Growth of Bella Bluegrass Compared to a Standard KBG Blend and Tall Fescue

A goal of low-input turfgrass is to reduce mowing, thereby reducing labor, fuel, and equipment expenses. A way to meet this goal is to develop grasses that grow slower. \u27Bella\u27 Kentucky bluegrass was released by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a slow-growing variety of bluegrass. This experiment documents slightly to significantly slower growth of \u27Bella\u27 compared to a traditional Kentucky bluegrass sod blend and tall fescue grown in the Intermountain West region of North America. Consumers frequently seek grasses that need less mowing and fertilizer (Busey and Parker, 1992). Although turfgrasses recover from traffic by growing, many uses don\u27t need fast growth due to minimal traffic. With this in mind, \u27Bella\u27 Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) was released by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a slower growing variety compared to other bluegrasses (Shearman, 2010). This study was conducted to further test if Bella bluegrass grows slower than a standard blend of bluegrass and a tall fescue variety at two mowing heights and three fertilization rates in northern Utah