Page Index:

• Grass Used in Indiana
• USDA Zone Map
• Best Grasses for Indiana
• Grass Characteristics
• Grass Characteristics Continued
• Grass Seed Calculator
• LazyMan Product Line

Grasses used in Indiana are typically cool season grasses. Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, and perennial ryegrass are the most common with turf type fescue being used at the more southern portion of Indiana. Some people are using warm season grasses such as zoysia grass in Southern Indiana as well.

Cool-Season Grasses:
Kentucky bluegrass is by far the most popular species used in home lawns in northern Indiana, due to high quality appearance, hardiness, and recovery ability. Kentucky bluegrass spreads by rhizomes. Most cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass require moderate to high levels of maintenance (such as fertilizing, watering, etc.) to maintain high quality. Kentucky bluegrass prefers full sun, although a few cultivars have tolerance to light shade. Kentucky bluegrass is slow to establish by seed, and is also readily available as sod.

Fine fescues require less maintenance and many adapt to shade. The fine fescues include red and chewings fescues, sheep fescue, and hard fescue. Leaf width is narrow, and most are bunch-type grasses (red fescue has rhizomes). Wear tolerance (such as foot traffic) and recovery ability of fine fescues is fair. Maintenance levels are generally low, especially fertilizer needs, and fine fescues may decline in full sun when mowed frequently.

Perennial ryegrasses are bunching cool season grasses that are compatible in appearance with bluegrass, do not form thatch, have good heat tolerance and may be drought resistant. They tend to be disease prone and offer poor freezing tolerance if flooded or exposed to wind. Perennial ryegrasses is designed for full sun areas, but will tolerate some shade. Ryegrass is bred to give a pleasing dark green color, with a fine texture and excellent mowing qualities. Is also a very good choice for blends with Kentucky Bluegrass and Fine Fescue.

Tall Fescue - The new turf-type tall fescues are excellent for warmer areas of Indiana and the southern area. While they take a little while to establish or recuperate since they are a clump-type grass, they are extremely wear resistant, drought, heat, and salt-tolerant; and moderately shade tolerant. Tall fescues have few disease problems and require less maintenance that other grasses. Kentucky bluegrass is the first grass to brown out in the summer and tall fescue is the last.

Warm-Season Grasses:
Zoysiagrass - This is the only warm-season grass grown as a lawn in Indiana. Zoysia is easy to identify because its leaves are covered with stiff hairs. It remains brown well into the spring and turns brown again with the first fall frost. Zoysia is very invasive and is often a bone of contention between neighbors. Zoysia is not real popular because of the long dormant period in which Zoysiagrass is a brown color from fall to mid spring. While it is not really compatible with the cool season grasses above, it has still maintained some popularity because of its drought/heat tolerance vs the cool season grasses in Indiana's summers.

Below is the USDA Zone Map for Indiana so you can determine which zone you reside in. Below that are our picks for your state which will do best in your area. Next on this page are tables which list various grasses and their characteristics so you can compare before you decide on your purchase. Click on the product name (ie. Midnight) for more information about that grass and to make your purchase.

USDA Zone Map For Indiana

Best Grasses For Indiana
Product Name	Species	Category	Applications
Midnight	Kentucky Bluegrass	Cool Season	Lawns - Full Sun
World Cup	Kentucky Bluegrass	Cool Season	Lawns - Full Sun
Champion Ryegrass	Rye Grass	Cool Season	Lawns - Full Sun
Legacy	Fine Fescue	Cool Season	Lawns - Partial Sun
Combat Extreme	Fescue - Turf Type	Cool Season	Lawns - Partial to Full Sun
Garland	Rye, Fine Fescue Mix	Cool Season	Lawns - Partial to Full Sun
Showtime	Fine Fescue, Rye, Bluegrass Mix	Cool Season	Lawns - Mostly Sunny to Full Sun
Poa Supina	Supina Bluegrass Mix	Cool Season	Lawns - Very Shady in Cool Zones

