The Best Grass Seed to Use on Slate Soil

Turfgrasses

• A few turfgrasses tolerate slate soils. Annual grasses provide quick cover – seeds germinate in about a week -- but won’t survive cold winter temperatures in cool climates. For rocky sites, the University of Minnesota recommends annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), cereal rye (Secale cereale) and field bromegrass (Bromus arvensis). For permanent cover, plant a mixture of red fescue (Festuca rubra), a hardy turfgrass and sheep fescue (F. ovina), a tough ornamental grass that tolerates drought and shade. Hard fescue (F. brevipilia, longifolia or ovina var. duriuscula) and creeping red fescue (F. rubra spp. rubra) also grow well in poor, rocky soil, according to Rutgers University.

Liriope

• Grasses in the Liriope genus tolerate rocky soils, according to North Carolina State University. Creeping liriope (L. spicata) grows well in poor sites and tolerates partial to full shade, unlike many grasses. This evergreen grows in spreading clumps to 12 inches tall and wide. Its dark fronds turns coppery in winter. The Silver Dragon cultivar has silvery-green, variegated foliage. Liriope (L. muscata) has narrow, dark foliage and grows in clumps to 2 feet tall. It tolerates drought and grows best in shady, well-drained sites. The Silver Sunproof liriope (L. exiliflora “Silver Sunproof”) has variegated foliage and grows to 1 foot tall. It tolerates a range of poor site conditions.

Ophiopogon

• Grasses in the Ophiopogon genus grow in rocky, slate soil. Species include mondo grass (O. japonicus), a tough evergreen that grows in mounds to 10 inches tall. Mondo grass has dark, fine foliage and thrives in well-draining sites. Cultivars include Nana, a dwarf variety that grows to 3 inches tall. Black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus “Arabicus”) grows well in shade and poor soil. It has fine, dark purple-black foliage. White lilyturf (Ophiopogon jaburan vittata) tolerates a range of site conditions. It grows in 12-inch-tall clumps and produces small, white summer flowers.

Other Grasses

• Other grasses that tolerate rocky, slate soils include muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaries), a clumping ornamental that grows to 4 feet tall with a similar spread. This native grass has thin, semi-evergreen foliage that turns bronze in winter. It prefers rocky soil but also tolerates wet soils. Tumble grass (Eragrostrum spectablis) thrives in poor sites and tolerates drought. This 2-foot-tall ornamental has fine foliage and produces red-purple inflorescences in late summer.