Other Grasses

Warm Season Grasses

Warm season grasses convert light energy to food using slightly different physiological pathways than cool season grasses.  The result is that warm season grasses tend to more efficiently use water.  Like the name implies, though, warm season grasses thrive best in warm climates.   Many warm season grasses found in warmer areas of the country simply cannot survive the cold Colorado winters. Grasses that cannot survive at elevations above 5000 ft. in Coorado include:

• St. Augustine
• Bermuda
• Zoysia
• Centipede
• Bahai

Some warm season grasses do grow in Colorado especially at lower elevations.  These include Buffalograss and differnent grama species including blue grama.  At higher elevations above 6000-7000 feet, these species tend to also have difficulty with winter survival.  Even the cooler night temperatures at these elevations challenge these species in a lawn environment.  Cool temperatures reduce warm season grass competition with more robust cool season weeds and also significantly reduced traffic tollerance.  Other limitations of buffalograss and grama species are:

• Short growing season (five months)
• Succeptibility to herbicide injury
• Widespread weed problems
• Low shade tollerance
• Poor traffic tollerance
• More difficult to establish