Creation of short-term pastures based on white clover (creeping) and perennial ryegrass (as recommended by the TASIS project). Application of perennial ryegrass

Ryegrass (perennial) - Lolium Perenne is an excellent turf and fodder grass that has attracted the attention of both workers Agriculture, and breeders and lawn lovers. Refers to cereals.

Features of perennial ryegrass

Perennial grass of medium-term, winter ripening. Loose bush grass, grassroots character. Thin, pleasant green, narrow leaves up to thirty centimeters long. The leaves are narrow, smooth, shiny, only on the veins there is some roughness. The plates near the stem are short, the ears, even if they are small, the tongues with a solid edge are also small. In early June, it blooms in the morning with spikelets of a brownish-green color. Flowers on a spikelet from 5 to 12 pieces, attached with a narrow side to the spikelet stem. The plant is cross-pollinated by the wind. Sometimes self-pollination occurs. lanceolate seeds gray color, length from 5.5 to 6 millimeters.

Relation to soil and climate

Loves mild winter with some soil moisture. Doesn't like tall people ground water also does not tolerate flooding. Drought also depresses the plant. Ryegrass responds well to watering. frosts and spring frosts can kill old plants.

The shallow location of the tillering center (from 8 to 13 centimeters below the soil level) determines the low winter hardiness of ryegrass.

Soil characteristics

He likes fertile loams, sandy loams, even clay soils, if they are moistened enough, but not too much. It does not like acidic and very dry, podzolic soils.

Application of perennial ryegrass

No wonder the name contains the word Pasture. Ryegrass is good, almost ideal for creating hay land and cultivated pastures, as a high-yielding cereal. Its hay and green grass contains a large number of protein and very nutritious.

Grass recovers quickly after injury, the most high yield gives green mass in the second - third year of life, after which the yield decreases.

Disadvantages of perennial ryegrass

Low winter hardiness, as well as plant instability during a period of severe drought and low resistance to many fungal diseases prevent ryegrass from taking first place among fodder and lawn grasses. Due to its undoubted merits, ryegrass has undergone selection, as a result of which some of its varieties have been bred.

Perennial ryegrass Vesuvius

Seeds releases German company DSV (Eurograss). Vesuvius is resistant to abrasion, trampling, therefore it is used to create professional-level sports, gaming lawns.

Have a dense herbage, high attractiveness, in addition to creating sports lawns this grade is used for their repair.

Perennial ryegrass Libronco

Has excellent resistance to physical influences. Listed in State Register selection achievements of Russia. Seeds are produced by the German company DSV (Eurograss). Has a certificate of GOST R 52325-2005.

It is used for arranging fields for various sports and gaming purposes. Because of the beautiful appearance widely used in ornamental lawns.

Perennial ryegrass varieties Promoto

Fusarium resistant and fungal disease"Red thread". Compared to other varieties of perennial ryegrass, it has increased winter hardiness. withstands physical exercise, is used to create lawns for both sports and decorative purposes.

Perennial ryegrass is excellent fodder grass and is excellent for creating beautiful, sustainable ornamental, sports and play lawns.

The choice of lawn grass directly depends on its further use. On sale, you will most often find ready-made grass mixtures: branded or simply by the look of the lawn.

But it doesn’t hurt to get acquainted with basic information on mixtures for lawn tasks and with basic grasses.

In addition, you can find lawns where only one type of lawn grass grows.

Grass for sports turf

The operation of these lawns involves intense loads, trampling, mechanical damage, breaks. Grass for sports type should have resistance to stress, durability and quick recovery of the turf. The following grasses are suitable for creating sports lawns:

• Fescue red;
• Ryegrass perennial;
• Bluegrass Meadow.

Ryegrass plays an important role. Even if the base is from bluegrass, overseeding is constantly carried out with ryegrass.

Lawn grass for giving

• Meadow fescue;
• Ryegrass perennial;
• Bluegrass Meadow.
• White clover.

Fescue sprouts and grows the fastest, the result of sowing is visible after 3-5 days: a thin brush. Then the bluegrass will pull up and ryegrass, for resistance to trampling. You should be more careful with clover - it can displace the rest, but it perfectly covers the soil.

