How do you select the perfect turf grass for your Chicagoland lawn?

Location, location, location! Sunlight and Drainage play a large role in how your grass will perform long term. Sunlight is required to grow grass. Even the “shade” grasses need at least four hours of dappled sunlight to live.

The first step is to determine how much sunlight does your yard receive. Observe the area during a summer day. Estimate how many hours of sunlight does the area receives.

• Total shade canopy
• Mostly shade less than 4 hours
• Dappled shaped 4-6 hours
• Full Sun greater than 6 hours

Your sod type will vary according to your answers to the above observations.

Pro-Tip

Use your Smart Phone and set up a time-lapse of the yard to track the sun and help you determine how much sun you have.

The most well-adapted grasses to the cold, hot, and dry Chicago summer are the following:

• Tall Fescue
• Bluegrass
• Ryegrass