Best Lawn Grasses for Montana

1. Kentucky bluegrass

The backbone of most irrigated Montana lawns. It spreads by rhizomes, so it knits into a dense sod and repairs its own thin spots, and it handles cold winters well. MSU's general-use mix is about 60 percent Kentucky bluegrass. The catch: it needs regular water to stay green in July and August, roughly 1 to 1.5 inches a week early and late in the season and up to 2.5 inches in midsummer, according to MSU.

2. Creeping red fescue and Chewings fescue

Fine fescues that tolerate shade and lower fertility better than bluegrass. They make up about 30 percent of MSU's general-use mix and about 60 percent of its shade mix. If part of your lawn sits under mature trees or on the north side of the house, these are what keep it from thinning out.

3. Perennial ryegrass (in small amounts)

Germinates fast and gives a new lawn quick cover while slower grasses establish, which is why MSU includes about 10 percent as an optional nurse grass. The catch: it is not permanent here, and MSU warns that mixes with a large share of perennial or annual ryegrass make inferior Montana lawns. Read the seed label.

4. Hard fescue and sheep fescue

Tough, lower-water fine fescues for semi-dryland lawns. MSU recommends planting them alone rather than in a mix and seeding thickly, because many are clump-forming. The catch: MSU's guidance frames them for semi-dryland lawns in eastern Montana, so in western Montana they fit best on a dry, low-traffic area rather than the main lawn.

5. Turf-type tall fescue

A deeper-rooted grass that MSU lists alongside hard and sheep fescue for semi-dryland lawns. The catch is the same: it is clump-forming, so it needs heavy seeding and will not self-repair like bluegrass, and MSU's recommendation is aimed at the drier east of the state.

6. Crested wheatgrass ('Fairway' or 'Roadcrest')

For very dry or unirrigated ground, MSU names 'Fairway' and 'Roadcrest' crested wheatgrass. It tolerates drought by going brown and waiting. The catch: it is bunch-forming rather than sod-forming, should not be mowed below 3 inches, and looks brown through dry spells.

7. Streambank wheatgrass

Another MSU pick for dry, non-irrigated lawns, and unlike crested wheatgrass it spreads by rhizomes to form a reasonable sod. The USDA's 'Sodar' variety is known for drought tolerance, seedling vigor and weed competition, though it is used most often to stabilize erosion-prone ground. Good for acreage edges and slopes.

8. Meadow and smooth bromegrass

Also on MSU's list for very dry lawns, and also rhizomatous, so they fill in. They make sense on large, rough areas that will never be irrigated, not on a manicured front lawn.

Which grasses should you avoid in Montana?

MSU is direct about it: zoysiagrass and Bermudagrass are not appropriate for Montana lawns. Buffalograss and blue grama will grow with little water, but they green up late, brown early, have a blue-green color, and cannot compete with weeds or cool-season grasses in an irrigated lawn. Avoid any mix dominated by ryegrass.

When is the best time to seed a lawn in Montana?

Mid-August to mid-September, around Labor Day. You can seed in late April and May, but MSU prefers late summer because annual weeds cannot set seed before frost, and the new grass gets the fall and the following spring to establish before summer heat. Bluegrass and fescue mixes go down at 2 to 3 pounds per 1,000 square feet; dryland grasses at 3 to 5 pounds. Sow half in one direction and half across it, and cover no deeper than a quarter inch. Overseeding an existing lawn follows the same window; see our guide to when to aerate and overseed.

How should you mow and feed a Montana lawn?

Mow bluegrass and fescue lawns at 2.5 to 3 inches, never take more than a third of the blade at once, and leave the clippings; they do not cause thatch. For fertilizer, MSU's key dates are around Memorial Day, Labor Day and after the last mowing in October, and if you only feed once or twice, the two fall applications matter most. Our fertilizer rates and timing guide covers amounts.

If you would rather hand the lawn off, our lawn care and aeration and overseeding services cover it, and a well-zoned irrigation system is what keeps a bluegrass lawn green through August.

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