Lawn grass for the playground

For children's lawns, the grass should be pleasant and soft to the touch, as well as durable. For the strength of the coating, the main cereals are usually sown, and for softness, subspecies of clover are added. Juicy clover perfectly increases the humidity of the air, while improving the microclimate of the corner for children in the yard or in the garden. The composition of herbal mixtures for playgrounds may include these plants:

• Cocksfoot;
• Timothy grass;
• Red clover, hybrid white and pink creeping.

Lawn grass ornamental type

Decorative lawns: landscape gardening, meadow and parterre. Decorative lawn involves the creation of the most elegant and bright coverage with a minimum load on it. The composition of grass mixtures for this type of lawn includes exquisite subspecies of grasses that form a rich, dense, bright green carpet. Various color accents are possible. Assortment of herbs for ornamental lawns:

• Ryegrass perennial;
• Meadow fescue or sheep;
• Rump is awnless;
• Bent field shoot-forming or giant;
• Bluegrass meadow;
• Red clover, red, hybrid white or pink.

Lawn grass in the shade

Of note is the choice of grass for pitches in the shade. If there is practically no light, then the only grass for a lawn located in the shade of buildings and trees can only be a shoot-forming bent grass. It forms an emerald delicate coating, but it is not recommended to walk on such a lawn a lot.

A lawn that grows fast

Forage grasses: meadow fescue, annual ryegrass.

A mixture for fast germination and the formation of a good root system, for further development:

• 5% modified red fescue;
• 30% red fescue;
• 40% - perennial ryegrass;
• 20% cane fescue;
• 5% bluegrass;

Low growing herbs used.

The main types of lawn grasses

Consider the main types of lawn grasses common in European territory Russia.

Bluegrass meadow

Is perennial cereal plant. It often grows naturally in soil rich in humus and minerals. Narrow-leaved subspecies with excellent lawn qualities have been bred. Meadow Bluegrass is a variety of lawn grass with upright leafy shoots and strong underground shoots. Starts to grow in early spring, bushes well. Bluegrass ideally tolerates trampling and with the help of underground shoots able to recover from significant damage. In the phase of initial development and growth, Bluegrass manifests itself slowly, so its presence in the herbage becomes noticeable only a year after sowing.

Bluegrass is present in most, and in nature there are more than 300 species of it.

ryegrass perennial

Grassroots fast-rooting friable perennial grass, flowering herbaceous plant. Prefers a mild climate, but can also tolerate temperatures down to -18 degrees, of course, without snow cover. But in the presence of snow cover, ryegrass tolerates much more low temperatures. Can be grown on all types of soil, except for too wet. Ryegrass, given the growth, is late, medium and early. Preferred late varieties, because they form fewer stems in the height of summer. It helps to have beautiful lawn with less labor. characteristic feature ryegrass is its high resistance to wear due to the rapid growth of leaves and shoots. It does this species Grass is the main component of sports turf mixtures. The main development factor is abundant watering and making required amount fertilizers.

Fescue Red

Loose bush and rhizome grassroots perennial grass, belonging to herbaceous plants. It grows often in natural meadows, at quite different levels of humidity and with any type of soil. Red fescue grows quite slowly in the first year after sowing. It has very narrow and thin leaves and intense shoot density. Grows well in the most different conditions, its endurance to poor soils and drought is especially noted. Very frost resistant. Carries a certain amount of water on the lawn in winter.

Timothy grass

It is a loose shrubby perennial grass with creeping short rhizomes. One of the main grasses that is used in budget lawns, reducing the cost and simplifying lawn grass mixtures. Under natural conditions, it grows on roadsides, meadows and forests.

bent grass

Bent grass shoot-bearing (shoot-forming) spreads thanks to long above-ground creeping shoots that take root at the nodes and form daughter plants. Forms a uniform, dense herbage that tolerates low cutting very well. Most fade resistant.

white clover

In mixtures with subtle views grass makes the lawn healthier and greener without the addition of nitrogen. Ordinary varieties white fodder clover are not suitable for this purpose. They do not withstand repeated mowing. Microclover - the new kind clover with very small leaves. This is a real breakthrough in creating a green cover that is friendly to nature. environment.

Clover absorbs nitrogen from the air more actively than other grasses, which means that grass growth is enhanced, which means that more frequent mowing is required. An imbalance in nitrogen leads to a reduction in the root system, and active growth vegetative mass - to a decrease in the cuticular layer, a looser epidermis, which, in turn, reduces the resistance of "associated cereals".

Clover often succumbs to weed control chemicals. Mice love clover, the lawn can be in their holes.

Which herb is stronger?

