Best grass for Pasadena area

3 years ago

I am debating between installing St Agustin, Celebration Bermuda or Marathon original sod.

I have 2 boys that play soccer and a dog. My dog has a separate potty area but on occasion might go in the grass. I know there is no grass resistant to pet urine but I would like to now what grass you guys would recommend for my area.

My yard is not shaded it will receive direct sunlight.

And yes, I know we should have more drought tolerant yards but I want to have grass until my kids are a little older. Thanks for your help.

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Comments (7)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
My understanding it that water is in short supply in CA. so why not look at drought tolerent ground covers instead still nice for the kids .
mojavemaria
3 years ago
UC Verde Buffalo grass
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there are articles out there on durability of turf grass. If I had your choice to make, I'd read them all. But my assumption is that some KBG is going into the mix, and some P. Rye. Here's another assumption: you're going to have to fertilize a lot. If you can keep that grass pumping up, it will regenerate, and might (and might not) keep up with the kids. If you don't fertilize regularly, however, it simply will fail. If you're looking at a rectangle, kinda stretching left to right on the long side, I'd build a path right through the middle, like out of wood chips, and refresh it with more chips every year (call your local tree service).
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You might consider poa Trivialis (roughstalk bluegrass). There are several improved varieties. Sabre III is one. This species is recommended for use on poorly drained shaded sites, although it also grows well in full sun. Another grass that is well adapted to moist growing conditions in the PNW is poa Supina. I once saw an absolutely beautiful poa Supina lawn in a shaded back yard in Portland, OR.
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Best for lawns here is fescue. It's not as apt to do dormant in the hot summer as bluegrass will. I'm also sure there as many recommendations as there are seed sellers in KY. I'd recommend seeding for lawns at a rate of about 300 pounds per acre for a good lawn. I know this sounds really high and if you were seeding pasture you wouldn't go that high but you want a lush lawn with no bare spots and fescue is a bunching grass not a tillering grass. If you seed it at a pasture rate and never let it go to seed it will stay sparsely populated and you'll be seeding again to fill in the holes. What you might consider is seeding heavily in a yard area around the house and seeding more sparsely further out where you don't see and walk over it every day. There are some fine blade fescues out of the market but good ole KY 31 will do what you want in a sunny lawn. Also, I'm not sure that I would want to power seed up around the house area. That puts the grass in rows doesn't it? How long do you want to look at little rows in your yard? Personally, I'd go with a broadcast hand seeder for the grass that I wanted up around the house. Then I'd cover the seed very lightly with straw. Janet
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st augustine grass is very common down there. I would suggest floratam variety. Very tough st augustine grass. it's the only variety to make it on the same list as bermuda and zoysia for drought tolerance... It even works great for full sun with no trees or little young trees. It won't invade gardens, whatever like zoysia and bermuda.
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chloebud
3 years ago
We're just east of Pasadena and have always had good luck with St. Augustine (in sun and shade). You might go to a good local nursery and ask by explaining about your boys, soccer, dog and water/care needs. We used to have a male dog and our grass was definitely affected by his urine. However, it was never a problem with our daughter's female dog who was here often.
Embothrium
3 years ago
Or use artificial turf for the play area. Like football stadiums have been doing.
ortochini
Original Author
3 years ago
St. Agustin seems to be one of the most frequently grasses used around here. I had never heard of UC Verde Buffalo grass.I’ll look into it. Thanks
ortochini
Original Author
3 years ago
Artificial turf is not really appealing to me. Thanks! I will have an rea with a drought tolerant ground cover but I will also have an area with grass.
PRO
Califia Ecodesign
2 years ago
Turf is terrible for the environment & St. Augustine is quite a beast if you ever want to remove it. I think the best grass these days is actually a native groundcover... it goes by many names but is most commonly called Kurapia.

Great for dogs, soccer, doesn't need to be mowed (stays 2" high) and only needs water once a week (or less in winter). I'm a professional landscape designer in the area and my clients alll can't say enough good things about it

drawbacks: big upfront price tag because the current market form was hybridized in Japanese labs and is tightly controlled by the venture capitalists who did it. BUT it's only a third the cost of artificial turf.

Bees also love its blossoms when it flowers in spring. Though a quick mow can take care of these I don't recommend it for family's with bee allergies.

more info: all about kurapia

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Best grass for Pasadena area

Comments (7)

Patricia Colwell Consulting

mojavemaria

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chloebud

Embothrium

ortochini
Original Author

ortochini
Original Author

Califia Ecodesign

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Best grass for Pasadena area

Comments (7)

Patricia Colwell Consulting

mojavemaria

Related Discussions

chloebud

Embothrium

ortochiniOriginal Author

ortochiniOriginal Author

Califia Ecodesign

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ortochini
Original Author

ortochini
Original Author