Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-08-16
BY w. H. YOUNGMAN
star Garden Editor

state and Federal laws re-
quire that certain basic infor-
nation be attached to ell con-
tanners Of seed-this includes
grass seed. The information
must show the kind Of seed. its
purity and termination. plus
some other details which are
not 50 important as these three
The University Of Maryland
Seed Testing Laboratory has
the responsibility Of checking
up on the seeds offered for sale
In Maryland and they tell OF
some lawn seeds that are best
not planted II you want q lawn
But this Is to point out what
the label on that package tells
In the FIRST place the Uni
versity Of Maryland. the Vir-
ginia Polytechnic Institute and
the United States Department
Of Agriculture specialists are al
agreed on one thing (even
though they disagree on most
others when It comes to lawns)
namely the kinds Of cool
weather grasses adapted to the
Washington area - Kentucky
bluegrass. Chewings fescue and
creeping red fescue. Thus any
other kinds Of seeds in the mix
ture are not desirable-tim-
othy. tall fescue. meadow
fescue. ryegrass, orchard grass,
redtop, etc. Why this en-
phasis? Most folks are In
terested In q fine-leaf grass
that viii do as well In this area
as 1t is possible with the present
known varieties and kinds Of
grasses.
DifIacult Zone Area
This. Of course. recognizes
the fact that Washington Is
located at the southern limit
Of the cool weather grasses and
the northern limit Of the sum-
mer growing or hot weather
grasses Zoysias and Bermu-
das. But that Is another story.
We are concerned with the
label on the grass seed mixture.
And, II you do not think 1t is
Of interest visit the seed lab
and see the collection Of boxes
and bags Of seeds they have
collected.
The ryegrasses are offered
for many reasons. The main
reason that they are In so
many mixtures Is that they are
cheap and they grow SO quickly
after planting that the gar
dener sees something growing
within three to five days and
is sure he is getting something
for his money. DR.. Fred Grau.
when he was in charge Of the
turf work at Beltsville. sug-
gested that the ryegrasses were
such strong growers that they
offered too much competition
for the f1ne-leaved grasses that
we want In our lawns. It might
be added that the ryegrasses
do best In the late fall and win
ter. are too coarse. and they
are very short-lived.
Orchard grass is q coarse
clumpy grass that belongs in
the cattle pasture or the hay
and not in the lawn.
Tan fescue and meadow fescue
are also coarse growers but
they are not clumpy hence are
suggested for areas where q
ine-leaved turf is not so i'm
portant and where greater wear
resistance is needed.
Bent Grasses Unwanted
No mention was made in the
above list Of undesirable grasses
Of the bent grasses. They
really deserve special comment.
In the first place in this area
they are losing out as golf put
ting green grasses because OF
the cost Of fighting diseases
with which they are plagued,
Secondly, the recommended
grasses must be cut at Ia
inches or taller whereas the
bents should be kept at %-inch
or less. The bents have entirely
different cultural requirements
from the accepted lawn grasses
for this area so they can not
be expected to be Of any use
in our lawns even If they were
not so subject to disease. Don't
look. upon bent grass seed in
the mixture as being Of any
value in this area.
The second point is germi-
nation Of the grass seeds in
Al.