Ryegrass suppresses fescue and bluegrass, but dies on its own. Bluegrass dominates on clay soil (as in the Moscow region), when there is a lot of sun, water and food. Fescue will crowd out the rest if the lawn is not cared for, but will grow in tufts. The bent grass is able to displace everyone, but not many will be satisfied with the lawn from it.

As a rule, lawns are sown with certain mixtures of grasses. Mixtures are either ready-made or can be assembled for specific tasks.

At FORUMHOUSE, the approach to choosing lawn grass is extremely practical: we firmly believe that countless varieties are heavily marketing, the average user will still not notice the difference. In addition, the selection of lawn grasses has gone far ahead, and what we see on the shelves of our stores is most often the last century. Therefore, there is no reason to bother to get the lawn of your dreams: everything is simple.

Maksut:

- Where there is light all day - bluegrass. Penumbra - red fescue. The bent grass is much more tender than all herbs, but it must be combed out. Regries - fast, beautiful, but not for long! That's the whole philosophy.

What the main lawn grasses look like, the forum consultant explains and shows Lawnmower.

Top leaf - bluegrass, bottom - ryegrass.

Ryegrass: leaf height 10-20 cm (if not mowed) width 3-5 mm (wider in fodder varieties), slightly folded in the middle along, on the cut it resembles a Latin V, tapers from base to tip, top part moderately shiny, lower "glassy" shines, so the ryegrass in the sun can be seen from afar. Color - all shades of green, from deep emerald to light green. The veins on the leaf run along the leaf and are pronounced, on the underside there is a well-defined "keel". The base of the plant is pink. It grows quickly, the lawn is soft and dense, it is also valued for good turf - it is indispensable when you need to restore damaged areas lawn. Of the minuses - it is short-lived.

Sodmaster, Moscow:

– There are varieties of ryegrass that have a restrained growth, narrow leaf blade, loose bush type of tillering; which are bred specifically for use on lawns. It is these varieties that are most often imported from the USA to Russia. What is imported from Denmark is very often forage varieties, the seeds of which are cheaper. According to my feelings, the "Americans" are more resilient. I have not seen pure lawn ryegrass from Europe for sale, but I have met “Americans”.

Bluegrass: leaf - 10-15 cm, width - 2-4 mm. on the upper side in the center there is a pronounced rut (two light parallel stripes), the tip of the sheet is folded in a boat, the upper part is matte, the lower part with a slight sheen.

The indisputable advantages of bluegrass are high resistance to trampling, durability (Sodmaster saw 20-year-old bluegrass lawns and claims that they are no worse than 3-year-olds), frost resistance - it easily tolerates even Yakut winters. Weak side bluegrass lawn - slow growth rates in the early years.

sodmaster:

- If you want to make a lawn from one grass, then the best choice- meadow bluegrass. But this grass is not for nervous people. You can’t sow today and get a lawn in a month. However, if you are patient, it will be rewarded.

fescue (Festuca) red, hard, hairy, sheepish: all have a thin, twisted leaf, difficult to confuse with other herbs. If you want to create a perfectly even dark green lawn in your dacha, then sow the prepared area with red fescue seeds. Lawn fescue has its own strengths: the grass looks attractive, after cutting it grows evenly over the entire area, quickly recovers after mechanical damage. Red fescue lawn is also durable, in fact, there are only two types of grass for a long-lasting lawn: bluegrass meadow and red fescue. Of the minuses - you can’t especially run barefoot on this hard lawn.

sodmaster:

- It is more pleasant for me to walk on reed-like fescue in shoes than barefoot. Well, it's like to whom. Yogis generally sleep on nails and do not complain. As for watering reed fescue even in the most severe drought - once a week, but very plentifully. She loves to drink, but, in which case, she will find water with her long roots. We had a lawn with cane fescue, so you water it twice a season, and it's fine. Looked quite good.

One grass lawn

In most publications landscape design, especially in Russian, the opinion is supported that what more species mixed into the lawn mixture, the better. This opinion has not been proven in practice, and FORUMHOUSE experts do not share it, moreover, they believe that from an aesthetic point of view, there is nothing better than single-varietal crops. Sodmaster says that he does not always understand the meaning of composing a mixture of different types: « I can’t imagine that trading companies sometimes just need to shake off something or make such a mixture that it will self-destruct in a couple of years.».

sodmaster:

– Practitioners know that it is possible to mix (meadow grass meadow, red fescue; modified fescue and thin fescue, etc.), but using such herbs as shoot-bearing bent grass, sheep fescue, and the same perennial ryegrass can be very fraught. I'm not talking about the hedgehog team or timothy.

