For over 25 years Denali Seed Company has researched grass seed varieties to determine which varieties are best suited for Alaska's climate and only uses varieties proven hardy and perform well in Alaska. The primary species of turf grass with a proven track record for hardiness in Alaska are bluegrass and fescue. A combination of species in a lawn mix makes a better lawn because a mixture takes advantage of all the good traits from each species. Both bluegrass and fescue exhibit traits that are advantageous to a quality lawn and are both well adapted to the colder regions of Alaska making a mixture of both bluegrass and fescue a superior lawn in Alaska. Our premium lawn mix, Arctic Carpet Lawn Mix, is a blend of two species that include several varieties of both bluegrass and fescue and has no filler varieties often referred to as nurse varieties. Fescue is a fast germinating variety making a nurse variety unnecessary. Denali Seed Company uses several varieties of both species, bluegrass and fescue, in our lawn mix because each variety also has its own strong traits and a combination of the good traits from more than one specie and several varieties makes the best, strongest, long term lawn. Denali Seed Company is currently using three varieties of fescue which is 60 percent of the Arctic Carpet Lawn Mix and three varieties of bluegrass for 40 percent. A high percent bluegrass mix like Arctic Carpet has long been a favorite mix in Alaska.
Bluegrass varieties create a very dense, tough turf but are slow to become established and requires full sun to grow best. Fescue is not as aggressive as bluegrass but becomes established much quicker. Fescue is fine bladed grass and makes a fine dense turf that grows equally well in full sun or partial shade. The combination of trails found in bluegrass and fescue togather makes a mixture of the two grasses the best option for most landscapes. The trees that grow and are used for landscaping in Alaska do not provide dense shade therefore a turf with fescue included will grow a quality lawn even under the trees. As a new lawn matures, the full sun areas will naturally be dominated by bluegrass, the partly shady areas will contain a mixture of bluegrass and fescue and the shady areas will be will be mostly fine fescue. The fine fescues and the blue grasses have a very similar color, texture and leaf blade size so it will not be noticeable when one area is mostly bluegrass and another mostly fescue. This combination of grass varieties has been very successful in almost all areas of Alaska. Coastal areas and southeast Alaska are the exception, in the wet, cloudy coastal regions, bluegrass does not grow well and mixture of fescue and perennial ryegrass does much better. Denali Seed produces a special Arctic Carpet mixture for Southeast Alaska.
MAINTAINING A LAWN IN ALASKA THAT IS BEAUTIFUL
Alaskans, after spending a long winter playing in the snow, cherish their summers.
Many prefer spending their free time during the long summer days fishing, camping
and hiking in Alaska’s great outdoors. Lured out of town on weekends and
whenever else possible, it can be time consuming to maintain a lawn but they
still want to return from their summer outings to the pleasant surroundings
of an outdoor living area. A pleasant yard extends the summer living area well
beyond the confines of the walls of a home and maintaining an outdoor living
area need not be grueling. There are ways to minimize the amount of time needed
to make an outdoor setting pleasant and beautiful. A healthy lawn, even though
it needs mowing regularly under Alaska’s long summer days, takes less
of a home owner's free time than any of the alternatives: a ground cover, a
flower bed, or even a wildflower meadow. The key to reducing your work and amount
of time spend in the yard is a healthy lawn. Factors that affect the health
of a lawn and the amount of time required to maintain a quality lawn include
the hardiness of the grass variety, weed control, the amount of pet damage,
plant food applications and how the lawn is mowed.
In Alaska, because of the extremes in temperature and the length of time the
ground is frozen in winter, hardiness is the most important factor to consider
when choosing the grass seed for a new lawn. Hardiness is so important because
it determines the amount of winter kill that may occur, which may be from very
little to total kill. Even a small amount of winter injury will affect how a
dense lawn is and effect its ability to prevent weed seed from germinating and
becoming established. The denser the turf the less chance new weeds will appear.
When an extensive amount of winter injury occurs in portions of the lawn, the
soil will have to be prepared and new seed applied. Hardiness being the most
important factor, choosing the best grass seed for the use of an area to be
planted is vital. When starting a new lawn the cost of the seed regardless of
the price is the least expensive part of the project.
The family pet often has a big effect on the quality and maintenance of a lawn.
The two biggest concerns when having a dog in the back yard is digging and a
problem referred to as “dog spot.” Dog spot is the small dead areas
on the lawn caused by urine burn. The easiest way to solve dog spot is to walk
the dog off the lawn but that isn’t always possible and it is often much
easier to let the dog run in the back yard. The end result is the need to patch
the dead spots in the spring. How well the dead areas are prepared for seeding
is very important to the success of the replanting. Preparation should begin
as soon as the snow has melted in the spring. First mow the lawn close to the
ground, then rake off all debris. This removes a lot of the dead grass so it
is easier to loosen the soil for replanting. Fertilize the entire lawn at the
recommended rate for the first application in the spring. Then with a stiff
garden rake loosen the soil until the surface is soft and loose. This will allow
the seed to make contact with loose soil. Broadcast seed over the newly prepared
area at the rate of approximately 1/4 pound per 25 square feet then lightly
rake the soil surface. Water the newly seeded area thoroughly so the seed has
good contact with the soil. Keep the newly repaired areas moist at all times
until the seeded area is green from seedlings. If there is bluegrass in the
mix, the area needs to be kept moist at all times for at least 3 weeks. To avoid
color differences in the lawn, use the same mix of grass seed when making the
repair as was used to originally plant the lawn.
