Once upon a time a turf manager wanted to plant a new lawn. He read all of the available trade publications and asked several experts what the best grass was. Tall fescue they all said. It's the perfect grass because it is wear-tolerant, heat tolerant, and deep rooted so it will withstand drought better than other grasses. It also grows in the shade and has a low fertility requirement. It sure sounded great to the manager so he planted it and he had a perfect lawn forever and ever. Well, almost forever. As it turned out, the tall fescue did everything people said it would except for one thing. It failed to compete with other gasses that slowly encroached upon the area. At first this wasn't too noticeable with just a patch or two throughout the lawn. After a couple of years though the patches were more numerous and larger. The lawn didn't look right anymore. Finally, after five years, he gave up on this lawn and the few remaining clumps of tall fescue. He decided to spray out the lawn and start over. Again he went to the experts and consulted the trade publications. For renovation they all agreed perennial ryegrass is the grass to choose. It germinates fast, establishes fast, and has great wear tolerance. Again he took their advice. The lawn came up great and everyone declared it a success. No one paid any attention when patches of other grass started to show up. The turf manager decided to put his faith in this miracle grass. After five years, however, he abandoned his faith. The lawn was dominated by other grasses once again.
They say the third time's the charm. This time the turf manager trusted his instincts and consulted no one. He killed the lawn, rototilled and graded the area, and planted a pure sod of Kentucky bluegrass/perennial ryegrass. This has to be the answer he told himself. He watched and waited for one year and then two. Slowly he began to see spots of different grasses showing up. He knew what was going to happen. He also realized for the first time that he was powerless to prevent it. This time he didn't kill the lawn. He identified the grasses and studied their cultural requirements. He lowered the mowing height of his lawnmower, changed his fertilizer program, and geared other practices to the needs of these invading grasses. Slowly the lawn matured. The density was good, the color average, the uniformity acceptable. It was surprisingly durable and easy to maintain.
The turf managers competitors admired his turf and asked him what his secret was. "Simple" he told them, "I just let the grass tell me what it needs and then I do it".
So what does this fairy tale have to do with anything? First, it tells us that what we plant is rarely what we end up with. Second, it tells us that perhaps we should approach this turf management business from a different angle. Maybe we would be happier if we took an ecological approach to turf culture. Maybe we should abandon what I call classic turf culture.
Classic turf culture is centered around several species of grass (i.e., Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescues, tall fescue, bentgrass, etc.). All recommendations are based on these grasses used alone, in blends, or in mixtures. Cultural practices are described in terms of what is necessary to maintain the species or cultivars we planted. Environmental stress is viewed as an obstacle to be overcome by choosing the appropriate grass or grasses. While we have abandoned monocultures to some degree, the prevailing approach to turf certainly isn't ecological. In fact, in many respects it ignores the basic principles of plant ecology. Turf managers spend a great deal of time emulating turfgrass researchers as they pursue perfect turf. They ignore the fact that perfect turf exists only in 3' x 5' plots which rarely exist for more than 3 to 5 years, often on a site that was fumigated or in some cases hand weeded.
In the Pacific Northwest west of the Cascade mountains there is no such thing as a pure lawn. There are very few 5 year old pure stands of Kentucky bluegrass, virtually no 10 year old stands, and I have never seen a 15 year old stand dominated by Kentucky bluegrass. Regardless of what is planted, the "climax" species in lawns west of the Cascades will contain one or all of the following grasses: Highland bentgrass, colonial bentgrass, creeping bentgrass, Poa trivialis, Poa annua, or Holcus lanatus . In most cases bentgrass will become the dominant species. Poa trivialis may become a major component but is often absent. It is inevitable that Poa annua will be present to some degree. Ironically, the purer the stand of grass to begin with the greater the likelihood that Poa annua will be the climax species. When the planted grass thins out, there may be nothing but Poa annua available to invade. Holcus lanatus is rarely a dominant species but is nearly always present. It is rare that planted grasses persist in mature lawns. Exceptions generally include bentgrass and fine fescues.
The problem here is that maintenance practices are geared for specific grasses when we really aren't growing those grasses at all. Currently no one looks much beyond 6-12 months after planting in selecting turf species for lawns. We continually force ourselves into bizarre maintenance practices and chemical warfare searching for that special miracle to help us achieve perfection. The inevitable result is frustration on the part of homeowners, contractors, and sod growers alike.
We need to change our perspective and become more ecologically oriented as we plan for new lawns. We need to turn to ecologically adapted grasses and work to improve those grasses. The potential for improving colonial bentgrass and roughstalk bluegrass is enormous. I don't believe there is any reason why they can't be improved in turf quality characteristics while retaining the adaptive qualities that allow them to dominate and persist under turf conditions.
My point is very simple. Regardless of what you want to grow, the best adapted grasses will end up dominating the stand. You might as well learn to live with those grasses and make the most out of what they have to offer. They don't really care what you or I think about them.
The key to maintaining climax lawns is low mowing (i.e. below 1.5”) preferably with reel mowers instead of rotary mowers just like the old time gardeners did in the 60's and 70's. Leave turf clippings whenever feasible. Don't fertilize any more than absolutely necessary since these grasses require just a fraction of the fertilizer needed by ryegrass lawns. Finally, scalp and/or dethatch every spring or every other spring. Water regularly in summer for dense green grass or let the lawn go dormant when water restrictions are in place. The long term result will be beautiful lawns for most of the year and fewer total inputs than standard commercially available mixtures. The main thing you give up is dark green color, but with regular mowing these lawns are very attractive.