Tag Archive for: Warm Season Grass

Love Your Lawn-Conservation Corner-Love your lawn organically

Love Your Lawn Organically

In a waterwise landscape, there’s still a place for turf. You may not need as much, and you need to create the most efficient and organic maintenance plan possible to work turf into your design. The good news: lawns maintained organically and with efficient irrigation can offer a cool, practical surface for active recreation, or just a nice place to relax with your family.

Most lawns require too much water and energy. They become pollution sources from excess fertilizers and pesticide runoff. When lawns are limited to accessible, usable, high-functioning spaces like children’s play yards, sports fields, and picnicking areas, you can prevent this.

Love your lawn organically

Reconsider the concept of lawns. They should not be passive, wall-to-wall groundcover. You don’t need to maintain so much lawn if you won’t enjoy it for the above purposes.

As you decide how much grass to keep in your plan, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically.

  • Top dress your lawn annually with one-eighth to one-quarter of compost.
  • Aerate and de-thatch your lawn annually.
  • Check and control irrigation overspray. Fix problems promptly.
  • Maintain three to four inches of height on cool season grass, and 1.5 to two inches of height on warm season grass.
  • Grass-cycle every time you mow.
  • Don’t allow seed heads to form on the grass. Remove seeds that do form.
  • Consider over-seeding with clover to help make the grass more interesting looking and more drought tolerant.
  • Eliminate the use of chemicals such as pesticides on your grass.
If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. Photo: Alicja/Creative Commons

If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. Photo: Alicja/Creative Commons

What’s the difference between Cool Season Grass and Warm Season Grass?

Cool Season Grass:

  • Needs more water than warm season grass and is considered a high use plant.
  • Requires watering in hot summers to prevent it from going dormant and turning brown.
  • Grows typically as bunch grasses and propagates by seed or weak stolons.
  • Cool season grass is easily smothered by sheet mulching.
  • Varieties include: Bent Grass (Agrostis), Fescue varieties (Festuca), Kentucky Bluegress (Poa pratensis), and Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne).

Warm Season Grass:

  • Uses a moderate amount of water.
  • Thrives in daytime temperatures over 80 degrees. It will go dormant (brown) in winter months when it is cooler.
  • Grows from sturdy rhizomes extending deep underground.
  • Warm season grasses require physical removal and/or extensive sheet mulching (up to 12 inches).
  • Varieties inclue: Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylan), Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), Buffalo Grass (Buchloe actyloides), St. Augustine Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), Zoysia, and Seashore Paspalum.

This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.

Sometimes a portion of lawn is maintained even with sustainable landscaping plans, and using the right type of grass, along with proper care, can reduce water needs. Image: Inspector/Pixabay

Tips for Responsible Lawn Maintenance

While the goal of many sustainable landscaping plans is to remove the traditional suburban lawn, sometimes a portion of lawn area is maintained.

You can ensure that your lawn stays healthy, permeable and green by using sustainable landscaping tips for lawn maintenance:

  • Grass cycling
  • Using proper mowing height and frequency
  • Eliminating chemical use
  • Monitoring watering frequency and duration
  • Using organic amendments, particularly compost

Turf should be top dressed with one-eighth to one-quarter of compost once or twice yearly. This minimizes the need for resource inputs, the ability of lawn areas to act as infiltration and filter areas, and reduces polluted runoff.

Ideal placement and grass type

Turf should ideally be used where it serves a specific purpose, like a play area. It should be avoided in inaccessible or decorative areas like parkways, median strips, islands, or front yards. Turf should be avoided on all slopes.

Sustainable landscaping for responsible lawn maintenance

Warm season grass is the best choice for most areas in San Diego County. Warm season grass prefers temperatures of 80 degrees or more, and will go dormant in the winter when it is rainy and cool. Typically these grasses grow from sturdy rhizomes that extend deep underground.

Warm season grass also uses less water than cool season grass and is a moderate water use plant. Consider overseeing your grass with clover to make it more interesting and drought-tolerant.


This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.

With a little thoughtful planning and good choices, lawn can still be a good choice in waterwise landscaping. Photo: Pixabay/Cromaconceptovisual Waterwise Lawns

When It Comes To Lawns, Use it or Lose It

If you have a desire and a need to retain turf as part of your landscaping, consider adopting the most efficient and organic maintenance plan possible. Lawns that are maintained organically and with efficient irrigation can offer a cool, practical surface for active recreation, or just hanging out with your family.  

Most lawns suffer from inefficient maintenance. They require too much water and energy. They become major sources of pollution from fertilizers and pesticide runoff. For these reasons, lawns should be limited to accessible, usable, high-functioning spaces like children’s play yards, sports fields, and picnicking areas. 

It’s smart to rethink the idea of lawns as all-purpose, wall-to-wall groundcover. In many cases, there is no need to maintain so much lawn. If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. 

If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. Photo: Alicja/Creative Commons Waterwise Lawns

If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. Photo: Alicja/Creative Commo

  • Apply a thin layer of compost annually. 
  • Aerate and de-thatch your lawn annually. 
  • Manage your irrigation carefully. Control overspray and fix problems promptly. 
  • Mow less frequently. Maintain 3 to 4 inches of height on cool season grass, and 1.5 to 2 inches of height on warm season grass.  
  • Grass-cycle every time you mow. 
  • Don’t allow seed heads to form on the grass, and remove those that do form. 
  • Consider over-seeding with clover to help make the grass more interesting looking and more drought-tolerant. 
  • Eliminate chemical inputs to your grass. 

What’s the difference between Cool Season Grass and Warm Season Grass? 

Cool Season Grass: 

  • Needs more water than warm season grass and is considered a high use plant. 
  • Requires watering in hot summers to prevent it from going dormant and turning brown 
  • Grows typically as bunch grasses and propagates by seed or weak stolons. 
  • Cool season grass is easily smothered by sheet mulching.
  • Varieties include: Bent Grass (Agrostis), Fescue varieties (Festuca), Kentucky Bluegress (Poa pratensis), Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne) 

Warm Season Grass: 

  • Is a moderate water use plant. 
  • Peaks when temperatures exceed 80 degrees, but it will go dormant (brown) in winter months when it is rainy and cool. 
  • Grows from sturdy rhizomes extending deep underground. Warm season grasses require physical removal and/or extensive sheet mulching (up to 12 inches).
  • Varieties inclue: Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylan), Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), Buffalo Grass (Buchloe actyloides), St. Augustine Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), Zoysia, and Seashore Paspalum.  

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.   

READ MORE: Evapotranspiration – The Key To Watering Your Plants