Grass Identification Guides

Knowing your lawn type is the foundation of effective lawn care. While identifying grass types by appearance alone can be tricky, the flowers of grass species offer the clearest clues. Unfortunately, most lawns are mowed frequently, leaving these flowers out of sight. Instead, you can rely on specific grass characteristics to determine its type.
If quantizing out your grass type feels disconcerting, don’t worry—you’re not alone. The activity doesn’t have to be difficult. With our step-by-step direction and Turfgrass Identification Guide, you can easily and positively identify your grass type.

Turfgrass Identification Chart

Know Your Grass Growing Region

The local climate defines your grass growing zone and includes specific types of grasses. It depends on factors such as temperature, rainfall, and sunlight. In areas with cold winters and moderate summers, cool-season grasses grow best. Warm-season grasses flourish in regions with hot summers and mild winters. Knowing the specifics of your region provides you with information on the grass varieties to be used. For instance, Northern areas are more suitable for Kentucky bluegrass (cool-season grass), whereas Southern regions are more suitable for warm-season grasses such as Bermuda. Selecting appropriate grass that matches the local area is useful in keeping the lawn.

Types of Cool Season Grass:

• Tall fescue
• Fine fescue
• Kentucky bluegrass
• Perennial ryegrass
• Bentgrass

 Types of Warm Season Grass

• Zoysia
• St. Augustine
• Bermuda grass
• Centipede grass
• Bahiagrass
• Buffalograss

  Take a look at the shape of your grass blades

  

  Various grass types differ in size and shape, some blades being wide while others are fine and sharp or round and boat-shaped. You likely do not have a St. Augustine lawn if your grass is fine. However, if you have wide-bladed grass, perennial ryegrass, and fine fescue, they might not be in your collection. You can view the kinds below to determine whether the blades are wide or fine with certain ends.

  Fine-Bladed:

  • Fescue Grass: Fine, needle-like blades with pointed tips.
  • Kentucky Bluegrass: Thin, smooth blades with boat-shaped tips.
  • Perennial Ryegrass: Narrow blades with pointed ends and a shiny surface.

  Wide-Bladed:

  • St. Augustine Grass: Wide, flat blades with rounded tips.
  • Zoysia Grass: Medium to wide blades with a stiff texture and blunt ends.
  • Bermuda Grass: Medium-width blades with pointed tips, slightly finer than St. Augustine.

  Check out the grass’s vernation

  One of the features professionals use to identify turfgrass is its vernation. Although it seems technical, locating the vernation on a grass blade is easy. All grasses have either a folded or rolled version. The vernation of a grass blade is a term used to describe how the youngest grass blades that have not yet “bloomed” are arranged in the sheath of the grass.

  Grasses with a Folded Vernation

  • Centipede Grass: An attractive option for warm climates with low foot traffic, this medium green grass is a slow grower and low maintenance.
  • Bahiagrass: Generally utilized in dry hot climates, this course, wide-bladed grass can sustain long periods of drought and thrives in warm weather.
  • Bermuda Grass: This dense, fine-bladed, warm-season grass is exceptionally resilient to prolonged heat, extended drought periods, and light traffic areas.
  • Perennial Ryegrass: Mostly used in the cooler regions for overseeding, this grass has a fine and dark green growth that establishes itself quickly and grows well in the cool season.
  • Fine fescue: Narrow and fine in blade growth, this cool season grass requires low maintenance and is shade tolerant.

    Grasses with a Rolled Vernation

    • Bahiagrass, Zoysia
    • Tall Fescue have blades that roll up from the edges and unroll as they grow.

    Determine your grass’s growing habit

    Grass types also tend to differ in their growth patterns; for instance, some grasses grow in clusters or bunches, while some use rhizomes or stolons to spread further. When grass is cut or trampled, it grows and spreads in lateral directions. It also expands upward, increasing its width. This is where stolons come in, they are runners that grow above the surface, while rhizomes lie beneath the surface and serve the same purpose. 

    Stolon Spreading Pattern

    • St. Augustine Grass: It’s pretty robust with coarse textures and exceptionally wide, flat blades; its popular trait is its warmth resistance.
    • Zoysia Grass: This type of blade fares well against foot traffic while still having the potential to heat itself; it’s still capable of seething tough medium-width.
    • Centipede Grass: Has such a pale green color and a medium-wide blade that allows it to grow in coarse soil.
    • Bermuda Grass: Ideal for warm, sunny regions due to their coarse but thin blades, it sells them as a seamless option to explore.
    • Buffalograss: Extremely soft and thin blades, perfect for resilient dryness. These blades and blades will also require minimal maintenance. Buffalograss adapts easily and grows exceptionally well.
    • Bahiagrass: Perfectly suited to coarse textures, sandy soil, and hot climates while requiring grieves extremely well suited to the tough throat.

    Rhizome Spreading Pattern

    • Fine Fescue: Small, needle-like blades, does well in cool shaded areas only.
    • Kentucky Bluegrass: Soft, fine blades and bloated tips are cold weather-loving.
    • Bahiagrass: Thick and highly coarse leaves are ideal for sandy soils in warm climates.
    • Bermuda Grass: Sunny, warm places support medium’s growing fine marked blade’s dense.
    • Zoysia Grass: Stout and stiff blades are medium wide but can withstand heat and foot traffic.