Compare Various Grasses For Their Characteristics
Cool Season Grasses	Leaf Texture	Establish Rate	Nitrogen Use	Water Use	Drought Tolerance	Salinity Tolerance	Shade Tolerance
Bentgrass - Creeping	Fine	Moderate to Fast	Low to Moderate	High	Poor to Moderate	High	Poor to Moderate
Bentgrass - Colonial	Fine	Moderate to Fast	Low	Moderate	Poor to Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
Bluegrass - Kentucky	Moderate to Fine	Slow	Moderate to High	Moderate to High	Good	Moderate	Poor
Bluegrass - Rough	Moderate to Fine	Slow	Moderate to High	Moderate to High	Poor	Moderate	Excellent
Fescue - Chewings	Fine	Moderate	Moderate to Low	Moderate	Good to Excellent	Low	Excellent
Fescue - Hard	Fine	Slow to Moderate	Low to Very Low	Moderate	Excellent	Low to Moderate	Excellent
Fescue - Creeping	Fine	Moderate	Low to Moderate	Moderate	Good	Low	Excellent
Fescue - Turf Type	Moderate to Coarse	Moderate	Moderate to High	Low to Moderate	Excellent	Low	Good to Excellent
Ryegrass - Perennial	Fine to Moderate	Very Fast	Moderate to High	Moderate to High	Good	Poor to Moderate	Poor to Moderate
Warm Season Grasses	Leaf Texture	Establish Rate	Nitrogen Use	Water Use	Drought Tolerance	Salinity Tolerance	Shade Tolerance
Bahiagrass	Coarse toVery Coarse	Slow to Moderate	Low	Low	Excellent	Excellent	Moderate to Good
Bermudagrass	Fine to Moderate	Moderate to Fast	Moderate	Moderate to High	Excellent	Very Good	Poor
Blue Grama	Fine to Moderate	Slow to Moderate	Low	Low	Excellent	Moderate	Very Poor
Buffalograss	Moderate to Coarse	Slow to Moderate	Low	Low	Excellent	Moderate	Very Poor
Carpetgrass	Coarse	Moderate to Fast	Low	High	Low	Low	Excellent
Centipedegrass	Moderate to Coarse	Slow	Low	Low	Good	Moderate	Moderate to Good
Seashore Paspalum	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Excellent	Excellent	Good
Zoysiagrass	Fine to Medium	Slow to Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Excellent	Good	Moderate to Good

Compare Various Grasses For Their Characteristics - Continued
Cool Season Grasses	Fertility Needs	Wear Resistance	Mowing Height	Cold Tolerance	Acid Soil Tolerance	Thatching Tendency	Heat Tolerance
Bentgrass - Creeping	High	Low	Low	Low	Medium to High	High	High
Bentgrass - Colonial	High	Low	Low	Low	Medium to High	High	High
Bluegrass - Kentucky	Medium	Medium to High	Medium	High	Medium	Medium	Medium
Bluegrass - Rough	Medium	Medium	Medium	High	Medium	Medium	Medium
Fescue - Chewings	Low	Low	Medium	Medium to High	Medium to High	Low to Medium	Low to Medium
Fescue - Hard	Low	Low	Medium	Medium to High	Medium to High	Low to Medium	Low to Medium
Fescue - Creeping	Low	Low	Medium	High	Medium to High	Low to Medium	Low to Medium
Fescue - Turf Type	Low to Medium	Medium to High	Medium to High	Medium	High	Low	High
Ryegrass - Perennial	Medium	High	Low to Medium	Medium	Medium	Low	Medium to High
Warm Season Grasses	Fertility Needs	Wear Resistance	Mowing Height	Cold Tolerance	Acid Soil Tolerance	Thatching Tendency	Heat Tolerance
Bahiagrass	Low	Medium to High	High	Low	Low	Medium to High	High
Bermudagrass	Medium	High	Low to Medium	Low to Medium	Medium	Medium	High
Blue Grama	Low	Low	High	High	Low	Low	High
Buffalograss	Low	Low	High	High	Low	Low	High
Carpetgrass	Low	Medium to High	Low	Medium to High	Medium to High	High	Low
Centipedegrass	Low	Low	Medium to High	Medium to High	High	Medium	High
Seashore Paspalum	Medium to High	Medium to High	Low	Medium	Low	Medium to High	High
Zoysiagrass	Low to Medium	Medium to High	Low to Medium	High	Low to Medium	Medium to High	High

