Kentucky Bluegrass Poa pratensis
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- POH-ah pray-TEN-sis
- Description
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A member of the grass family (Poaceae), Kentucky bluegrass is a perennial cool-season grass and one of the world's most popular turfgrasses. It is native to the Northern Hemisphere. The genus name is derived from the Greek word poa, a pasture grass. The species epithet, pratensis, means "inhabiting meadows."
It needs full sun in the spring and fall but will require afternoon shade in hot southern summers. In the Piedmont, it is often combined with Tall fescue in turfgrass mixtures. It prefers fertile, well drained soils and is quick to recover from stress.
For more information, please refer to the NC State Extension TurfFiles entry for Kentucky Bluegrass.
Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems: Very prone to Summer Patch disease.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Poa
- Species:
- pratensis
- Family:
- Poaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Northern Hemisphere
- Dimensions:
- Height: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 4 in.
- Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 0 ft. 6 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
- Turfgrass
- Habit/Form:
- Dense
- Erect
- Maintenance:
- High
- Medium
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil pH:
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- NC Region:
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Type:
- Caryopsis
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Flowers:
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Spike
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Hairs Present:
- No
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Lawn
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Foot Traffic
- Problems:
- Weedy
