The grass is an important element of any garden. They are very ornamental and very useful. Besides decorating your garden, they allow your kids to play safely in the garden. However, you should pick the variety of grass you are growing in your garden carefully. Many varieties don’t tolerate heat, they will dry out and die in hot weather. Therefore, in this article, we will provide you with the best and the most decorative drought-resistant grass for both cool weather areas and warm weather areas.
1. For cool weather areas
In this selection, we chose the most ornamental drought-resistant grass that can survive with either occasional watering or occasional rainfall.
- Tall Fescue
This is one of the most adaptable drought-resistant grasses. This type of grass is known for its high capacity of absorbing water well after drought. It is perfect for gardens in northern climates. For growing this grass, you will need to sow many seeds as each plant grows from a single seed. Tall Fescue requires watering weekly, but, it can survive a couple of weeks without water. The best feature of this grass is that this grass is very tolerant to traffic.
- Sheep Fescue
One of the best choices to give your garden a natural look is Sheep Fescue. This good-looking grass does require much watering, but, it requires fertilizing once a year.
- Buffalograss
This is one of the most popular drought-resistant grasses for cool weather areas. It originates from the Midwest and it is popular for its hardiness and thickness. It tolerates both cold and warm climates. Its water requirements could be fulfilled with only 1/4 of water weekly during summer. Less watering is recommended in winter. Since buffalo is a slow grower, it is advisable to buy it in plugs and plant rather than growing it from seeds. It is ideal for gardens and backyards. However, it does not do well with traffic.
- Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is an extremely low maintenance drought resistant grass. It requires neither much watering nor much fertilizing. Wheatgrass is also a fast grower, thus, sowing it from seeds is an excellent cost-effective idea.
2. For warm weather areas
Warm weather grasses are more drought resistant than cool weather grasses. They actually like the heat and they grow perfectly in hot conditions. They are able to survive in the summer heat with little water provided. However, not all grasses that grow in summer and love the heat are drought-resistant grasses. Therefore, in this part of the article, we will provide you with a list of the best drought-resistant grasses for hot weather areas.
- Bermudagrass
This drought-resistant grass loves heat and warmth. In fact, it needs direct sunlight exposure to grow and thrive. It can survive weeks without water. The most common varieties of bermudagrass are GN1, Grimes EXP, TexTurf, TifSport, and Tifway 419. They are all drought-resistant and they do well with traffic. Bermudagrass is one of the best grasses in tolerating traffic. Besides, it is also one of the most ornamental grasses. However, this drought-resistant grass requires a lot of mowing.
- St. Augustine grass
It is also called Floratam. This is a remarkable drought-resistant grass that remains green even if it goes dormant in winter. It likes occasional watering during summer and rare watering in winter. Watering St. Augustine grass too much in winter will make it prone to diseases. It moderately tolerates traffic.
- Zoysia grass
Zoysia grass is a drought-resistant grass known for its toleration of traffic. Zoysia grass is a heat-loving grass that grows best in full sun. However, not all varieties of this grass are drought-resistant. The most drought-tolerant varieties are El Toro, Empire, Jamur, and Palisades.
- Centipede grass
Centipede grass is a famous drought-resistant grass that is known in many names such as “apple-green” and “lime-green”. It is popular for its attractive green appearance. It is an excellent choice to cover your garden in a decorating way. It tolerates traffic, heat, shades and all soil qualities. Although it grows slowly, it remains one of the best and the most low-maintenance drought-tolerant grasses.
- Bahiagrass
Bahiagrass is a tough and sturdy drought-resistant grass. It can tolerate a different variety of poor growing conditions. Besides, it can also tolerate pests and diseases. However, it hates shades. It requires full direct sunlight exposure. It is the ideal choice if your garden soil is infertile.
These are the most drought-tolerant grasses to cover your garden. This does not mean that you don’t have to water them at all. In fact, not watering these grasses at all is a great way to make them go dormant or in worst case scenario kill them.
Drought-resistant grasses require occasional watering during summer. Although it highly unlikely to die from the lack of watering, yet, they will turn yellow and go dormant. You should avoid stepping on dormant grasses as they are very sensitive to traffic. Dormant grasses will come back as soon as they are watered or once it rains.
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Enjoying covering your garden with grass