There is a big difference between quality seeds and average ones. Average brands have germination issues and introduce many weeds into the lawn. I’m sure you’ve been there and done that. Save yourself the headache and get the best product possible.
Kentucky bluegrass is popular because of the dark, lush, dense lawn that it produces. It is a great cool season grass and also stands up well to lots of foot traffic.
Investing in a good seed is important – it can save lots of time, money, and headache in the years to come. Good brands will have few fillers, little to no weeds, and high germination rates.
Keep reading below for our top recommendations.
Comparing Our Top 3 Recommendations
At A Glance: Our Recommended Brands
These are all great choices. They have good germination rates and very low in weed content. They also have very few empty hulls.
Keep reading below to find out more about them as well as a short lawncare guide.
The Best Bluegrass Seeds
Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed Kentucky Bluegrass Mix
Scotts Turf Builder produces a soft, fine-bladed grass that is perfect for walking on. This brand works well in high-traffic areas, and it is a good choice for either full sun or partially shaded spaces. The mix also contains a WaterSmart Plus coating which helps plants absorb more water and delivers nutrients to help establish lawns. The nutrients included in this mix are also designed to help the lawn self-repair over the lifetime of the grass, so gardeners and landscapers will find that their lawns are always lush and full.
Kentucky Bluegrass Seed: Blue Ribbon Blend
Blue Ribbon Blend is a blend of grasses that is designed to grow quickly but also look beautiful. Their blend produces a grass that is rich in color and lush in appearance. Meanwhile, the added perennial ryegrass grows very quickly, so landscapers will never need to wait for a blank space to fill in or a lawn to grow. Their product has been rated highly by the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program, and there are no other fillers added into the mix. This grass blend grows quickly but is strong, healthy, and can withstand high traffic after it has matured.
SeedRanch Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass Seed
SeedRanch helps gardeners add color and fullness to their lawn. Their product produces a lawn that is a striking deep blue-green hue. It works well in either full sun or light shade, and although it works particularly well in cold weather areas, it can also withstand heat. The grass grows best in soil that is healthy and drains well, the strong roots of the grass can actually help to improve the strength of the underlying sod. Gardeners who use this seed will find that their lawns are dark green, lush, and a pleasure to look at and walk on.
Outsidepride Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass Lawn Grass Seed
Outsidepride’s product is an excellent choice. Their product produces a deep green lawn that is soft to walk on. In addition, it can withstand high traffic, so it is the perfect choice for golf courses, parks, or backyards. It is also resistant to both droughts and diseases and does well in cold weather. Landscapers who use Outsidepride’s seed will find that their lawns are lush, soft, and a richly colored blue-green.
Grow Guide
Kentucky bluegrass is considered by many people to be the ideal grass for a lawn. When it is taken care of properly, it becomes creates a dense and durable lawn. It grows particularly well in cool-season areas. With the proper watering and maintenance, you can have a beautiful lawn.
Hardy Nature
Many people love bluegrass because of its hardiness. It is well adapted to areas of high foot traffic, making it ideal for yards or parks with children and dogs. It has the ability to recover after being stepped on.
It is also very hardy in withstanding cooler temperatures. When cared for properly, it will grow back even after a winter of being frozen.
Full Sun
Even though bluegrass is a hardy grass species, it still grows optimally when grown in full sun. It tolerates shade and certain varieties have been bred to tolerate shade more than others. Nonetheless, if you want a lush and dense lawn, you will want full sun.
It also has relatively shallow roots. Therefore, it grows most robustly with frequent watering particularly in the summer when the sun can quickly dry out the soil.
What to Look For
Look at the product’s contents. Many products are filled with empty seed hulls, stems, and fillers. These make their way into the bag because the seeds are not cleaned or filtered after being harvested. High quality brands will have better and more thorough methods of removing these fillers.
Another aspect of the contents of the bag that you’ll want to look at is the percentage of weeds. Even very small percentages can greatly increase your work later on when you try to remove the weeds. This is not only expensive, but also time consuming. If possible, look for mixes that are weed free or 99.99% weed free.
You’ll also want to look at the typical germination percentage. Quality brands generally have a germination rate of 85% or better.
Preparing Your Soil
We recommend that you prepare your soil prior to planting. While fertilizer can deliver vital nutrients to your grass, using it to make your grass look as green as possible is only a short term solution. Preparing your soil ahead of time will save you time and money.
Good soil is well structured. Clay soils are dense and compact easily, which makes them slow to absorb water and nutrients. This also makes them more prone to evaporation before the water reaches the roots. On the other hand, sandy soil allows water to move through the soil too quickly and evaporate from the soil easily. Well-structured soild holds the water deep in the soil and limits the amount of evaporation.
Before you plant, rototill the top six inches of your soil. This adds oxygen and also loosens compact areas. Till in organic matter such as leaves, grass clippings, compost, or slow-release fertilizer.
Seeding
Try to sow in later summer/early fall to allow time for roots to establish before a cold winter. Alternatively, it is also possible to sow during the spring, but this is not ideal. After seeding, you will want to water lightly and often to keep the soil moist. Mulch will also work to conserve water. If you apply mulch make sure that at least 30-40% of the soil is still visible through the mulch. Late summer is considered the ideal time because warm-season weed growth slows down; this allows for more water and nutrients to be used by the germinating seeds.
Generally, it takes 2-5 weeks for them to germinate. It takes 8+ weeks to form dense growth. Bluegrass grow optimally when there the daily temperatures alternate. So in ideal circumstances, there are moderate days with cool nights.
Lawn Maintenance
Don’t bag your clippings. Instead, set your lawnmower to the much setting. The lawn clippings provide organic matter that decompose and provide nutrients to the soil below throughout the season.
Water your lawn with at least 1.5 to 2 inches of water per week. You can measure this by putting an empty tuna can on your lawn and record the time it takes to fills to about 1.5 inches. This is the amount of time you should be watering for. Water deeply (with this amount of time) once per week or in very hot summers, twice per week. Also, water as early in the day as possible. This will allow water to drain to the roots and minimize evaporation. It also allows for evaporation in the midday so that the water does not just sit around soaking the roots, which can result in root diseases.
Bottom Line
I recommend checking out Scott’s Turf Builder Kentucky Blue Grass. Their product is high quality and has excellent germination rates. I urge you to invest in quality seeds. Saving a couple bucks is not worth it. You will have far more headaches buying poor quality brands.
Be sure to read our grass care guides here on the Green Pinky: