Home Lawn and Turf in Mississippi
The Right Grass: Cool-Season
Only those people living in zone 7a should attempt to grow cool-season grasses as permanent lawns in full sun. People with shady lawn areas in zone 7b north of Highway 82 could attempt the cool-season grasses, but the heat of Mississippi summers causes these species to go dormant and could shorten the life of these grasses.
Fescues
The fescue group of turfgrasses has greatly improved in the last decade. The “turf-type” tall fescues were selected and extensively bred to improve heat and drought tolerance and to have narrower leaves. Red and chewings fescues were evaluated for disease and heat resistance. These grasses are not widely grown in Mississippi, but you should try the improved varieties.
Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is 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.
Mow tall fescue high, about 3 inches. The leaves are relatively tough and require a sharp blade to keep from having a ragged edge.
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.
There are many improved turf-type tall fescues. Do not plant the forage-type tall fescues such as Kentucky 31 or Alta. Recommended varieties include Houndog V, Falcon II, Crossfire II, Pixie, Renegade, and Rebel Jr. In Mississippi conditions, the differences among the turf-type tall fescues are small, so the differences in appearance may not be great.
Fine-leaved fescues are not grown often in Mississippi but can produce a good quality lawn in the northern counties. 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).
Recommended varieties of red fescue include Ruby, Flyer, and Pennlawn. Recommended chewing fescues include Atlanta, Jamestown, and Banner.
Kentucky bluegrass
Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is the king of the turfgrasses in the northern United States. Unfortunately, it does not grow well in Mississippi, even in the northern counties. It does not tolerate shade very well, so it cannot hide from the summer sun the way tall fescue does. It is a rhizomaceous and stoloniferous grass that forms a dense sod. It is fine-leaved and dark green and forms an excellent quality turf. The aggressive root system makes it the most drought-tolerant of the cool-season grasses. It is more shade-tolerant than bermudagrass. It tends to go dormant in the summer but recovers when temperatures fall. It requires more maintenance than the fescues, but it gives an attractive turf that can be mowed at 2 inches in the cool season.
Kentucky bluegrass requires a soil that is well drained and slightly acid. It does not thrive in alkaline soils. It depends on correct management, especially in the summer months. Proper fertilizing, watering, and mowing are necessary to have the dormant turf survive the summer heat.
Recommended varieties include Blackburg, Baron, Adelphi, Eclipse, Sydsport, Midnight, and America. The bluegrasses are easily established from seed, and the seed is relatively inexpensive.