Weed control is always a major issue in the maintenance of a lawn. The best
possible control of weeds is a healthy, vigorous, growing lawn. When grass is
growing the crown is increasing in size, causing the turf to get very dense.
A rapidly growing lawn does not allow the weed seed in the soil to germinate
and become established. A lawn is like an established forest with its thick
canopy of leaves overhead. That canopy makes it very difficult for seedling
trees to become established until one of the old trees dies and allows light
to penetrate the forest floor. Grass is a step higher in the ecological chain
than weeds and weeds are always choked out in a mature grassland. Using nature
to your benefit, crowd out the weeds in your lawn with healthy grass. Even in
a healthy lawn a few weeds can become established, particularly along the lawn’s
edge. The more aggressive weeds like dandelions are difficult to control once
established. Weed killers are a popular solution for broad-leaved weeds but
in Alaska chemicals like 2-4-D in liquid forms and weed-n-feed fertilizers is
not very effective because the air and soil temperature in Alaska is too cool.
This chemical 2-4-D requires a minimum temperature of 65 to 70 degrees F for
several days to work effectively. It is recommended that if this type of chemical
is used that it be used in the liquid form. Mix the chemical concentrate with
water per the manufacturer’s recommendations in the directions on the
label and spot spray only the broad-leaved weeds. This product should be used
only when the temperature is above 65 degrees F and it is expected to remain
that warm for several days. This chemical is very volatile and can drift as
much as several hundred feet and may damage plants in a neighbor’s yard.
Use this product only when the air is still to prevent drift. A more positive
recommendation would be to increase the number of times a lawn is fertilized
to improve the overall health and density of the lawn and remove the unwanted
weeds by mechanical means. In the case of the dandelion the taproot must be
completely eliminated to kill the plant.
Soil fertility ranks second behind hardiness in the important factors to consider
for success in maintaining a lawn. Fertility affects numerous factors including
the lawn’s ability to over-winter with a minimal amount of injury, to
resist disease, to cope with moisture stress during dry periods and is the best
weed control available. The grass plants in a lawn are heavy feeders because
of the large numbers of plants per square foot and are naturally heavy users
of nitrogen for leaf growth because the leaf blades are being cut regularly.
The months of May through September in the sunny parts of Alaska, a lawn should
be fertilized as follows. In May use a complete fertilizer like 8-32-16 at a
rate of 6 to 8 pounds per 1000 square feet. The months of June through September
use a high nitrogen fertilizer like 22-4-4 at a rate of 2 to 3 pounds per 1000
square feet. In areas of Alaska that are mostly cloudy reduce the amount of
fertilizer by 1/3. Apply fertilizer carefully as it will burn the plants if
not applied properly. Never apply fertilizer when the leaf blades are wet and
water the fertilized area well after fertilizer has been applied to wash the
fertilizer granules down to the soil where they can be effective.
Recent studies have shown that fall is the most important time to fertilize
a lawn and that increased levels of nitrogen in the fall may actually increase
hardiness and promote earlier green-up of the lawn in the spring. The application
tables recommend a heavy application of fertilizer right at the time the first
frost is expected in Alaska to help the grass plants in a lawn prepare for the
winter.
Mowing is also an important part of maintaining a lawn as it gives the lawn
a neat groomed appearance. On a newly seeded lawn mowing is very useful for
weed control. Most annual weeds will not go to seed when the stems have been
cut off, eliminating their presence the following year. Mowing also affects
the general health of a lawn. The plants in a lawn should be allowed to maintain
a minimum height of 2 to 2 ½ inches as the green blades are needed in
the manufacture of food. No more than two inches or 1/3 to ½ of the leaf
length should be cut off at one time. When the grass is allowed to get too tall
between cuttings most of the green part of the leaf stalk is removed during
the mowing reducing the ability of the plant to manufacture food which slows
down the plants’ recovery. In Alaska it is best not to mow a lawn after
the first frost to allow the plants time to prepare for winter. During this
preparation time the food manufactured and stored in the plants’ leaves
is transported to the root system for winter storage.
Starting a lawn is time consuming but with the use of good cultural practices
a lawn will become established quickly. Once the lawn is established it doesn’t
take a lot of time to maintain it. A very enjoyable outdoor living area will
be available and there will be plenty of time to go fishing, camping, and participate
in Alaska’s many outdoor activities.