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There are two methods to calculate the square feet of the area you are planting. Method 1: measure the size of your yard or yards that you want to purchase grass seed for. If you have circles or triangles you may have to get out the old math book to determine the length and width. Method 2: enter the measures for you lot in the first section. Enter measures for your house, garage, and other buildings in section 2. In section 3, enter other dimensions of areas you will not be seeding such as driveways and sidewalks. The calculator will subtract the area you are not seeding from you lot size to determine the amount of square feet that you will be seeding. After you have entered your dimensions, scroll down to the next section and choose the grass seed you want to purchase and enter the seeding rate into the calculator.

Yards / Lot Size	Buildings if using lot size	Other if using lot size
Yard 1 Width: ft. Yard 1 Length: ft. Yard 2 Width: ft. Yard 2 Length: ft. Yard 3 Width: ft. Yard 3 Length: ft. Yard 4 Width: ft. Yard 4 Length: ft.	Building 1 Width: ft. Building 1 Length: ft. Building 2 Width: ft. Building 2 Length: ft.	Other 1 Width: ft. Other 1 Length: ft. Other 2 Width: ft. Other 2 Length: ft.

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Quick Reference Guide For Calculating Your Seed

Once you have typed in the dimensions of your lot or yards up above, it is now time to find the grass seed you are interested in and how many square feet that grass seed will cover. To do this, simply look at the list below of the grass seeds we offer. Find the grass you are interested in and the look to the right to see how many square feet one pound of seed covers. For thicker turf and quicker establishment, choose the smaller number. Take that number and type it into the calculator where it says, "1 Pound Covers." Hit the "Calculate" button and then just look to the right to see how many pounds of seed you will need to cover your yards. Round up to the nearest package size that we offer.

Cool Season Grasses:
Type of Grass:	Name of Grass:	Square Feet Covered
Bentgrass, Colonial	Highland	500 to 1000
Bentgrass, Creeping	Nu Penn or Penncross	500 to 1000
Bluegrass, Creeping	True Putt	350 to 500
Bluegrass, Kentucky	Midnight or World Cup	350 to 500
Bluegrass, Rough	Maximum	350 to 500
Envirolawn	Envirolawn	750
Fescue, Fine	Hard, Creeping, Sheeps or Legacy	150 to 200
Fescue, Turf Type Tall	Combat Extreme	100 to 125
Mixtures, Turf Type Fescue & Kentucky Bluegrass	Combat Blue	175 to 200
Mixtures, Ryegrass & Fine Fescue	Garland	125 to 175
Mixtures, Ryegrass, Bluegrass, & Fine Fescue	Showtime	175 to 250
Mixtures, Rough Bluegrass & Supina Bluegrass	Poa Supina	350 to 500
Ryegrass, Perennial	Outsidepride Blend	100 to 140
Warm Season Grasses:
Type of Grass:	Name of Grass:	Square Feet Covered
Bahia	Pensacola	175 to 200
Bermuda	Laprima, Princess, or Riviera	350 to 500
Blue Grama	Bad River	350 to 500
Buffalo	Cody or Supreme	350 to 500
Carpet	Carpet	200 to 250
Centipede	Coated	1000 to 2000
Seashore Paspalum	Seashore Paspalum	1000
Zoysia	Companion or Zenith	500 to 1000

Area Covered By One Pound Of Seed: 1 Pound Covers: sq. ft. ~

—— Calculated Area: ——
yard 1 Area: sq. ft. yard 2 Area: sq. ft. yard 3 Area: sq. ft. yard 4 Area: sq. ft.	Total Area WITHOUT Other and Buildings substituted Total Area: sq. ft. Total Area WITH Other and Buildings substituted Total Area: sq. ft.
Total Pounds Needed:

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Before you leave our web site with your grass seed, please be sure to check out our LazyMan Liquid product line. No need to rent aerators and dethatchers any more! Just spray on and let the products do the work for you and enrich your soil at the same time.

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