Page Index:

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

Grasses used in Mississippi can be divided in to two groups: warm season grasses and cool season grasses. As their names imply, warm season grasses are adapted to hot weather and are usually native to tropical or sub-tropical environments. They go dormant in the winter and turn brown. Cool season grasses are better suited to cool weather and are usually native to temperate areas. They remain green all winter long.

Warm-season grasses:
Bermuda grass - Bermudagrass is the most widely grown turfgrass in Mississippi because of its adaptation to climates and soil types. Bermudagrass forms a dense, attractive sod. It spreads primarily through stolon growth, although rhizomes do play a part in its aggressive growth habits. It is not unusual for a stolon to grow 6 feet in 1 year when spreading over bare ground. This aggressiveness makes bermudagrass the preeminent turf for areas of high traffic, since it can spread quickly to cover damaged areas. Bermudagrasses also have good wear tolerance.

The major limiting factor to bermudagrass growth is the amount of sunlight it requires. It does not tolerate full shade and only tolerates partial shade for half a day. It is best to have full sun for the highest quality lawn.

Bermudagrass is responsive to management. Quality lawns require large amounts of fertilizer and water and frequent mowing. Although bermudagrass is drought-tolerant, it has a high water requirement to produce an attractive turf.

Bermudagrass is adapted to a range of soil types and survives in alkaline and acid conditions, but it prefers well-drained soils with a pH of 6 to 7. The vigor of bermudagrass is reduced on poorly drained soils, but it produces an acceptable turf on clay soils. Bermudagrass is the most tolerant turfgrass to being submerged and is the preferred grass for stream banks.

Centipede grass -Centipede is the grass of choice for some Mississippians. The low level of maintenance required is a joy to those who want an acceptable quality of turf with the least amount of effort. The problems with centipedegrass often are caused by over-zealous homeowners trying to make centipedegrass look better.

Centipedegrass is a slow growing, naturally lime green, somewhat coarse turfgrass adapted to growing in acid sandy soils. Centipedegrass grows best in a slightly moist, well-drained soil with a pH of 4.5 to 6.0. Iron deficiency causes the leaves to have a bleached appearance when the grass is grown on high pH soils. Centipedegrass responds to foliar iron applications by giving a darker green color.

Centipedegrass has poor wear tolerance and is slow to recover from injury because of its slow growth rate. Shade tolerance is better than bermudagrass, but not as good as St. Augustinegrass.

Zoysia grass - Zoysia grass is gaining popularity as a choice for lawns in the central and northern portions of the state. The zoysiagrasses have superior cold tolerance to the above-named grasses and are not as likely to sustain winter damage. The zoysiagrasses form dense, thick sods of high quality. They have more shade tolerance than bermudagrass and form a finer, more attractive lawn than St. Augustinegrass or centipedegrass.

Rapid improvement has been made in the use of zoysiagrass establishment from seed. Seed are treated by the supplier to produce a more uniform, higher percentage germination. The seed still require excellent moisture management during germination. Placing a spun-bonded polyester cloth over the seedbed during germination has improved the initial stand and early growth. Better quality varieties are now available from seed which are much finer textured and more dense than Chinese or Korean Common. Trials in Mississippi have shown Zenith to grow acceptably from seed and produce a good quality turf.

Carpet grass - Carpet grass is a coarse, low-growing turfgrasses adapted to the wet, acidic sandy soils of southeast Mississippi. They form a moderately dense, light-green turf that is similar to centipedegrass in color and texture. Individual carpetgrass plants resemble St. Augustinegrass. Tolerance to drought, wear, and cold is poor, and the rate of recovery from damage is slow. Carpetgrass develops many tall unattractive seedheads that require frequent mowing to keep the turf attractive, even though the foliage may not have grown sufficiently.

Even with all these drawbacks, carpetgrass is widely grown as a turfgrass. The major advantages are its ability to survive wet soil, its easy establishment from seed, and its low fertility requirements.

Cool-season grasses:
Turf-Type Fescue - Turf-type fescue a relatively coarse-leaved, dark-green grass that is almost as shade-tolerant as St. Augustinegrass. Consider it as a permanent lawn for shady areas in the northern portion of the state. Tall fescue has short rhizomes, but it does not spread well and should be managed as a bunch-type grass. It goes dormant in summer in sunshine and eventually thins out in the shade; so you should expect to reseed on a regular basis. Fortunately, the seed is not expensive and does not require extensive soil preparation to accomplish a successful reseeding.

Tall fescue has a deep root system and tolerates short periods of drought, but it turns brown from lack of water, so adequate watering is necessary. Water is especially critical in the summer to keep the grass from going dormant. Tall fescue is susceptible to several diseases, including brown patch and fescue leaf spot. Since it most often is grown in the shade, arrange the watering regime so the leaves are dry by nightfall.

Fine Fescue - Fine fescues are not grown often in Mississippi but can produce a good quality lawn in the northern counties for shady areas. Creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra) and chewing fescue (Festuca rubra) are fine-leaved fescues that are shade-tolerant. Chewing fescues do not have rhizomes. They will not grow in moist conditions, however, so well-drained soil is a must. These grasses have a low fertility requirement and a limited root system.

They are not as tolerant as tall fescue to alkaline soil conditions. They can be cut shorter than tall fescue, have a finer leaf, and produce a less coarse lawn. They are susceptible to several diseases, so water carefully to provide enough to maintain the grass with its shallow root system but not to keep the foliage wet for a great length of time.

These fescues are similar to centipedegrass in that too much fertilizer is more dangerous than not enough. As little as one pound of nitrogen per year is enough to produce an excellent turf. Over fertilization leads to problems with diseases (dollar spot and red thread).

Below is the USDA Zone Map for Mississippi 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. La Prima) for more information about that grass and to make your purchase.

USDA Zone Map For Mississippi

Best Grasses For Mississippi
Product Name	Species	Category	Applications
La Prima	Bermuda Grass	Warm Season	Lawns - Full Sun
Yukon	Bermuda Grass	Warm Season	Lawns - Full Sun
Centipede	Centipede Grass	Warm Season	Lawns - Mostly Sunny to Full Sun
Zenith	Zoysia Grass	Warm Season	Lawns - Mostly Sunny to Full Sun
Compadre	Zoysia Grass	Warm Season	Lawns - Mostly Sunny to Full Sun
Carpet	Carpet Grass	Warm Season	Lawns - Partial Sun Lawns - Wet Areas
Combat Extreme	Fescue - Turf Type	Cool Season	Lawns - Partial Sun
Champion Ryegrass	Rye Grass	Cool Season	Lawns - Winter Overseed

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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To calculate the amount of seed you will need for your project, click one of the links below for the type of grass seed you are interested in. A dialog window will appear listing your selected coverage and providing options for calculating your seed.

If you already know the square feet, length/width or acreage of your yard or lot, you can use the 'Quick Calculator'. If you need to add multiple lots and/or subtract areas that will not require seed, you may use the 'Advanced Calculator.'

The dialog window can be moved by clicking and dragging the top 'title bar'. You may click different types of seed to recalculate without re-entering your data.

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

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