Choosing the right type of Grass

Here are 7  points that should make the process of grass selection easier. Remember in the Mediterranean, Cool Season (English Grasses) will either die or need vast amounts of water in the summer, and Warm Season grasses will go dormant (brown) in the Winter. Also most English grasses are bunch grasses (grow upwards) whereas most warm season grasses grow sideways with runners (Stolons or Rhizomes).

1) Green All Year. When choosing grass, the first thing to ask yourself is do I want it green all year round. This question is easily answered if you only visit your villa in the Summer. If however you live in the Mediterranean all year round, then your answer may well be different.

Currently we have only found two Warm Season grasses that stay green all year round (depending on how cold the winter is) , that's our "Med Green" and our "Alicante". We have one cool season grass (Carpet Grass) that also does pretty well all year round.

2) Soil. Your type of soil will restrict the choices of grass that will grow in your area. But basically the less alkaline the more grass choices you will have. Also the soil composition will determine how often you will have to water your lawn ( The more clay you have the less you will need to water), and the more sand you have will mean you will have to water more.  Ask us for a soil test.

3) Climate. Do you have a Mediterranean climate (Cote D'Azure, The Spanish Costas etc) or do you have very hot summers with very cold winters (Madrid etc). Do you have an almost temperate climate. Some Warm season grasses will die in sub zero temperatures. The best Heat and Cold tolerant grass we have is our "Extreme". For what to do and when to do it, see our Lawn Calendar.

4) Overseeding. Moving on from this is a step that should be thought about carefully, especially when starting your lawn project late in the year. Although it sounds strange, you should choose your Warm Season grass to meet your usage requirements first, then choose your cold season grass to overseed. This could quite easily mean sowing the Cool Season grass first (in the Autumn) and plugging afterwards (in the Spring).

5) Draught Resistance. Generally the greener the grass the less drought resistant it is. The grasses that are bluey grey green in colour are very drought resistant while the emerald green grasses generally require more water. An interesting point to note is that the more drought resistant the grass, the shorter will be its green up period in the summer. Also the more difficult it will be to grow from seed.

If your lawn is made up of English (bunch) type grasses (which have shallow roots) you will need to water at least every day, however if you have deep rooted Warm Season grass, then once a week or so is recommended. 

6) Usage. We have grouped our grasses by usage for a quick short list selection for you to choose from. But you could also make a shortlist with our Easy Lawn Grass Picker. 

7) Sub Selections. Maintenance, Growth Speed, Shade Tolerant, Colour, Fertiliser etc. We have listed all our grasses in our Grass Selection Table. Click on each header in the table and it will give you the best grass for that category.

 Note: Each of the above sections is covered on the website with at least a page of more detailed information.