(Sed5555) wrote :

We live in the Denver area and are moving to a house that has no lawn at
present. I want to plant some grass seed mix over this fall and winter,
so it
sprouts by spring, but we DO NOT want Kentucky Bluegrass that requires a
lot of water and mowing.
I've heard of native grasses like Buffalo but there are supposedly pros
and cons to it, like it sprouts up late and dies off early. They say to
mix it with other kinds so that they sprout early and stay later. Ok,
what kinds? We're looking for a lawn that we can water once a week and
maybe mow once a month, and it would still look good? That would be
great. Can we do that? What seed mixes should I look for, for that,
which would grow well in Denver?

I'm not sure that there is a turf type that meets all of your
requirements. All will require equal amounts of water initially, until
well-established, but few can only be mowed once a month and still look
good. There are several types of turf that are considered low-water
grasses, including buffalograss and tall fescue, that will work here in
Denver. You can read about them at:
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopE...s/turfchoi.htm Colorado
State University, where different turf types are extensively tested to
determine their suitability for this area, has a webpage on starting new
lawns: http://csuturf.colostate.edu/Pages/newlawn.htm
And there are seed companies that specialize in turfgrass seed specific
for this area (also have a much lower weed seed count than most popular
brands). I've purchased my seed from Rocky Mountain Seed Co (only
because they are located the closest to me), at 1325 15th St., Denver,
CO 80202 303-623-6223 but Arkansas Seed Company has a good reputation
too. Give our Denver Extension Office a call and they will be glad to
send you a list of preferred seed blends. 720-913-5278. To see examples
of some of these grasses, visit the demonstration garden at Denver Water
Department where they have plots of each, showing them both mowed and
not mowed. And for any other gardening questions, see:
www.denvermastergardeners.org sed5555


Thank you!


--
Grassroots Activist
( no email - spoofed )