Perennial ryegrass: advantages & Lolium perenne varieties

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is one of the most commonly used lawn grasses. Find out everything you need to know about perennial ryegrass in this article, including the properties and uses of perennial ryegrass for your garden.

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is native to Europe, occurring in regions reaching as far as the foothills of the Himalayas and North Africa. It can now be found as a neophyte in many other parts of the world. Perennial ryegrass has many characteristics that make it a near perfect lawn grass and is not particularly demanding regarding its environment, making it relatively easy to care for. It is hardly surprising that this all-rounder is included in many lawn seed mixtures. Read on to find out everything you need to know about perennial ryegrass.

Perennial ryegrass: origin and description

Like most lawn grasses, Lolium perenne belongs to the grass family, known as Poaceae. While it originates from around Europe and North Africa, nowadays it can be found around the world due to its excellent properties as a lawn grass. It loves nitrogen-rich, moderately moist, even slightly compacted soils.

The botanical name perenne is Latin for “eternal”. Unsurprisingly considering its common name, perennial ryegrass is, indeed, perennial, meaning it lasts for more than one summer and survives the winter. It grows quickly and in small tufts. Ryegrass produces varying amounts of runners depending on the variety. These runners, also known as stolons, emerge from the base of the plant. They grow horizontally above ground away from the mother plant, before taking root elsewhere and becoming a new grass plant. It is in this way that perennial ryegrass is able to close holes and gaps quickly and reliably before weeds have a chance to spread. This makes perennial ryegrass a particularly valuable grass type for lawns, which is precisely why we include it in our Plantura Lawn Overseeding Mix – to help your sparse lawns quickly appear dense, lush and green again. We only use the best varieties of ryegrass in our seed mix, and will present these to you in more detail later in this article.

Lawn Overseeding Mix, 2kg, 100m2

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Perennial ryegrass: properties and uses

Here is a summary of some of the properties of perennial ryegrass and a brief overview of its various uses.

What are the properties of Lolium perenne?

The following table shows the most important properties of perennial ryegrass.

Perennial ryegrass germinates and grows quickly and is rich green in colour. This beautiful colour makes it a good candidate for use in ornamental lawns. When sown as a lawn, it grows dense and fine-leaved, so tolerates mowing and high levels of foot-traffic well. However, it is slightly sensitive to frost. Large quantities of grass can be lost during harsh winters, especially in higher altitudes, so we recommend reseeding every couple of years. This way, you will be able to maintain a dense growth and the regenerative properties of the lawn.

Perennial ryegrass needs normal to good soil and a good nutrient supply to grow well. This grass also loves a humid climate and mild winters. Some varieties of Lolium perenne may be susceptible to a fungal disease known as snow mould when on compacted, constantly wet soils. We advise loosening such soil thoroughly before sowing and mixing in some permeable aggregates, such as sand or compost.

Expert tip: You do not have to have exceptionally good soil or a particularly mild climate for Lolium perenne to feel at home. To improve your soil during and after sowing the ryegrass seeds and to ensure the lawn grows densely and without disease, we recommend fertilising your lawn with a natural fertiliser, such as our Plantura Lawn Feed. If you live somewhere that experiences harsh winters, reseeding the ryegrass can help. Reseeding ryegrass on a regular basis is necessary in some places and is a fast and effective way to regenerate the lawn.

How is Lolium perenne used?

Because of its persistent growth, Lolium perenne can be used as a forage grass for grazing animals and in mixtures for home lawns or even in landscaping. Due to its highly regenerative nature and lush green appearance, it is also included in seed mixes for ornamental lawns and sports turf. Perennial ryegrass is truly an all-rounder among the lawn grasses – one which most lawns cannot do without. However, different varieties are used depending on the desired properties and prevailing conditions. We discuss some particularly good varieties later in this article.

Due to their many beneficial properties, we include Lolium perenne and certain varieties of the grass in our Plantura Hard-Wearing Lawn Seed, Plantura Drought-Resistant Lawn and Plantura Shady Lawn Seed. We also use perennial ryegrass in our Plantura Lawn Overseeding Mix and Plantura Lawn Repair Mix because of its highly regenerative nature.

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By the way: Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is a dreaded and unwanted relative of perennial ryegrass in lawns. If you find this ryegrass in your lawn, you will want to take steps to combat it immediately. You can recognise this ryegrass by its light green colour and often forms clumps that spread and drive other grasses out.