But the meaning in a mixture of varieties of the same species (the so-called blend) is as follows: varieties have different properties. One begins to turn green a little earlier in the spring, the other tolerates drought better, the third is resistant to any disease, etc. Together they are strength.

If you definitely want to sow the lawn yourself, but do not know anything about it, then FORUMHOUSE experts recommend choosing fescue, both in the shade and in the sun.

grass mixtures

Despite the fact that our highly respected experts consider the preparation of grass mixtures optional and best result one grass will give, many lawn owners still sow mixtures of different grasses. But if you buy grass mixture, then only good. The components of almost all grass mixtures are bluegrass, fescue, ryegrass and some other herbs in different combinations and ratios. In a good grass mixture, the grasses are selected so that the advantages of some balance the disadvantages of others, then the lawn can survive and look normal under adverse conditions. weather conditions, will be resistant to soil quality and various environmental factors. It makes sense to use grass mixtures only for safety net - when there are fears that the main cereal will take root poorly at the planting site, to speed up - so that the grass cover forms faster, meadow fescue is introduced into the mixture, or when there are some unfavorable conditions: shading, poor soil and etc.

Yes, for clay soils the following grass mixture is suitable: 70% meadow bluegrass, 30% meadow fescue. On the square meter the planned lawn will need about 25 g of the mixture, for one hundred square meters - 2.5 kg (1 kg of bluegrass and 1.5 kg of fescue).

For the lawn on the sports ground, a grass mixture containing the best turf-forming species is used, compiled according to the following system: 50% red fescue, 20% meadow grass, 15% common bluegrass, 15% narrow-leaved bluegrass. You will need 30 g of seeds per square meter, 3 kg per hundred square meters.

Milaman:

- The grass mixture, regardless of the type of lawn, should always include such cereals: meadow bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and red fescue. For a universal lawn: red fescue, reed fescue, perennial ryegrass, meadow grass meadow (5:2:1.5:1.5). Bluegrass meadow and red fescue are the most durable and are able to form a beautiful dense lawn that will last you for more than one year. But they are not perfect and have one big disadvantage- too slow to grow and develop on initial stage. If you can't wait to quickly create your lawn, then add perennial ryegrass to these two cereals.

sodmaster:

– « fast turf"then it is either ryegrass, or" rolls ". Everything else is time and work. I really want to warn you so that you do not get hung up on the “fast”, without evaluating the pitfalls, otherwise you will have to slowly and methodically redo everything later.

When choosing shade-resistant grass, one must remember that any unstable fescue tolerates shade better than the most resistant bluegrass, and the pike is turfy and fescue "hammers with bare heels."

sodmaster:

- I ask you to pay attention to those who are looking for lawn grass for shaded areas, to the soddy pike (deschampsia). You can not use it in its pure form, but make a mixture with red fescue, it seems tolerable.

Livesey:

- You have a deaf shady area, which means that it is advisable for you to sow fescue there. Take either a mixture of varieties of red red fescue, or a multi-grade of the same red. Other herbs may not work. So, if you sow a mixture of bluegrass with fescue on shady area, then the bluegrass will simply give place to a stronger and more adapted to the shade - that is, fescue ...

Sometimes grass mixtures have to be bought because there is nothing else on sale. Experts advise to study the market, see what you can really find, and then choose. If you want to sow fescue in a shaded area, but it is sold only in mixtures with either ryegrass (10%) or bluegrass (10%). This is what you need to buy. 10% concentration of other grass (if it is not bentgrass) in the lawn is almost imperceptible. Ryegrass will disappear from the herbage in a couple of years due to its fragility, and since the site is shaded, bluegrass will not survive there either. But if we are talking about creating a mono-lawn, then the option with ryegrass is more reliable. It will disappear from the herbage for sure, and the bluegrass may gain a foothold. By the way, don't think that shade tolerant grass It is a shade loving herb. It's not like that. Red fescue is shade tolerant, but loves straight sunlight, so it will not fade in the sun, but will only get better.

