SPECIAL FOCUS - TURF SEED: Green Means Go

There’s more to buying a car than just heading to a dealership and handing over a down payment.

Smart car shoppers first identify what they want their new vehicles to do for them and then cruise down the highway on test drives. Ultimately, someone who thought they wanted to take a sporty convertible with bucket seats to the beach every weekend may realize that their ideal auto is actually a trendy SUV with room for their beach chairs and a hitch for their jet skis.

Though it may not seem like cars built for asphalt have much in common with seeds tailored for turf, contractors need to approach turf seed selection similarly to the way they would buy a new car. Not only will  research help narrow down their ideal turf seed selections, but contractors will find that identifying the right blend for jobs like overseeding will keep turf from looking like a mismatched paint job.

The following tips from seed producers can help contractors drive away with the best possible blends.

LICENSE TO DRIVE. Most turf seed producers agree that the first step for contractors to find the right turf seed is knowing what they want the turf to do – or not do, as the case may be.

“Contractors need to be sure of what they’re looking for and what goals they’re trying to accomplish,” says John Walters, vice president of turf products, Barenbrug USA, Tangent, Ore. “If they don’t tell their supplier that the place they’re going to put the seed has a limited water supply or receives some extreme amount of wear, then they could easily choose the wrong blend or mixture.” In these cases, Walters explains that identifying the need for drought- or wear-tolerant seed helps contractors narrow down their seed options significantly.

Steve Tubbs agrees, adding that even within a relatively localized area, appropriate turf seed selections can vary greatly. “Every turfgrass user needs to consider the environment for the area of use,” he says. “Water, elevation, maintenance and soil type are all major considerations that make it difficult to prescribe one species for any given area.”

Southern California is a good example of a region where environmental differences impact turf seed choice.  “You would think that Los Angeles would only use one type of grass,” Tubbs comments. “However, if you’re coastal you would probably use turf-type tall fescue, which has the appearance of bluegrass but the heat and drought tolerance of tall fescue. But if you’re in an inland desert, you would probably grow Bermudagrass and overseed with ryegrass when it goes dormant for a green winter lawn.”

Moreover, Tubbs adds that areas at higher elevations within that region may even be able to sustain a bluegrass lawn because of the colder winters. Knowing this reinforces the need to detail an area’s environmental factors before diving into a seed purchase.

ROAD TEST. In addition to environmental research before purchasing seed, contractors must also do some field testing – literally. Both new and old turfgrass varieties are field tested by organizations like the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP), as well was universities and extension services. These trials help determine seed quality and performance and can help determine if a cultivar is well adapted to a local area or level of turf maintenance.

“It’s best to look at data from close to where you are or from your region,” explains Leah Brilman, director of research, Seed Research of Oregon, Corvallis, Ore. “Also, some of that data is subdivided into the level of management, so if the contractor is looking for seed for a home lawn situation, they’re going to want to look at the data for something that’s managed more like a home lawn.” Likewise, Brilman notes that if the seed will be planted in an area where the turf will not be irrigated, areas in the trial data will describe how the turf was managed so contractors can specify varieties that performed well in non-irrigated situations.

But in the same way that crash tests don’t tell everything about a car, contractors shouldn’t depend on  NTEP data alone when choosing turf seed. Field days on testing sites are good opportunities for test driving turf. “Contractors should use field days as opportunities to walk over the plots themselves because what they think is important for an application may be different from what the person who’s rating the trial thinks is important.”

For instance, Brilman explains that good color is often a key characteristic that evaluators look for during turfgrass trials, and certain varieties may get extra points and, thus, higher ratings, if they have particularly good color. However, a contractor’s main concern may be density or disease resistance with color as a secondary point. In these situations, even if the contractor chooses a variety that’s a shade lighter in color, the disease resistance is what will limit customer callbacks.

SHOP AROUND. Seed producers also recommend that contractors get second opinions from sources beyond research trials. For instance, seed distributors are good sources of information and can put contractors in touch with other people who have used certain turf seed varieties. “A distributor might be likely to say that his or her turfgrass species is the best, but they can also provide information on end-users who have already used certain products.” Brilman says.  “The contractor can find out who else in the area is using this variety or blend and can actually go look at it and get a feel for how it will function over a large area.”

Tubbs agrees. “Contractors have many  informational sources other than just NTEP,” he says. “One of the best sources is his or her local sod grower. Turfgrass Producers International has members in every major market and these professionals depend on growing the right sod for the right area.”

SWITCHING GEARS. After learning about the different varieties suitable to their clients’ lawns, contractors should identify their top 10 to 20 cultivars and prepare to be flexible among those choices.

“If the contractor selects 10 varieties that they like, they may find that they’re owned by eight different companies,” Brilman explains. “Some of those companies may sell to each other to create blends and some won’t. So unless the contractor is willing to blend the seeds himself, he may have to go with a selection a little farther down on his list.”

Moreover, having multiple options from which to choose can help increase a blend’s overall strength. “If someone’s looking for bluegrass, they may come up with their list by choosing the five top-performing varieties from the trial,” Brilman says. “But those top five may be almost the same genetically and you don’t want a blend of things that are that similar. Without some genetic variability, they’ll have the same strengths, but they’ll also have the same weaknesses.”

BUYER BEWARE. For many homeowners, keeping up with the Joneses is a matter of having the best stuff on the street – and that includes both cars and lawns. If Mr. Smith buys a vehicle that makes his or her neighbors point and stare – and not in the good way – he’s likely to hide the car in the garage with a bruised ego or head back to the dealership for a conversation with his salesperson.

But if the wrong type of turf seed is chosen, not only will Mr. Smith have nowhere to conceal his gossip-inducing lawn, but his lawn care contractor will bear the brunt of his irritation. “If you choose the wrong variety, it may die, it may get disease and you may have to spend more money on herbicides, fungicides and watering,” Brilman says. “All turf varieties will require different levels of maintenance depending on the environment they’re planted in. In the cases where environmental stresses are very high, it increases your overall costs.”

By using producers’ advice, contractors will have better experiences in turf seed showrooms and can avoid unnecessary client callbacks . It’s all green lights from there.

The author is associate editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at lspiers@gie.net.