The turfgrasses are divided into cool-season and warm-season species. Cool-season species do better in the cooler times of the year and thrive in temperatures from 65° to 75° F. Warm-season grasses are best adapted to temperatures between 80° and 95° F. The cool-season grasses grow well in the cooler regions of the northern United States and the warm-season species are best adapted to the warmer regions of the southern U.S. Grass species adaptation in the U.S., however, is a little more complicated than that, with the U.S. having four separate climatic zones of grass adaptation.

The U.S. has a region known to the turf industry as the transition zone that extends through the central part of the country and includes parts of each of the other four zones. This is the most difficult region in which to grow grass.  Both cool-season and warm-season turfgrasses are present in this area, although few turfgrass species are well adapted to this challenging climate as the transition zone is cold enough in the winter to make it difficult to maintain warm-season species and warm enough in the summer to make it difficult to grow cool-season species, therefore, no one species is well adapted in this region.  

Our turf blends have been selected to perform and persist in the extreme conditions of the transition zone. The tristate is in the upper region of the transition zone, closer to the cool zone, which is why we don't produce Bermudas, Zoysias or any other warm season turf varieties.  Tall Fescues and Bluegrasses are cool season grasses and this means that they do most of their growing in the cooler months and go dormant in the hot, hot summer months. You may see your grass go an off shade of green and your first instinct will be  MORE WATER! MORE FERTILIZER! However, it is recommended that you allow your grass to go through its dormancy with no additional inputs in order to prevent disease in the turf. See our information on Brown Patch Disease for more information.