Content of the article:
In an effort to save time and money, many homeowners try to create a lawn from the already existing vegetation. But no matter how much effort is invested, in such a situation, it is not possible to achieve even coverage or its softness and durability.
What is the secret of special grass mixtures for lawns, the sowing of which provides amicable shoots and the formation of a dense green carpet, without much hassle of preserving beauty for several years? Obviously, the solution lies in the selection of plants and the quality of grass seed for the lawn, as well as in competent care for the coating. How to choose plant species, and what properties such herbs should have, read in this article.
Required grass quality for the lawn
Better than other crops, the load experienced by the lawn is maintained by grass. They are unpretentious, multiply not only by sowing, but also vegetatively, easily tolerate a haircut, and with proper care they grow quickly and create a smooth grass cover.
But from the whole mass of cereals, not all are suitable for sowing on a green lawn. In order to be part of grass mixture for a lawn, a plant must meet several requirements:
- First of all, pay attention to the decorative qualities of the grass, its softness and the ability to maintain its brightness for a long time.
- In the middle band, the frost resistance of the crop is extremely important.
- The best grass for lawn forms a branched root system that provides nutrition and development of plants on all types of soil.
- Plants to create a lawn should easily transfer mowing by hand or lawn mowers and recover quickly after it.
In the composition of specialized mixtures perennial grasses for the lawn prevail, which means that a year after sowing the site owner does not have to renew coverage.
The best species in one season form a dense turf, and the renewal of cover is due to the formation of new shoots from existing plants.
Such a lawn takes care of itself. The roots of the grass are so intertwined that they prevent the weed species from breaking through, and new ones quickly appear on the site of the dead rosettes. In addition, it is pleasant and safe to walk on a lawn that is correctly selected, it painlessly endures adverse weather conditions and intensive use.
When choosing grass seed for a lawn, it is necessary to consider:
- the purpose of the coating to be created;
- climatic features of the use of the lawn;
- local environmental factors, such as light conditions, soil type, groundwater location and even planting area.
Today in grass mixtures for lawns include about two dozen plant species. But not all of them can withstand the Russian conditions of operation.
Types of perennial grasses for the lawn
Most often, varieties of bluegrass, bent field and fescue are chosen as a seed crop. In mixtures of large producers, you can see ryegrass, hybrid cereals, specially designed for use on lawns, as well as other herbs that provide special qualities to the green surface.
How to choose that lawn grass, which would decorate the site for many years, from the existing variety?
Among the lawn grasses, meadow grass is leading in popularity. This is a perennial herbaceous plant, the height of which does not exceed 20 cm, and during the flowering period 80 cm. In Russia, the culture is easy to find not only on the lawn, but also in the wild-growing form, and the grass:
- prefers rich in humus soil;
- forms a powerful root system;
- is not afraid of intensive walking on the green cover;
- starts growing season early;
- easily withstands heat;
- recovers quickly after mowing.
This perennial grass for lawns has its drawback. In full strength, bluegrass-based coating manifests itself only a year after sowing.
If bluegrass is indicated among grass seed for lawn, this means that the green cover will not suffer from the summer heat, will withstand shading and will not lose its decorative effect after a long period of rain.
Like bluegrass, various types of fescue are unpretentious grass plants that are found everywhere in nature. Frost-resistant and drought-resistant red fescue is often used as grass for the lawn. The plant does not differ in growth rate, but it feels great even on poorly nourished soils. 
At a cottage, a grass timothy can become quite accessible for lawn grass. The grass, characteristic of many regions of the northern hemisphere, reaches a height of 30–80 cm, quickly forms a pleasant to touch elastic sockets, is inexpensive and very attractive.
Breeding shoots is famous for its dense coating and ability to tolerate low mowing. The grass has a beautiful color, easily gets on with other types of cereals and is stable in a variety of weather conditions.
Before sowing grass for a lawn, you should carefully consider its properties. In mixtures of foreign manufacturers, there are often cultures that cannot provide the effect that they show in their homeland.
An example is pasture ryegrass, which sometimes does not stand up to Russian winters and dies at temperatures below –15 ° C and insufficient snow cover. As a result, already in the second season, the lush coating after planting noticeably thins. 
Do not confuse bluegrass meadow with its one-year-old relative. The fast-growing grass for a lawn breeds only seeds. In the first year such a lawn will actively turn green, but with regular cutting will not give offspring and will lose beauty after wintering. And such common grasses as sheep fescue, a soddy pike and a hedgehog national team some time after sowing change the landscape, forming noticeable hummocks on a flat lawn.
Sowing one crop or grass mixture for lawn?
As all plants, except positive qualities, have weaknesses, grass mixtures are often used for lawn to create a high-quality green area, which, depending on the purpose and conditions of sowing, can be divided:
- into fast-growing grassget a new cover or restore the lost;
- for shade-tolerant, without loss of decorativeness and density of the cover, tolerate growing in the shade;
- is drought tolerant, remaining attractive and fresh in bright sunlight and lack of proper amount of moisture.
In the universal lawn seed mixtures, the creators try to combine all the listed qualities and give the gardener the opportunity to get a decent result in any conditions.
As for the advertising promises that there is grass in the mixture for the lawn, which does not require a haircut, in most cases this is just slyness. No matter how stunted the grasses were, during the flowering period they emit a spike, much higher than the level of the foliage.
Therefore, in order to preserve the external attractiveness and evenness of its cover, it is necessary, though it is rarely mown. Only varieties of lawn such as meadow and Moorish, where in free growth there are grasses, perennial and annual blooming crops, are not subject to shearing.
In order for plants to show themselves at their best, seeds for a lawn must have a high germination rate, and the sowing is carried out evenly and in compliance with the accepted agricultural practices. Competent selection of the mixture allows you to emphasize the advantages of individual plants and to level their disadvantages so that the resulting lawn will be more even and beautiful in any weather, on any soil and with minimal care.
