Page Index:

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

Grasses used in South Dakota generally consist of Kentucky bluegrass or Kentucky bluegrass mixes with fine fescue. Both bluegrass and fine fescue have exceptional cold tolerance. Native grasses are also used such as buffalo grass and blue grama grass although their growing season is very short and dormancy periods are long.

Cool-Season Grasses:
Kentucky bluegrass - Kentucky bluegrass is the most desirable turfgrass for South Dakota lawns. Bluegrass has a vigorous underground rhizome system and is capable of rapid recovery from heavy traffic. Bluegrasses are slow to germinate and establish. They are good at repairing damaged turf areas because of their ability to spread. This can be a problem when flower beds border turf areas. Bluegrasses have a moderate to high fertility requirement.

Fine fescues - Fine fescues include creeping red fescue, chewings fescue, and hard fescue. Fescues have the finest leaves of any lawn grass. They perform best in shady lawns in mixtures with shade-tolerant Kentucky bluegrasses. These grasses are excellent for overseeding poor lawns to improve turf quality. In mixtures with other grasses, they add disease resistance to the turf. Fine fescues are adapted to well-drained, infertile soils. Often they are grown on slopes and left unmowed to create a meadow effect. Their fertilization requirements are low to moderate. The creeping red fescues have a spreading or rhizomatous root system that will easily cover open soil areas to create a lawn. The chewings fescues are bunchgrasses that do not spread. They should be planted thickly enough to ensure a dense and even turf. The hard fescues are also bunch-type, make excellent turf, have extensive root systems, and are drought tolerate.

Perennial ryegrass - Turf-type perennial ryegrasses germinate and establish very rapidly. They are extremely wear tolerant, producing beautiful lawns that do not form thatch. Ryegrasses blend well with other grasses and add disease and insect resistance to bluegrass mixes. Ryegrass leaves are fibrous, requiring a sharp mower blade to avoid shredding or tearing the turf. Like Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrasses require moderate to high fertility levels. Ryegrass woudl be a small percentage of a grass seed mixture for South Dakota.

Warm-Season Grasses:
Buffalograss - These warm season stoloniferous grasses, due to their drought resistance, are becoming popular in the West, even in cool season areas. Buffalograsses are resistant to heat and drought. They are well adapted to a wide range of soils, but especially to alkaline conditions and soils of low fertility. Buffalograsses are slow to establish (1 to 3 years) and they require infrequent mowing. Like most warm season grasses, they have a short growing season (4 to 5 months) in the due to their inability to withstand cold weather. Hence, during half the year or more in South Dakota, a buffalograss lawn will be tan or brown in color.

Below is the USDA Zone Map for South Dakota 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 South Dakota

Best Grasses For South Dakota
Product Name	Species	Category	Applications
Midnight	Kentucky Bluegrass	Cool Season	Lawns - Full Sun
World Cup	Kentucky Bluegrass	Cool Season	Lawns - Full Sun
Garland	Rye Grass, Fine Fescue Mix	Cool Season	Lawns - Partial to Full Sun
Legacy	Fine Fescue	Cool Season	Lawns - Partial 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
Supreme	Buffalo Grass	Warm Season	Lawns - Full Sun
/catalog/Blue-Grama-Grass-Seed-p-17198.html	Blue Grama Grass	Warm Season	Lawns - Full Sun

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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