    Bunch-Type Growing Pattern

    • Fine Fescue: Great for cool and shaded regions. Clumps made up of growth comprise delicate and fine blades.
    • Perennial Ryegrass: Its rhizome is said to propagate quickly in cool climates, providing bunches of fine, glossy, dark green blades.
    • Tall Fescue: It is known to produce clump leaves with broader blades. It can withstand hot and dry conditions.

    
    

    Inspect your grass to see if there are auricles

    Auricles are small projections of the leaf that overhang the stem, and they exist only in certain species of grass, such as ryegrass, and not in others, like the Kenyan blue. If you want to identify your grass species, you can look at the auricles and determine whether they are present.

    Grasses with Absent Auricles:

    • Kentucky Bluegrass: Lacks auricles and has boat-shaped blade tips.
    • Fine Fescue: No auricles, with narrow, needle-like blades.
    • Tall Fescue: Lacks auricles, featuring broad blades with a rough texture.
    • Buffalograss: No auricles, with thin, soft blades ideal for dry regions.
    • Centipede Grass: Does not have auricles, with medium-width, pale green blades.

    
    

    Grasses with Short Auricles:
    

    • Tall Fescue: This type of grass has short auricles that can partially intersect with the pair of blades on the grass stem
    • Perennial Ryegrass: Rough, shallow oval auricles with a broad blade have a prominent texture.

    Grasses with Claw-Like Auricles:

    • Perennial Ryegrass: The pair of claws forming irregularly shaped auricles that grip the grass stem base are conspicuous in the perennial rye lawn grass

    
    

    See what the grass’s ligule looks like

    The ligule is an important part of identifying a specific grass type as it varies in appearance and is located at the section where a leaf sheath and a grass blade intersect. Some grasses can possess a clawed ligule or a corrode, whereas others can have a membranous ligule with a thin and transparent texture. Meanwhile, Zoysia and Bermuda grasses cannot demonstrate a difference between the blade and shear as they completely lack a ligule. To study the ligule, a detailed examination needs to be conducted; start by separating the blade from the sheath and take a look as the ligule can deliver the information you are looking for. In essence, even though it might look small, the ligule can give an insight into the grass type.

    Grasses with an Absent Ligule

    • Kentucky Bluegrass: Has a membranous ligule and does not lack one, unlike grasses with an absent ligule.

    Grasses with a Fringe of Hairs

    • Bermuda grass contains a fringe of hairs on the collar region, which is next to the leaf sheath.
    • Buffalograss: contains soft collar hairs at the base of the leaf blade.
    • Zoysia has collar hairs that are finely fringed and found around the leaf sheath, especially at the edges.
    • St. Augustine: has short fine hairs that fringe around where the blade and the sheath meet.

    Grasses with a Membranous Ligule

    • Kentucky Bluegrass: has a small membranous ligule that is somewhat transparent and lies at the base of the blade and sheath.
    • Fine Fescue: It has a membranous ligule that is soft and thin.
    • Tall Fescue: presents a primary short membranous ligule attached to the basal region of the blade.
    • Bahiagrass: has a membranous ligule that confers a small size and is difficult to see.
    • Centipede Grass: has a thin membranous ligule separating the blade from the sheath
    • Perennial Ryegrass has a very thin membranous ligule.

    
    

    How to Choose the Best Type of Grass for Your Lawn

    Once you’ve figured out what type of grass is growing in your lawn and want to change it in the future, that specific type of grass can be challenging for you to look for when searching for the ideal one. However, the location you live in, your budget, and the features you desire are all deciding factors in this case. For instance, some of you may prefer easy grass to maintain, while others might look for something because their garden is sheltered from the sun. There can be situations where you have pets and children constantly running alongside the grass, and you need to find the best suitable grass that can withstand heavy foot traffic.
    Finally, seasonal maintenance for the most common grass varieties is found in our Care Guides so that they can maintain a gorgeous appearance throughout the year.
    Look at them this way to decide how much work goes into different grasses or to maintain the grass for your lawn. We provided this information so that you can find your grass easily. Taking all these factors into consideration, you can select the most suitable grass for your lawn that is likely to last for decades.

    Quick Tip: Choose cool-season grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass if you live in cooler climates and warm-season grasses like Bermuda or Zoysia if you live in hot areas. Consider how much sun, shade, and traffic your lawn gets to pick the right grass for low maintenance and the best growth!

    FAQs:

    Is there an app to identify grass types?

    Yes, apps like PlantSnap and PlantNet can help identify grass types by analyzing photos.

    What is the most common type of yard grass?

    Kentucky Bluegrass is one of the most common grasses for lawns in cooler climates.

    How to tell the difference between Kentucky bluegrass and fescue?

    Kentucky Bluegrass has finer, softer blades with boat-shaped tips, while fescue has coarser, thicker blades.

    What does crabgrass look like?

    Crabgrass has broad, light green blades that grow in clumps and spread along the ground.

    What is the most expensive grass type?

    Zoysia Grass is often considered one of the most expensive due to its slow growth and maintenance needs.

    Kentucky Bluegrass: Known for its lush dark green appearance and fine textures, this grass variant is a go-to choice for cool climate regions.St. Augustine Grass: Requiring minimal upkeep, this variety is an ideal choice for southern lawns due to its willingness to grow in shaded and humid conditions.