Specialty Grasses

Creeping bentgrass, Agrostis palustris Huds, is a cool season, perennial turfgrass. Creeping bentgrass spreads by stolons, which allows it to form a dense sod and recover quickly from damage. It has a fine leaf texture and will tolerate low mowing heights such as those found on golf course greens. Creeping bentgrass is primarily used on golf courses and has high maintenance and skill requirements.

Centipedegrass, Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack, is a coarse-textured, slow growing, warm-season turfgrass that spreads by stolons. Forming a dense sod but having a slow growth rate, centipedegrass has low maintenance requirements and is medium to light green in color. Centipedegrass grows best in full sun but has moderate shade tolerance and thrives on moderate soils.

Roughstalk bluegrass, Poa trivialis L., is a cool season, perennial turfgrass with a fine leaf texture and spreads rapidly by stolons. Its main use is overseeding  bermudagrass putting greens in the south but can be used as a turf in moist, shaded areas where other turfgrasses will not survive.

Seashore paspalum, Paspalum vaginatum, is a warm season, perennial turfgrass with a fine leaf texture. Seashore paspalum spreads by rhizomes and stolons and forms a dense sod similar to bermudagrass. It is extremely tolerant of soils and irrigation with high salt content and is primarily used in coastal regions of the southern US.

Zoysiagrass, Zoysia Japonica Steud., is a warm season turfgrass that spreads by stolons and rhizomes. Growing best in full sun, zoysiagrass will tolerate light to moderate shade and has excellent cold tolerance. It can be grown in a wide variety of soil conditions ranging from sands to clays and both acid and alkaline soils. Zoysiagrass has excellent wear resistance but a slow growth rate, making it slow to recover from damage. Characteristics include a medium dark green color, medium density and leaf texture similar to tall fescue.