The best grass seed choice for most Iowa lawns are cool season grasses. Cool season grasses do well in the spring and fall when temperatures are moderate. Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue and tall fescue are the four cool season grasses usually used in Iowa.
Kentucky bluegrass
Kentucky bluegrass is the grass found in most Iowa lawns. It is well adapted for Iowa conditions. It tolerates full sun and partial shade allowing it to form a dense turf under varying conditions. It tolerates medium to high traffic and the underground rhizomes give it the ability to self-repair worn or damaged areas. It competes well with weeds and has good tolerance of diseases and cold winter temperatures.
Perennial ryegrass
Perennial ryegrass can withstand high traffic, but has poor tolerance for diseases and cold temperatures. Use caution in using it in Northern Iowa. Perennial ryegrass is a bunch grass (lacking any solons or rhizomes) and is slow to recover from damage.
Fine leaf fescues
Fine fescues are known for their low water and fertility needs and for their ability to tolerate shady areas. They are often mixed with Kentucky bluegrass and/or perennial ryegrass in areas that receive both sun and shade. They have poor ability to handle heat, wet soils, or traffic.
Turf Type Tall Fescue
Turf type tall fescues are new improved varieties that are finer in texture and more aesthetically pleasing. It is known for its ability to handle heavy traffic, hot temperatures and drought. It can also tolerate partial shade. It is a bunch grass (lacking stolons or rhizomes) so damaged areas are slow to recover and may need to be reseeded.
Varieties to use under varying conditions
Lawns receiving minimum shade
Use a 100 percent mixture of improved varieties of Kentucky bluegrass for lawns that receive full sun. Because Kentucky bluegrass is slow to establish from seed, it is often sold in a mixture that includes 10 to 20 percent perennial ryegrass to help speed establishment.
Lawns receiving sun and shade
Use a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass (80 per cent) and perennial ryegrass (10 percent), and fine fescue (10 percent). Kentucky bluegrass will dominate in full sun areas, perennial ryegrass will provide quick cover and will grow in both sun and shade, and the fine fescues will thrive in the shaded portions of the lawn.
Difficult shade areas where other grasses have failed
Use 100 percent fine fescue. If fine fescue fails to grow, substitute shrub, ground covers, or mulch.
Repairing damaged areas
Use 100 percent perennial ryegrass or overseed using a mixture of grasses that will tolerate the site characteristics. Areas of the lawn that have less than 60 percent grass cover can be renovated by overseeding.
Heat and drought areas
Use a mixture of turf type tall fescue (95 percent) and Kentucky bluegrass (5 percent). Turf type tall fescue can tolerate poor growing conditions while the Kentucky bluegrass will help provide a uniform lawn cover.
So, if you don’t have the time to care for your lawn, the best thing for you to do is to hire lawn care experts who can maintain the beauty and health of your lawn. For questions you can call our hotline at 1-800-365-8873.
Guarantee of Satisfaction
Our services are guaranteed!
If you are not completely satisfied with an All American Turf Beauty application to your lawn, we will re-apply the application at no additional cost and continue the regular lawn treatment program. Alternately, we will fully refund your cost for the application and cancel any further obligation on your part.
To qualify for the guarantee, you must call All American Turf Beauty within 30 days of application.
Our goal at All American Turf Beauty, Inc. is a simple one:
To provide you with the highest quality products and methods available.
We offer every kind of service that it takes to develop and maintain a beautiful lawn in Iowa based on the climate, soil types, and the varieties of grass that are commonly grown here.
One of the keys to the success of the program is that we provide treatment to lawns approximately every 8 weeks throughout the growing season. This ensures that the grass has fertilizer (food) available throughout the growing season. Dandelions and other Broadleaf weeds are controlled as they germinate thus enabling a weed free lawn, and our Turf Specialist is at the property four to six times per season to address problems as and when they arise.
Another key to our service is our people. The most important person to you in our company is the Turf Specialist assigned to treat your lawn.
We are proud to say that our Turf Specialists are the best trained and most experienced in the lawn care industry.
When you become a customer at All American Turf Beauty, a Turf Specialist is assigned to your account. You will have the same person treating your lawn each time. It is their responsibility to service your lawn, make sure it is receiving the correct applications as scheduled, and to provide you with the best personalized service possible. Their jobs depend on it.
We have several programs to choose from. Your Turf Specialist will recommend the best program that fits the needs of your lawn and your budget.
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All American Turf Beauty provides complete services ranging from lawn care to Christmas lighting. We are dedicated to making your yard and home look its best. Let us do the work, so you can enjoy your home and the things that matter the most to you.
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311 Desoto Rd
Van Meter, IA
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