Perennial lawn grass: features and choices

A beautiful lawn is an indispensable element of landscape design. In our review, we will tell you how to choose a decorative and durable lawn, what components it consists of, as well as give recommendations on how to care for the lawn.

A perennial lawn is a mixture of one or more crops that enhances the appearance of the garden. The cover of bright green color is suitable for arranging house plots, flower beds and squares. This herb goes well with other horticultural crops. She grows quickly and looks attractive. Its only drawback is the need for regular care (watering, haircut, top dressing).

The plants that make up the mixture are endowed with significant advantages. They are an additional source of oxygen, help to muffle extraneous noise, absorb soot and exhaust, in addition, improve the aesthetics of the territory.

Perennial lawns are characterized by special properties.

• They are resistant to extreme natural conditions, primarily to heat and frost, typical for a particular region.
• Form a dense sod layer due to the interweaving of rhizomes in the ground. This prevents the appearance of weeds, makes the cover more resistant to mechanical stress.
• Leaves and stems of crops are slender and slender compared to common cereals. Such lawns are soft and pleasant to the touch, you can walk on them with bare feet, without fear of injury and injections.
• The lawn is resistant to trampling, and after mowing quickly returns to its original appearance.

Perennial lawn grasses can be classified into several categories.

Tall Are light-loving crops with a stem length of up to 1 m. These include awnless bonfire and vicoliate sainfoin.

Average - grasses up to 50-60 cm high. They lend themselves well to mowing and decorative haircut. Timothy, hybrid clover and yellow alfalfa are considered typical representatives.

Undersized - grasses up to 20-25 cm high. Clover, for example, would be a good alternative to ground cover plants.

Rhizome - in these perennials, the roots are located shallow from the soil surface, they have the ability to develop quickly and instantly give aboveground shoots. Such crops can grow for several decades.

Popular varieties: meadow foxtail, meadow bluegrass, slender bent.

Loose shrubs - the root of such herbs has only one node; it is formed at a depth of more than 10 cm from the soil surface. The splendor of the grass is ensured by the active growth of green mass and the formation of aerial shoots.

Popular varieties: perennial ryegrass, timothy.

Dense bush - these crops form dense hummocks on the ground part, as a result, near the ground, the grass has a rather unsightly appearance. At the same time, young bumps quickly grow together with old ones, increasing their size.

Popular varieties: white, red fescue.

Pin-root - such plants give lush foliage, their main root deepens into the ground by more than 15 cm. During the entire growing season, young shoots are constantly formed on the stem. The plant is unpretentious, fast-growing.

Popular varieties: sainfoin, horned lily.

And also all lawn mixtures are divided into several varieties.

• Fast growing - form a full-fledged cover in the shortest time. However, these lawns contain short-lived grasses, so after 3-5 years you will have to renew the coverage.
• Shady - adapted for cultivation in shady areas. As a rule, such plants have good trampling resistance.
• Solar - these lawns can be under the scorching rays of the sun all day. They are distinguished by drought resistance, they easily tolerate the absence of irrigation.
• Universal - such herbs calmly tolerate most of the adverse natural influences (drought, moisture, frost and heat). They can be planted in any region.

Gardeners distinguish several types of lawn grasses that are optimal for arranging decorative coverings on their personal plot. Landscape designers most often use mixes based on multiple cultures.

• Meadow bluegrass. This grass gives a rich green color to the lawn. The cover grows firm and even. The culture is unpretentious, calmly tolerates drought and temperature extremes.
• Oak bluegrass. A variety with a double root system. It grows well in the shade, is resistant to temperature extremes and frost. However, he does not tolerate trampling. Grown exclusively for decorative purposes.
• White clover. Ornamental grass resistant to trampling. Blooms in mid-summer. The only drawback is that after mowing it has a low aesthetic appearance. However, after 4-5 days, when new foliage grows, the coating becomes beautiful again.
• Red fescue. An unpretentious culture, it grows and develops successfully even on poor soils. It is characterized by resistance to drought and low temperatures, fights weeds.
• Small-leaved timothy. Not afraid of cold or heat. Tolerates heavy rainfall and slight drought. It can create a lush cover even on poor soils. Displaces weeds.
• Sheep fescue. Shrub plant, tolerates moisture and drought well. Looks best when combined with other herbs.
• Pasture ryegrass. It differs from other lawn perennials in its juicy green color. It reaches its maximum growth in the second half of summer. Used to create decorative lawns.
• Escaping bent grass. One of the fastest growing plants. Over the summer, it can form a dense, solid carpet of a light green hue.
• Team of the hedgehog. Slow growing grass. Mainly grown on slopes and hills. Has the ability to displace weeds. At the same time, the carpet is not dense enough, bald spots often appear on it, so the lawn has to be sown periodically.

When choosing perennials for a lawn in the country or in a garden, it is necessary to take into account the climate of the region where it will grow, the quality of the soil, as well as the features of operation:

• to create a thick carpet, it is better to give preference to a thin bent or red fescue;
• in shady places, planting bluegrass or bent grass would be the best solution;
• reed fescue is suitable for decorating the territory;
• walking paths look exquisite in the frame of ryegrass.

When purchasing seed, be sure to inspect the packaging. It should contain information about the composition of the mixture, the purpose of each grass and its percentage.

Keep in mind - in cheap grass mixtures, seeds of annual herbs are often added to perennials. They grow quickly, but next year bald spots remain in their place, and additional overseeding has to be performed.

Creating a green lawn is a complex and painstaking process. It is not enough just to choose seed and plant it in the ground, the plants need proper care. It usually takes about 3-4 years to create a uniform, stable coating.

In the process of growing a lawn, he requires standard care agrotechnical measures.

• Watering. The optimal solution will be an automatic irrigation system, it will ensure uniform irrigation throughout the day. Standard humidification is performed in a drip method in the morning. Watering overnight leads to stagnation of moisture and causes fungal diseases.
• Weeding. In the first years of growth, weeds appear in the lawn - they grow from seeds left in the soil, as well as those brought by birds. Weeds do not allow the roots of lawn grasses to fully saturate with water and minerals, so they must be uprooted.
• Top dressing. Lawn grass needs at least two additional fertilizing per year. Plants need nitrogenous fertilizers in spring, and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers in autumn. Complex formulations can be added from time to time as needed.
• Aeration. To improve the saturation of the roots with oxygen, every 10-14 days, the soil should be pierced with a garden fork.
• A haircut. As the perennial lawn grows, the grass requires mowing, the optimal stem height is 8-10 cm.

What lawn to choose for the site, see the next video.