Lolium perenne varieties

Although perennial ryegrass already has various good properties, breeders have successfully managed to improve it further for years. As a result, there are now over 100 cultivated varieties of Lolium perenne with slightly different properties to the original species. These are also used in mixtures to obtain an optimally adapted, healthy lawn. Here are some of the best varieties of ryegrass:

Lolium perenne ′Adagio′:

Fast-growing variety, therefore frequent mowing is necessary. Sufficiently hardy and stays green during winter. Grows dense and forms fine leaves. Highly competitive against weeds. Medium hardiness. Suitable for sports and play lawns and utility turf.

Lolium perenne ′Barolympic′:

Mid-green grass with moderate growth rate. Forms an extremely dense sward and suppresses weeds. Very hard-wearing. Excellent variety for utility turf and sports and play turf. Also suitable for ornamental lawns.

Lolium perenne ′Ceretec Centurion′:

Moderate growth rate even in low temperatures, thus competitive against weeds and moss. Highly regenerative, forms a very dense sward. Maintains its dark green colouring even in winter. Very fine-leaved. Tolerates shorter cuts down to 12 mm. Tolerates drought. Use in sports field turf, can be mixed with all grasses.

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Lolium perenne ′Corsica′

Slow-growing, therefore no need for frequent mowing. Medium to dark green, extremely good regenerative ability due to many strong runners. Able to close larger holes in the lawn. Can be mowed very short. Forms a very dense carpet of grass. Very hard-wearing. Universal application (including for fine turf i.e. golf lawns, lawn reseeding and lawn repair). The variety ′Corsica′ is included in many of our Plantura premium lawn seed mixtures.

Lolium perenne ′Esquire′:

Fast-growing, therefore frequent mowing is necessary. Grows well in cool temperatures, giving it an early start in spring and a long growth phase in autumn. Competitive against weeds. High-quality appearance due to fine stems, rich dark green. Remains green in winter and resistant to many lawn diseases. Dense growth. Does not regenerate quite as well.

Lolium perenne ′Eventus′:

Mid-green grass with moderate growth rate that keeps its appealing colour through the winter. Grows densely and suppresses weeds well. Very hard-wearing and therefore well-suited for utility, sports and play lawns, but also ornamental lawns.

Lolium perenne ‘New Orleans′:

Moderate growth rate. Highly regenerative due to strong growth of suckers, therefore often used in mixtures for sports fields or reseeding or lawn repair. Dense growth and attractive, mid-green colour. Suitable for short mowing. Universal application in many turf seed mixtures, for example sports and play turf. The cultivar ′New Orleans′ is included in many of our Plantura premium lawn seed mixtures.

Lolium perenne ′Shorty′:

Light to mid-green variety with moderate to fast growth rate. Forms a sufficiently dense sward and is sufficiently competitive against weeds. Maintains attractive colour through the winter. Hard-wearing, therefore well suited for utility turfs and play and sports turf.

Why is Lolium perenne a must in any good lawn?

Perennial ryegrass has many excellent properties that make it invaluable in all lawn seed mixtures in the home garden sector:

• Resilient and takes well to cutting
• Highly regenerative
• High-quality, fine-leaved and dense appearance
• Rapid germination ensures weeds are suppressed quickly in mixtures such as Plantura Lawn Overseeding Mix or Plantura Lawn Repair Mix
• Competitive growth with strong runners can be observed, for instance, in our Plantura Hard-Wearing Lawn Seed or our Plantura Shady Lawn Seed
• Comparatively high drought tolerance, apparent, for instance, in our Plantura Drought-Resistant Lawn Seed

All high-quality seed mixtures for home lawnsshould includeperennial ryegrassseeds. The excellent properties this ryegrass possesses by nature are evident when grown in all standard lawn locations. By using further developed varieties with slightly different properties, it is possible to optimally adapt each lawn to the requirements of the respective sites. In this way, the grasses are always able to showcase their best, healthiest and greenest side.

Expert tip: Some manufacturers offer seed mixes for home lawns that contain exclusively Lolium perenne seeds. Although perennial ryegrass has many good qualities, it is not suitable as a soloist! Every lawn is made up of grasses with different characteristics, and perennial ryegrass only does well in combination with other, more tread-resistant, winter-hardy and drought-tolerant grasses. So, as a rule of thumb – steer clear of cheap mixtures that only contain Lolium perenne! Lawn reseeding which serves to replace the lost perennial ryegrass is, of course, an exception.

Are you looking to buy lawn seed? Whether you want to create a new lawn or restore an existing one, there is something for everyone in our range of lawn seed mixes.