Kentucky Bluegrass

Poa pratensis

Despite its name, Kentucky Bluegrass is a cool-season turf grass that is originally native to Europe. The popularity of this type of grass for homeowners rests in the fact that is it perennial and sod-forming, making it ideal for home lawns. Kentucky Bluegrass also has excellent recuperative and reproductive capabilities, plus a greater tolerance to colder temperatures than some other cool-season turf grasses. That's why you'll find Kentucky Bluegrass in lawns throughout most of North America, though less commonly in warmer climates along the Gulf Coast.

Identify

Kentucky Bluegrass features leaves that are folded in the bud and very short, membranous ligules. It has an abrupt, narrow collar, and the auricles are absent. The sheaths are compressed and smooth, and the blades are long and less than 1/8 of an inch wide. Both the sheaths and the blades are dark-green in color. A key identification feature for this turf grass is the edges of the leaf blades, which form to a boat-shaped tip. The seed head is an open, pyramid-shaped panicle with flattened spikelets containing three to five seeds. Kentucky Bluegrass spreads and reproduces by rhizomes.

Life Cycle

Care

Kentucky Bluegrass is has a fair tolerance for shade. Older varieties of this turf grass are also very susceptible to the fungal disease Leaf Spot, sometimes making proper turf grass management programs more intensive.

Characteristic Chart