What is a Low-Maintenance Lawn?
Low-maintenance lawns are made up of a diverse mix of hardy, drought-tolerant, slow-growing and low-height turf grasses, fescues, and wear-tolerant broadleaf species. A sampling of these grasses includes Blue Grama, Sideoats Grama, Little Bluestem, Buffalo Grass, Fescue varieties and Prairie Dropseed. These species require less mowing, fertilizing and watering than conventional lawn species. Without mowing, Buffalo Grass grows to only about four to five inches, while Prairie Dropseed may be up to three feet tall. For maximum benefit, select a mix of species that are suited to your needs, climate, soil type, soil pH (acidity) and the amount of sun or shade. One drawback of a low-maintenance lawn is appearance. A low-maintenance lawn typically appears less uniform than a conventional lawn. Is a less-than-perfect lawn appearance worth the savings in time and costs, and the gain in environmental benefits for you?
