Kentucky Bluegrass, Poa pratensis, is one of the most commonly used cool-season grasses. Most often, it can be found providing the landscape for golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns, and parks throughout the United States. The popularity of Kentucky Bluegrass is due to its ability to thrive in hot and cool temperatures, its tolerance to a variety of mowing heights, and its moderate fertilization and watering requirements.
Kentucky Bluegrass spreads through underground runners known as rhizomes. Its root system may grow to depths of up to one and a half feet, providing dense, lush turf characterized by high resistance to weeds and tolerance to heavy traffic. Many varieties and hybrids of Kentucky Bluegrass are available and exhibit a dark green color and a fine to medium leaf texture.
Seeds/Pound (approximate): 800,000-1,600,000HD Sports 2.0™ is the new standard in high density performance sports turf. HD Sports 2.0™ has a high density, fibrous root system that delivers extremely wear and traffic tolerant turf with the ability to recover and repair rapidly from hard play. Its superior genetics build a remarkable advantage over summer patch and other diseases. With early spring green-up and extended fall color plus full sun and stadium shade performance, HD Sports 2.0™ outperforms other blends on cleated sports fields due to the synergy created with superior varieties in this heavy duty Kentucky Bluegrass blend.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 2-4
Download SheetHD Sports 2.0 Plus™ is a unique high density 80/20 Blue-Rye turf mixture with a superb fibrous root system that is credited to Hampton (The Root Monster) along with a diverse formulation of other "Super Elite" high performance Kentucky Bluegrasses and top-performance Benchmark Perennial Ryegrass. HD Sports 2.0 Plus™ quickly produces extreme wear and traffic tolerant turf that is fast to recover from hard play. Its superior genetics build a remarkable advantage over summer patch and other diseases.
Download SheetHD Sports 2.0 Overseed is high density turf with a superb fibrous root system that is credited to Hampton (The Root Monster) and a diverse formulation of Super Elite high performance Kentucky bluegrasses—Fullback and Blue Bank—plus 80% Elite Perennial Ryegrass. HD Sports 2.0 produces extreme wear and traffic tolerant turf that is fast to recover from hard play and its superior genetics build a remarkable advantage over summer patch and other diseases.
Download SheetBluebank is the latest super elite Kentucky Bluegrass. Bluebank's proven traffic tolerance, disease resistance, dark green color, medium fine-texture, uniformity, durability, and density earn it Super Elite status suitable for professional sports stadiums and tournament hosting golf courses. Bluebank thrives in cool-season and transition zones where Kentucky Bluegrass is commonly used.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 1.5-3 (Overseeding), 2-3 (New Seeding)
Download SheetBluestar Kentucky Bluegrass is a hybrid variety possessing good disease tolerances and a rich, green color. This Kentucky Bluegrass variety has improved resistance to diseases including leaf spot, stripe smut, fusarium blight, leaf and stem rust, and dollar spot. Bluestar is an aggressive root builder with an ability to withstand heat and drought and perform well in sun or light shade. EU Listed.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 2-3
Download SheetIt takes a Fullback to carry these qualifications: Best statistical performance in schedules A, B, C, Northeast, Transition, North Central, and Upper Midwest/Mountain Zone, #1 Traffic Tolerance at Wisconsin, and A-LIST quality. Fullback has excellent seedling vigor and establishment, spring green up, summer density and drought performance (wilting and dormancy), and low seed head expression. This Kentucky Bluegrass variety also has great winter color and is an outstanding competitor to Poa annua. Fullback Kentucky Bluegrass exhibits Super Elite performance across trials: #1 Rated Summer Patch at Tennessee and tied for #1 Mean Turfgrass Quality Rating out of 110 entries. See Fullback (BD 03-84) in the 2006-2010 NTEP Kentucky Bluegrass trial at www.ntep.org.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 2-3
Download SheetGaelic is a premium Kentucky Bluegrass that is outstanding for establishing new turf areas and over-seeding existing turf on sports fields, commercial landscapes and golf courses in all cool-season zones. A Hybrid America Type x Shamrock Type, Gaelic is an ideal choice for broadening the genetic base of Bluegrass blends and to add into mixtures with Turf-Type Tall Fescue.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 2-3
Download SheetHampton Kentucky Bluegrass is A-LIST quality and has been nicknamed "The Root Monster" due to its standout deep and fibrous root production. This variety is a favorite Super Elite of turfgrass sod producers and rated near the top in shear strength across multiple blends, mixtures, and species at Cornell University. Hampton also adds terrific winter color, excellent spring green up and seedling vigor, drought tolerance, and traffic performance with the highest rated horizontal shoot-leaf growth habit to sports, golf and showcase lawns as well. Additionally, Hampton Kentucky Bluegrass is ranked #1 under Saline irrigation in New Mexico. Hampton is adapted to cool season and transition zones.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 2-3
Download SheetLunar is an elite Kentucky Bluegrass with deep, dark green color, fine-texture, durable density, and performs well in all cool-season and transition regions of Kentucky Bluegrass use. Lunar exhibits good spring green up, improved heat tolerance and rated very high in Drought Tolerance (Dormancy) trials. This variety is great for use in sod production, athletic field, and golf turf blends and mixtures desiring a dark green color and elite performance.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 1.5-3 (Overseeding), 2-3 (New Seeding)
As the most consistent trial leader in overall quality, Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass is the cultivar to which other Bluegrasses have been compared for decades. Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass is a very dark, uniform, dense turf and is fairly aggressive. Use Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass for golf, sports, sod production, and lawn turf in cool-season and transition zones. Other features include summer and drought tolerance as well as exceptional performance in a wide variety of well-drained soils.
