Q • I want to apply grass seed to fill in the dead areas of my lawn, but there are so many types of grass seed out there. What is best for the St. Louis area?

A: Unfortunately, every species of turfgrass has advantages and disadvantages, so choosing the species based on the environmental conditions present in your yard and the management strategies you practice is best.

Turfgrass species are categorized as either cool-season or warm-season depending on the temperatures optimal for their growth. Both cool and warm-season grasses can grow in the St. Louis area, but cool-season grasses struggle in the heat of the summer, and warm-season grasses have a rather short growing season and remain brown for several months of the year.

Tall fescue is the most heat- and drought-tolerant cool-seaso

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