High altitude lawn? - Ask Extension
We live at 7500ft and have a wonderful fenced in yard that I would like to plant some grass seed in. We have 3 large dogs that also frequent the ya...
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High altitude lawn? #115737
Asked February 26, 2013, 7:41 PM EST
We live at 7500ft and have a wonderful fenced in yard that I would like to plant some grass seed in. We have 3 large dogs that also frequent the yard. 1) What is the best grass seed to use? 2) When is the best time to plant? 3) Care advice to get the most bang for the buck?
Larimer County Colorado
Expert Response
The best grass to use for a high traffic lawn is Kentucky bluegrass. This grass provides the best recuperative potential of any of the lawn grasses that can be planted at your elevation.
Some good varieties to plant would be:
Some good varieties to plant would be:
Appalachian
Aura
Cabernet
Emblem
Emblem
Livingston
Preakness
Starburst
Touche
Starburst
Touche
Zinfandel
A-34
Champlain
Jefferson
P-105
Touchdown
Washington
Rampart
You will have to go to a grass seed company to buy any of these varieties. You will need 5 pounds of seed for every 1000 square feet of lawn area. I would suggest buying 2-3 of the above varieties and blending them together (for example, buy 5 lbs. of each of three if you need 15 pounds of seed). Seed anytime of the year at your altitude, but the earlier in the summer the better (June/early July). I suggest heavy core cultivation/aeration of the lawn - holes 2 inches apart in every direction. Apply the seed with a fertilizer spreader and rake the lawn afterwards lightly with a rake (leave the plugs on the lawn). The seed that falls in the holes will grow better than what falls outside of the holes on the lawn surface. You do not need to kill the existing lawn. Simply aerate and seed. This way you and your dogs can continue to use the lawn.
Buy the seed at a company like Pawnee Buttes or Sharp Brothers seed in Greeley CO. :
http://csuturf.colostate.edu/pdffiles/Master%20Gardener/CSU%20TurfNotes/seed%20sod%20sources_TurfNot...
You should fertilize the lawn EVERY month to keep it growing. That is the only way to keep grass in a yard that is heavily trafficked by large dogs. Also, you have to water it liberally. The key here is to ENCOURAGE growth of the grass to help it recover from the dogs' traffic. You are treating this lawn like a football or soccer field that is heavily used by athletes.
Please give me an email with any questions. Good luck!
Tony
Bariris
Baritone
Caliber
Ikone
JuliaRampart
You will have to go to a grass seed company to buy any of these varieties. You will need 5 pounds of seed for every 1000 square feet of lawn area. I would suggest buying 2-3 of the above varieties and blending them together (for example, buy 5 lbs. of each of three if you need 15 pounds of seed). Seed anytime of the year at your altitude, but the earlier in the summer the better (June/early July). I suggest heavy core cultivation/aeration of the lawn - holes 2 inches apart in every direction. Apply the seed with a fertilizer spreader and rake the lawn afterwards lightly with a rake (leave the plugs on the lawn). The seed that falls in the holes will grow better than what falls outside of the holes on the lawn surface. You do not need to kill the existing lawn. Simply aerate and seed. This way you and your dogs can continue to use the lawn.
Buy the seed at a company like Pawnee Buttes or Sharp Brothers seed in Greeley CO. :
http://csuturf.colostate.edu/pdffiles/Master%20Gardener/CSU%20TurfNotes/seed%20sod%20sources_TurfNot...
You should fertilize the lawn EVERY month to keep it growing. That is the only way to keep grass in a yard that is heavily trafficked by large dogs. Also, you have to water it liberally. The key here is to ENCOURAGE growth of the grass to help it recover from the dogs' traffic. You are treating this lawn like a football or soccer field that is heavily used by athletes.
Please give me an email with any questions. Good luck!
Tony
