The type of sens you have growing in your lawn aid you set how often to mow , how brusque you could disregard the pasturage , and how much water or fertilizer the lawn needs . If you did n’t plant the lawn , you ’ll have to take a undecomposed look at the grass to notice out what mintage is grow there . Kentucky bluegrass and rye grass are bothcool - time of year grasses , but there are distinguishing characteristics to help you distinguish them apart . Keep in psyche that there might be more than one species of grass in the lawn , because grass seed is often motley to take advantage of the strength of different type of gage .
Hardiness
Annual ryegrass(Lolium multiflorum ) is typically planted in southerly Department of State to provide green color on the winter lawn . This grass is not planted as part of a lasting sward , but will reseed itself and can come back if it was planted once and allow to go to seed . Perennial ryegrass(Lolium perenne ) is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8 , andKentucky bluegrass(Poa pratensis ) is hardy in zones 2 through 7.Both ryegrassesand bluegrass uprise well in full sun locations that get plenty of water .
Physical Appearance
Cool - season grasses like rye grass and bluegrass partake a basic structure . Stems , also called shoot , grow up from the origin and leaves grow from the stem . The leaves consist of a cocktail dress that wraps around the shoot , a pasturage blade and the collar region where the sheath and blade connect . variation in the appearance of these parts helpsidentify the species .
Growth Habit
Both annual and perennial ryegrass arebunch - type dope . They diffuse by stem call " tiller , " or by seeded player . These plants grow in a chunk , and you ’ll see them sending out long stems rather than spreading from the root . If allow to blossom , they form a svelte spike - shaped bloom stalk.[](http://aggie - horticulture.tamu.edu / archive / parsons / turf / publication / Bluegrass.html?pagewanted = all )
Kentucky bluegrass , on the other hand , is arhizomatous grass . You ’ll see it spreading from the root rhizomes as well as by tillers to form a thick sward . If allowed to flower , the bloom stalk have a loose , loose shape that key out bluegrass from rye grass .
