Picking the right grass seed for yours or your client’s lawn can be quite the challenge. There are several factors you have to take into account, such as temperature, shade amount, and hardiness. Valley Green has been selling grass seed since 1990 and has quite a bit of knowledge about how to select the best grass seed for your lawn. Since we are all stuck at home and starting spring lawn work, we decided to write do publish a blog this week on how to select the best grass seed for your lawn. This is also valuable information for landscapers who are getting ready to seed for spring.

Since all of our locations are in the northeast United States, the best common type of grass seed to select are cool-season grasses. These include Bluegrass, Fescue, and Perennial Ryegrass. What makes this grass good for our climate is the fact that it is extremely hardy and can survive the harsh northeast winters. Bluegrass also grows and spreads easily so it makes it ideal for seeding new lawns.

Before picking your grass seed, you’ll want to perform a soil test. A lot of northeast soil tends to be acidic so it is important to see if your PH is too low. A lawn with a low PH can have trouble growing because the nutrient availability isn’t as high as it should be. If your PH is too low, adding lime can raise it.

The warmer seasons of the northeast can also bring along the risk of drought. If you are concerned about drought, Kentucky Bluegrass will be your best bet because if it gets too dry, the grass will go dormant. It will grow again when the weather cools down. Fescue is also a good grass for tolerating dry conditions and is best when mixed with Kentucky Bluegrass. Mixing grass seed is always a good idea because of one species of grass dies out, the other is more likely to survive.

Valley Green also carries several other types of lawn and landscape products. You can view them here.