Against all logic, Americans sure do love their lawns. Most of us recognize that lawns are wasteful: functionally useless ornaments that suck up water, encourage the use of dangerous pesticides and fertilizers, and require regular maintenance that eats into our free time, and yet we can’t seem to quit them. There are actually more lawns than cornfields in the United States, despite the fact that, as any lawn-proud homeowner will tell you, growing a lush field of grass isn’t easy, and requires a lot of investment.
Your best decision when it comes to your lawn is to kill it and replace it with something less ridiculous and environmentally harmful. But if you’re sticking with your lawn despite all the downsides (maybe you enjoy spending hundreds of hours mowing?) there’s one thing you can still do to make the situation a little better: Plant the right grass—meaning, usually, the least terrible grass for your needs and location.
If you want the least-worst lawn possible, your goal should be cutting down the resources that it consumes. The number one consideration should be water consumption: We use a collective 9 billion gallons of water on landscape irrigation every single day, even as major cities around the country are running out of water. That means your best/least-worst choice for grass has to be a low-water, drought-resistant variety.
We also use a lot of pesticides to keep those green lawns green, around 70 million pounds of the stuff annually. All those pesticides get into the ground and the groundwater, and many of the common pesticides used have been linked to serious health problems in humans. That means your least-worst grass choice will also have to thrive without the use of a lot of pesticides.
On the bright side, you have a few choices for low-water, low-maintenance grasses, depending on your local climate.
Zoysia Grass. An overall good choice, Zoysia grass is drought- and bug-resistant, grows slowly so you don’t have to mow it constantly, and holds up well to foot traffic. It’s actually a very hard-to-kill grass, so it’s a great choice for the lazy as well as the environmentally conscious. It’s a warm-weather grass that will do best in USDA zones 6-11.
Red Fescue. Red Fescue is a great choice for the lazy lawn master, as it doesn’t require much mowing or other landscaping work, and will grow into a dense carpet more or less on its own. A cool-weather grass, it thrives in Zones 1-7 and won’t need irrigation at all if you usually get at least 18-20 inches of rain every year.
Buffalo Grass. Native to North America, Buffalo Grass is a hardy, easy-to-grow grass that sips very little water—most varieties need just an inch or so of water per month. You can let it grow to produce a soft, tall lawn or cut it short for a more traditional look. It thrives in Zones 3-9. For the ultimate least-worst grass lawn, the UC Verde variety developed at the University of California uses even less water. The one downside is that Buffalo Grass has a tendency to allow weeds to infiltrate, so it might take a bit more care.
St. Augustine Grass. St. Augustine Grass is a low-water grass that thrives in the shade and heat (it will do best in Zones 8-10). so if you’ve made sure the hateful sun can’t burn you alive in your yard it will grow just fine. It’s also tolerant of sea salt, making it a good choice if you’re near the water. You can’t get seeds for this grass—you’ll have to propagate from pods or slugs. This grass does require a fair amount of watering when it’s first planted, but once it’s established it is a very low-water grass. While resistant to weeds, St. Augustine Grass does attract a fair amount of pests, so if cutting down your pesticide use is a priority this may not be the best choice.
Centipedegrass. Centipedegrass isn’t the best when it comes to water usage, but it is one of the more pest-resistant grasses available, allowing you to use fewer pesticides in your lawn care regimen. Centipedegrass grows easily in Zones 7-9 and is so easy to maintain its nickname is “lazy man’s grass.”
If you love your lawn beyond all sense and sanity, at least plant a grass that will do as little harm to your sanity—and the environment—as possible. These five grasses are all good choices if you insist on your lawn.
