We\u2019ll discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each grass type individually, but you\u2019ll often find cool-season grasses sold in mixes at the home improvement store. This is because cool-season grasses often perform best when two or more species are combined.<\/p> Got shade? Fine fescues to the rescue! Fine fescues are a group of grasses (creeping red, chewings, sheep, and hard fescue) that can handle some shade. These grasses are often used in a cool-season grass mix for lawns with partial shade.<\/p> Fine fescues are considered low-maintenance grass because they require little or no fertilizer and grow slowly. This is a plus because you don\u2019t have to mow as often but is also a downside because this means a slow recovery time after stress or wear.<\/p> Other notes:<\/strong> May require dethatching periodically. Fine fescues can be susceptible to red thread and leaf spot during wet conditions. White grubs may find this grass desirable as well.<\/p> Grass Seed Options: Kentucky bluegrass is a popular, higher-maintenance turfgrass in Albany. This species needs full sun and prefers fertile, well-drained soil. It can stay green in higher summer temps but will require supplemental irrigation to do so. In addition, plan to fertilize your Kentucky bluegrass lawn several times throughout the growing season.<\/p> Other notes:<\/strong> Plan to dethatch periodically, especially if you apply high amounts of fertilizer. Prone to fungal diseases, white grubs, and billbugs. Disease-resistant cultivars are available.<\/p> Grass Seed Options: Perennial ryegrass is a common addition to cool-season grass mixes. It is often included in mixes with Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) because it germinates much faster than KBG, providing a full lawn in about two weeks. Perennial ryegrass prefers full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. This grass is less prone to develop diseases when homeowners follow good lawn care practices (water in the early morning, cut at the right height, fertilize well, and don\u2019t plant this grass in shade). <\/p> Other notes:<\/strong> Perennial ryegrass is quite competitive, so if you are establishing a new KBG\/perennial ryegrass lawn, keep the percentage of perennial ryegrass under 20% of the total seed mix if you want KBG to predominate over time. Consider an endophyte-enhanced variety to help this grass resist surface insects like sod webworm and chinch bugs.<\/p> Grass Seed Options: Turf-type tall fescue (TTTF) is another popular cool-season grass. It requires regular fertilization to help head off common diseases and grows quickly in ideal conditions, so plan to mow more frequently during peak season. Plan to overseed regularly if you have a high-traffic lawn; as a bunch-type grass, TTTF doesn\u2019t recover well after wear.<\/p> Turf-type tall fescue is usually seeded on its own or in a mix with less than 10% of another cool-season grass because of its comparatively wide leaves.<\/p> Other notes:<\/strong> Produces little to no thatch. TTTF may suffer from brown patch, Pythium diseases, and rust.<\/p> Grass Seed Options: Before you head to the home improvement store to pick up seed, ask yourself a few questions about your lawn. This will help you choose the best grass<\/a> for your lawn\u2019s needs. And don\u2019t forget to contact the Albany County Cooperative Extension<\/a> office to speak with a local expert if you need further advice.<\/p> If you\u2019d rather spend your time enjoying Albany\u2019s numerous outdoor concerts, kayaking on the Hudson River, or buzzing along the city\u2019s Capital Craft Beverage Trail, let one of our <\/em>Albany lawn care pros<\/em><\/a> take the heat out of manicuring your lawn this mowing season.<\/em><\/p> Main Photo Credit: Silvia.gualdi<\/a> | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0<\/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>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Is your Albany lawn in need of a face-lift? If you\u2019d like to plant new grass, you\u2019ve probably wondered which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":7934,"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":[193],"tags":[380],"class_list":["post-7932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york","tag-lawn-care-albany-ny"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/rsz_2048px-suny_albany_ny.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Sarah Bahr","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/sarah-bahr\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7932","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\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Fine](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/fine-red-fescue-1024x640.jpg\")
Matt Lavin<\/a> Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure> 1. Fine fescues<\/span><\/h2>
<\/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> ![\"Kentucky](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/kentucky-bluegrass-yard.jpg\")
Brenda Ryan | Lawn Love<\/figcaption><\/figure> 2. Kentucky bluegrass<\/span><\/h2>
<\/strong>\u2013 Jonathan Green (11970) Blue Panther Kentucky Bluegrass Grass Seed<\/a> (3 lbs.)
\u2013 SeedRanch Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass Seed<\/a> (5 lbs.)<\/p> ![\"Perennial](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iStock-1318738514-scaled_800.jpg\")
iStock<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> 3. Perennial ryegrass<\/span><\/h2>
<\/strong>\u2013 Outsidepride Perennial Ryegrass Seed<\/a> (5 lbs.)
\u2013 Eretz ProTurf Perennial Ryegrass Fine Lawn Seed<\/a> (choose your size)<\/p> ![\"Tall](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/23480915048_629a89fac4_k_800.jpg\")
Ty Haller<\/a> | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure> 4. Turf-type tall fescue<\/span><\/h2>
<\/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> How to select the best grass type for your Albany lawn<\/h2>