Before selecting the grass for your lawn, consider the amount of shade the grass will be subjected to now and as the trees grow. How your lawn is going to be used will have a big influence on the grass you select. If your lawn is used mainly for show, wear resistance is not an important consideration. If the lawn gets frequent family or neighborhood use, select a grass or mixture of grasses that will resist wear and recover quickly. Kentucky bluegrass is the best adapted and most popular lawn grass in New York.
Kentucky bluegrass is dark green in color with medium-textured leaves.
There are many Kentucky bluegrass varieties available. Improved varieties of bluegrass are more resistant to leafspot and the other diseases than the common types. Select a seed mixture that contains at least three improved bluegrass varieties. Bluegrass varieties that have done well in New York include Adelphi, Baron, Bonnieblue, Bristol, Cheri, Glade, Nassau, Midnight, Ram I, Touchdown, Victa and others. Perennial ryegrass is a bunch type grass that is used in seed mixtures primarily because of its ability to germinate and establish quickly.