Seeds/Pound (approximate): 1,370,000
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 1-2 (Overseeding), 1.5-3 (New Seeding)
Download SheetNoble Kentucky Bluegrass is a Super Elite cultivar with very dark green genetic color, wear tolerance, seeding vigor, and drought tolerance (summer density and wilting). Noble is an excellent Kentucky Bluegrass for use in Elite Kentucky Bluegrass mixes for golf courses and sports fields. This variety can also be used in Tall Fescue sod production with newer, darker, Turf-Type Tall Fescues with a matching dark color and horizontal-knitting growth habit. Noble has good winter color and outstanding competitor to Poa annua as well as great performance across all disease trials.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 2-3
Download SheetShannon Kentucky Bluegrass has an inherent vigor and responsiveness that speeds up knitting, sod formation, and ground cover density. With its quick germination and establishment, Shannon is a must-use ingredient for sod, athletic field, and golf turf blends and mixtures. Fast to recover and fast to green up, Shannon is a variety with an improved and darker green color, medium-fine texture, durable density, and improved heat tolerance.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 1.5-3 (Overseeding), 2-3 (New Seeding)
Now professional turf managers can add genetic diversity with a high-performance Texas Bluegrass x Kentucky Bluegrass cross. Expanding the area of adaptation for Bluegrasses, TX x KBG types have been successful farther south than traditional Kentucky Bluegrasses and are adding heat tolerance and summer performance to northern zone turf. SPF 30 produces a high percentage of living ground cover throughout the summer, recovers quickly from drought, and is resistant to brown patch. With its aggressive rhizomes, SPF 30 improves the ability of Tall Fescue turf to recover when combined in a mixture. SPF 30 is an elite and medium-bladed Bluegrass for landscape contractors, sports turf managers, and golf course superintendents who are battling the stress of summer heat. SPF 30 (HB 128) is a sister to Thermal Blue (HB 129).
Seeds/Pound (approximate): 1,200,000
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 1-2 (Overseeding), 2-3 (New Seeding)
Download SheetTexas Hybrid Bluegrass, Poa arachnifera X Poa pratensis, is a cool-season, perennial cross between Kentucky Bluegrass and Texas Bluegrass. It produces a turf that has improved heat and drought tolerance derived from the Texas Bluegrass while maintaining excellent turf characteristics and uniformity typical of Kentucky Bluegrass. Seed size, seeding rates, germination, establishment, and handling is very similar to Kentucky Bluegrass. It will establish well and persist under conditions of drought that would cause other species to die off or become dormant. SPF 30 and United are common varieties of Texas Hybrid Bluegrass.
Seeds/Pound (approximate): 1,200,000
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 3-4
United Kentucky Bluegrass, Poa pratensis, is an elite selection that excels under both low and high maintenance. United was selected as an elite seedling resulting from a cross of a first-generation hybrid plant of Texas Bluegrass and Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa arachnifera x Poa pratensis). United’s medium-dark color, high density, low shoot growth, and aggressive rhizomes are well suited for use across a broad range of applications. These features along with its excellent performance in drought and disease resistance contribute to United's outstanding performance under low maintenance programs as well.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 1.5-3 (Overseeding), 2-3 (New Seeding)
Yellowstone is a fitting name for this majestic Kentucky Bluegrass variety, Poa pratensis. A new and improved elite cultivar, Yellowstone is highly adaptive and performs well under both low and high maintenance. Its medium dark green color and medium fine texture blend well with other Kentucky Bluegrasses as well as in mixtures with Perennial Ryegrasses, Tall Fescues, and Fine Fescues.
Seeding Rate (pounds/1,000 sq. ft): 1.5-3 (Overseeding), 2-3 (New Seeding)
XALT™ Seed Enhancement is a science based technology that can help seed reach its genetic potential by improving seedling performance. XALT is available in several Turf Producer's Select™ Sod Seed Blends and VITALITY™ professional seed blends and mixtures.
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