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Why Grass Seed Mixtures are The
Way To Go
The gardener without years of experience
will do well to consider planting a
mixture of grasses rather than a solid
turf of a single species. If he knows
exactly what he is doing, and understands
how to control the diseases which might
attack his particular single species of
grass, the chances are it will survive
and thrive without serious injury.
But the beginner rarely has the necessary
skill and knowledge for this, and, even
when he does, he often runs into
unforeseen trouble. If conditions
change—such as an extremely wet or
dry year—a solid turf of one species
may suffer severely, whereas one
containing several grasses will pull
through in good shape.
Disease is a good example of the type of
problem a mixture may help avoid. The
fungi which attack grasses are quite
specific in their action. That is, some
will attack fescues but not bluegrasses,
while others attack bents but not
fescues. Except for rust, which is
largely airborne, most of these turf
diseases are spread by contact from one
blade to another.
If the turf is made up of more than one
species, this plant- to-plant contact is
broken. I have seen one section of a
lawn, seeded wholly to Common Kentucky
Bluegrass, go down by late June when
attacked by helminthosporium leaf spot,
while another part of the same
lawn—planted with Chewing's Fescue
and Highland Bent in addition to the
bluegrass—showed only an occasional
area affected by the leaf spot. Both
areas were maintained exactly the same.
Another advantage of mixtures is that
they tend to adjust themselves to the
varying soil conditions often found
within a lawn, and also to differences in
sun and shade. It is not uncommon for the
same lawn to have one area that receives
three hours of sunshine while a short
distance away it has sun all day long.
One of the very real problems a seedsman
has, for example, is in recommending a
grass to the man who doesn't know what a
sunny lawn is. I have actually studied
lawns which the owner claimed received
sun "all day long" and found
they had four hours or less.
This is often true in cities, where the
line of parkway trees and the house form
barriers that cut off the sun until late
in the morning and then block it again
early in the afternoon.
By doing just a little research, which
often amounts to asking a representative
at your local nursury or home supply
store, you will find the perfect mixture
of grass seed for your needs and avoid
many troublesome and time-consuming
problems.
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