Why Kentucky Bluegrass & Tall Fescue?

At Tee Bar Sod Farms, we want you to have a lawn that looks great and will thrive in our climate. Our sod is a balanced blend of 90% Kentucky Bluegrass and 10% Tall Fescue, and here's why!

For many lawn owners, Kentucky Bluegrass, is synonymous with the ideal lawn. In our climate here in Alberta, adding Fescue helps withstand the elements no matter what kind of season we're having.

Kentucky Bluegrass at a Glance Fescue at a Glance

Cool-season lawn grass.	Cool-season grass with improved heat tolerance.
Suitable for northern lawns from coast to coast.	Suitable for northern and southern transition regions.
Excellent winter hardiness.	Tolerant of heat, drought and shade.
Some varieties susceptible to heat and drought.	Disease resistant.
Limited shade tolerance.	Bunch-forming growth habit.
Recovers easily and self-repairs	Limited capacity for self-repair

Season, Colour, Sun and Shade

Kentucky bluegrass and Tall Fescue are both perennial, cool-season lawn grass. This means it comes back year after year and grows most vigorously during the cool seasons of fall and spring.

Part of the charm of a healthy Kentucky bluegrass lawn is its rich emerald to blue-green colour. Add its medium to fine texture, and a KBG lawn is both beautiful to look at and comfortable for bare feet. Tall Fescue offers a darker green colour narrower blades. As you can imagine the two grasses blend well and creates a beautiful network.

As with other cool-season grasses, Kentucky bluegrass growth slows significantly during hot summer months. During extreme heat or extended drought, the grass will go dormant. However, it recovers quickly with irrigation and a return to normal conditions. Tall fescue on the other hand, is much more hardy and thrives when the climate is dryer and lacking moisture.

Kentucky bluegrass has a limited shade tolerance, however tall fescue tolerates shade better than all common cool-season lawn grasses; therefore together they are able to thrive in any area.

Root Systems, Drought Resistance, and Self-Repair

Compared to tall fescue, traditional Kentucky bluegrass varieties have relatively shallow roots, which typically mean a lower tolerance for heat and drought. So when you see "less water sod" being advertised it means that it takes less water to penetrate the roots, not that it needs to be watered less often. Tall fescue establishes easily from seed and germinates more quickly than KGB. Tall fescue's naturally extensive root system can reach 2 to 3 feet deep, much deeper than other cool-season grasses. This contributes to superior heat and drought tolerance. By bringing KGB and Tall Fescue together, the result is a beautiful year-round lawn in this challenging transition area.

Kentucky bluegrass establishes easily from seed, but it germinates more slowly than some other cool-season grasses. KBG is a self-spreading, sod-forming grass. Once established, it spreads readily via underground stems known as rhizomes to form a dense, thick turf. This aggressive growth habit gives KBG the capacity to recuperate quickly from damage.

Unlike grasses that spread by horizontal above- and below-ground stems, tall fescue is a bunch-type grass. It grows in clumps and spreads primarily through vertical shoots called "tillers," which grow from the base of the grass plant itself. This growth habit makes tall fescue easy to contain and keep out of flower beds, but it limits its capacity to repair itself when lawn damage occurs.