Warm Season Lawns

Warm-season lawn in Northern Utah could be a great choice due to its potential for significant water conservation, low maintenance, and drought tolerance. These grasses have shown many characteristics that indicate they may thrive in our climate. Some of these characteristics are that they thrive in the heat, require less mowing and need much less water than cool season lawns. They tolerate a wide range of soil conditions and tolerate heavy foot traffic. Some have even perform well in shaded spaces. From October until April these warm season grasses will go into dormancy and will go to a straw color.

To help achieve long term water sustainability and conservation goals for our region, the District is evaluating the use of warm season lawns where lawn is needed or desired.

The District has a mission to provide water to a growing population with increased demands. To achieve this mission, there must be reductions in per capita demands, which can be achieved in a large degree in our municipalities through landscape water conservation practices.

The warm season lawns if watered correctly have the potential to reduce outdoor irrigation by 50% and possibly more. The water savings being achieved on our test plots will be able to demonstrate how we are watering, how we are maintaining the lawn to achieve these savings. Our plots are individually metered to enable us to know exactly how many gallons are being applied.

Maintenance on warm season lawns will be different than what you may be used to. Most require less mowing and much less irrigation, but fertilization, dethatching and weed control will vary depending on species and time of year.

The District will be tracking maintenance activities on our trial plots for Tahoma 31 and post that information here as it is available. Other maintenance help sheets by other entities are here below:

Warm season grasses, used as lawns are not new in many areas of the country. They are a little newer in our climate because of the dormancy period, however, with the pressures on water, this type of lawn is gaining a lot of popularity due to its potential for very significant water savings while having a nice lawn area.

The District is not set up for formal research but we want to provide you a link to research information that has been put together, mostly by university studies. Below are links to various studies or papers that demonstrate the research and information to help you learn about these great lawn types: