Northeast Grasses

Kentucky Bluegrass

• Kentucky bluegrass works well for sunny locations. It grows quickly and vigorously and will go dormant in extreme heat and dry conditions. Don't use it for shaded locations, as it needs full sun to thrive. Varieties such as Bristol, Glade, Nugget and Touchdown are a bit more tolerant of partial shade. Mow it about 2 1/2 inches tall. Mowing the grass too short puts it at risk for pests, disease and sunburn. It pairs well with a perennial rye grass.

Perennial Rye Grasses

• Like Kentucky bluegrass, perennial rye grasses grow and green quickly, even in the Northeast's shorter growing season. These rye grasses will do well in shady areas so long as they're watered moderately and fertilized on occasion during the growing season. Certain varieties, like Blue Wild Rye, are hardy to USDA zone 5, which means temperatures fall down to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, so they fare well in the colder areas of the Northeast.

Fine Fescues

• Fine fescues provide the best option for shady lawns. They also are drought resistant, so you don't have to water them constantly. Where perennial ryes and Kentucky bluegrass will tolerate a fair amount of wear and tear, fine fescue is delicate, so don't use it on a lawn that gets lots of foot traffic. Combining the fescue with other grasses can provide you with their hardy qualities while preserving your lawn, if you do have moderate foot traffic.

Tall Fescues

• Fine fescues may leave bald spots in a lawn when not combined with other seeds. Tall fescue grasses have a more rugged quality and can fill those empty spots. They still have drought resistance and won't go dormant in dry conditions when other grasses do. Since tall fescues grow in bunches rather than a creeping bed, it's best to grow other types of grass with it, like fine fescue, to fill in any gaps. Even within the Northeast regions, certain species and varieties are adapted to a given area. Red fescue, for instance, thrives in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the New England states, but has adapted to cooler areas as well.