/a><\/li>
- SDSU Extension: Lawns for South Dakota<\/a>, USDA Plant Hardiness Zones<\/a><\/li>
- Travel South Dakota<\/a><\/li>
- UC IPM: Red Fescue<\/a><\/li>
- USDA NRCS: Buffalograss<\/a>, Perennial Ryegrass<\/a>, Redtop<\/a>, Tall Fescue<\/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: Armour, South Dakota | Ammodramus<\/a> | Wikimedia Commons | CC0 1.0<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The best grass seeds for South Dakota include cool-season Kentucky bluegrass, fescues, and perennial ryegrass. Warm-season buffalograss thrives in dry areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":31272,"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":[185],"tags":[958],"class_list":["post-31264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-dakota","tag-lawn-care-sd"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/house-in-south-dakota-2.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Harley Grandone","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/harley-grandone\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31264","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\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- SDSU Extension: Lawns for South Dakota<\/a>, USDA Plant Hardiness Zones<\/a><\/li>
- When to Plant Grass Seed in South Dakota<\/a><\/li>
- Planting Zones of South Dakota<\/a><\/li>
- Heavy shade:<\/strong> For heavy shade, these seeds work well together in a mix: 60% creeping red fescue, 30% Kentucky bluegrass, and 10% redtop.<\/li> <\/ul>
- Best seed mixes for South Dakota<\/a><\/li>
- Tall fescue: Best for varying soil conditions<\/a><\/li>
- Kentucky bluegrass: Best for full sun<\/a><\/li>