what is the best grass to plant in virginia Beach

Leah B
by Leah B
  1 answer
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Jun 03, 2011
    Defining best can be tricky, Leah, so I'll try to give you a little bit of information about grass for your area, and you can decide what is best for you. Grasses that provide winter lawn color in most areas of Virginia are known as cool-season grasses. Grasses that go dormant after the first hard frost, and stay brown through the winter months are known as warm-season grasses. Warm-season grasses generally need less maintenance as their water requirements are lower, and their shorter growing season requires fewer mowings per year. In the southern piedmont and eastern Virginia, tall fescue is the most commonly used lawngrass. A moderately coarse-textured turfgrass, it is tolerant of a wide range of soil types and climatic extremes. It is best suited to areas where low to moderate management levels are provided. It is established from seed or sod. Two warm-season grasses, Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass, are also adapted to your area. If using Bermudagrass, select a winter-hardy cultivar. A bermudagrass turf will go dormant (turn brown) with the first hard frost in the fall and green up in late April to mid-May. It can be established from seed, sod, plugs, or sprigs. Zoysiagrass is a drought-tolerant warm-season grass of fine to medium texture. Like Bermudagrass, it will become dormantwith the first hard frost in the fall and green up in late April or mid-May. Improved varieties are only available as sprigs or sod.