Many people like to mix with bent grass, at least the first few years, bent lawns are just fantastic beauty. The bentgrass sprouts quite quickly, despite the fact that the seeds are so small. But it is the most aggressive herb, and in mixtures it is a time bomb. 5% bent grass is enough to force everything else out of the lawn. But mixtures with thin bent grass (fescue 90%, thin bent grass 10%, etc.) have a good chance of success.

FORUMHOUSE thinks like this: if a person has already planted a grass mixture with bent grass and soon got a pure bent lawn, now he has two ways. Kill the lawn, lime on the vine chemicals and if you can not kill, then love. Nothing else will help.

Field lawn requires special care. It will need to be cut as often as possible (low, 2-2.5 cm when it reaches 4-5 cm, and better with a drum mower). Water as infrequently as possible. Fertilize, according to the precepts of the forum, set out in the relevant topic. "Cut through" in the spring and (or) in the fall. A field lawn may require combing and more, but this will be clear from its appearance. To start a field lawn, it is important that there is more phosphorus in the soil. But bent grass does not like lime, and grows better even on acidic soil than on calcareous soil.

Another important thing: do not rush to seed the lawn, even if it looks a little bald. Try feeding him and you'll be fine. As Sodmaster says, “I get the impression that when I hint enough transparently about the need for fertilizers, they don’t hear or understand me: “It doesn’t matter, tell me what to sow!”. It's like starving a dog and then looking for the most effective flea shampoo." Especially when it comes to bluegrass lawn.

sodmaster:

“Bluegrass is not good for overseeding at all. In practice, bluegrass is overseeded with ryegrass. If something falls out, it is easier to repair it by replacing part of the lawn. You can wait - the bluegrass quickly fills the bald spots itself. If the bluegrass is thinning out due to lack of light, then overseeding bluegrass is generally stupid - it is better to use a pike or red fescue (commutata).

The problem is that the most the best varieties lawn grasses develop slowly. And these varieties are not cheap, and it is difficult to find them. The choice is this: still get the desired variety and do everything yourself, or buy a ready-made, so-called rolled lawn. Very often, in practice, the second way is not only simpler, but also more cost-effective.

GAlexey74:

- If there is a great desire to walk almost immediately - take a ready-made roll. If you sow yourself, then the first year you walk carefully, only for processing.

Lawn care basics

A haircut
From late spring to early autumn, lawn grass must be mowed to a height of 3-4 cm. During dry periods, the height may increase. The frequency of cutting, as a rule, once every 2 weeks (but not less than 1 time in 3 weeks). Mowing is important not only for the formation of a dense herbage and decorative look but also to prevent the development of weeds.

Watering
As a rule, natural precipitation is sufficient to maintain the required humidity. But, during dry periods, watering is necessary. Depending on the type of soil, water the lawn at least once a week. The soil is moistened to a depth of 15-20 cm (10 liters of water per sq.m.).

top dressing
Top dressing of lawn grasses is carried out to strengthen, compact the turf, maintain color, increase resistance to diseases, drought. The type and rate of fertilizer application depends on the time of application. In spring and summer - nitrogen-containing to stimulate growth, in autumn - phosphorus-containing to increase frost resistance.

Combing and aeration
The accumulation of residues (straw) during the growth of lawn grasses after mowing with a thickness of more than 1 cm impairs the penetration of water, fertilizers and air into the turf. Comb (scarify) the lawn in spring and autumn. They pierce the lawn grass in places of yellowing, moss growth with a pitchfork to a depth of 8-10 cm every 10-15 cm.

When we face the weeds that grow our country cottage area or some kind of park area, then we remember the lawn grass. For the main purpose of lawns is the creation of an aesthetic appearance of any territory. It can be a lawn in front of the house, a roadside area, park alleys, children's or sports grounds.

In this case, we are interested in lawn grass that destroys weeds or any other weed control methods.

Here you can buy lawn grass " against weeds", and in additional article acquainted with various types weeds and how to deal with them.

In addition, you can pick up lawn grass seeds for your summer cottage or urban plot, taking into account your conditions and purposes.

For territories with increased load, children's and sports grounds, a line of sports lawns is presented, the basis of which is bluegrass. Bluegrass forms a powerful turf and makes the lawn resistant to trampling.

For decorative purposes, a line of lawn grass is presented. without ryegrass. Such lawns, as a rule, consist of low-growing, slow-growing grasses and do not require frequent mowing.

For landscaping large territories lawns of a universal type are presented, well adapting to different conditions light, humidity, soil and other factors.

Table of characteristics of the main lawn grasses