Sometimes, grass and plants can look pretty, hanging out and relaxing in a yard meant for lounging.
Other times, heads up — they get trampled, trounced and tackled in a high-traffic area that takes a beating.
What’s the best grass for heavy foot traffic? How can you help your grass and plants stand up to some trampling?
Luckily, the most popular grass varieties in Idaho—Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass—are sturdy contenders. Proper care with fertilizer, weed control and smart tactics can help your landscaping survive.
Keep reading to learn more about the best plants for high-traffic areas and the toughest grass species.
Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass are Idaho favorites for great lawns.
Kentucky bluegrass is among the toughest grass species. It can withstand wear and tear like soccer-playing kids and recover from damage.
Perennial ryegrass is deep-rooted, has good density, and holds up well to foot traffic.
What grass seed is good for heavy traffic? Mix and apply those two grass seeds for optimal all-season appeal.
At Lawn Buddies, our go-to grass blends 80 percent Kentucky bluegrass and 20 percent perennial ryegrass.
Unlike a single-variety grass seed, blends give you the benefits of more than one variety or species.
And when it comes to the best grass for heavy foot traffic, these beauties will still serve you well.
“We don’t make any changes in high-traffic areas as far as grass seed blends,” says Dillon Beardall, fertilizer operations manager at Lawn Buddies. These Idaho favorites are sturdy.
But he does have a few tips for encouraging strong, healthy grass in high-traffic areas:
“The best thing to do is make sure it stays watered well,” Beardall says.
But don’t assume that means your grass needs watering every day. It doesn’t. Water too often, and it encourages shallow, needy roots. Water less often but deeply, and roots will grow deeper and healthier.
Strong roots mean sturdy grass that can stand up better to heavy traffic.
Even the toughest grass species need to eat.
Fertilizer strengthens your lawn by feeding it important nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that help it grow strong, healthy roots.
Strong roots help grass stand up to heavy foot traffic.
“Aerate often,” Beardall says. “If it's super high traffic, a spring and fall aeration would be a great option. Overseeding is a good plan, as well, just to keep promoting more grass and thickness. If the grass is thick, then it will be able to withstand more traffic.”
Great news — aeration and overseeding go perfectly together.
Aeration, combined with overseeding, gives your lawn a much-needed one-two punch. Aeration uses a machine to pull out tiny cores of soil from your lawn, allowing water and oxygen to get to the roots. It loosens your compacted soil, letting in crucial air and water.
Then, all those perfectly spaced holes the aerator leaves behind are perfect homes for a fresh batch of grass seed to help fill in bare spots and make your lawn thicker and healthier.
Beardall knows what you’re thinking: How will seed take hold in a high-traffic area? You’ll need to rope it off.
“Overseeding in high-traffic areas can be tricky because the area needs to be avoided until the grass starts growing,” he says. (You’ve always wanted one of those cool KEEP OFF THE GRASS signs, right?)
Even the best grass for foot traffic needs help battling weeds. Weeds steal all the good stuff your lawn needs to thrive, from sun to water to nutrients.
Prevent weeds, and your grass can become stronger, healthier, and better able to withstand trampling.
Your best bet is a comprehensive Boise or Idaho Falls lawn care program.
Not only does it target weeds at just the right times with pro-level products, but a high-quality program also includes products that improve soil and plant health, reducing the number of weeds trying to damage your high-traffic turf.
“Don't scalp the lawn,” Beardall says. “That decreases the durability of the turf, wearing it down and compacting it quicker.”
Cutting your grass too short stresses it out. Never cut off more than a third of the grass blade at any time.
That way, the grass will develop a deeper, stronger root system.
“I think it's a good idea to approach plant health from a healthy soil aspect as well,” Beardall says. “When you promote healthier soil, that allows the soil to work to keep the plants healthy and make them more self-sustaining.”
Lawn Buddies crews can add soil conditioners that contain helpful humic acid and sea kelp to boost soil nutrition in areas of your lawn or planting beds that take an extra beating.
“Our regular programs do a great job,” he says. “But if somebody is struggling with their lawn or plants and they need an extra boost, this can be a great approach to help out. It’s a great way to promote healthier soil in general.”
“If the high traffic is from a dog that just runs circles and circles in the exact same spot, that's a different story,” Beardall says.
“They will likely just take it down to mud, and at that point, I think you look into alternatives to grass. It would be constant frustration.”
The same Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass blend that holds up well to foot traffic also feels great on your bare feet.
Kentucky Bluegrass is known for its fine texture, which feels soft and luxurious underfoot. Perennial ryegrass also offers a soft texture that your bare toes will love.
Kim Rubert, a landscape designer at Outback Landscape, a sister company to Lawn Buddies, says some plants are better suited to high traffic than others.
“We do have a few things we use regularly that hold up well to some abuse and stomping,” Rubert says.
A few of her favorites include Karl Foerster grass, daylilies, blue oat grass, coneflower, Shasta daisy, Black-eyed Susan, creeping thyme, and creeping periwinkle.
Your precious plants are dealing with a lot, even when nobody’s walking on them.
Bugs munch on them. Weeds crowd them. And their roots are super hungry.
Beardall says even the best plants for high-traffic areas need a good plant health care program to stay strong.
What do your high-traffic plants need to hang tough out there?
Weeds rob nutrients from the soil that plants need to thrive. They also grab the sunlight and water that healthy plants need. That means they struggle with stress, like foot traffic.
Some weeds even secrete chemicals into the soil that interfere with the growth of surrounding plants. Rude, right?
Pre-emergent weed control is crucial in battling weeds trying to take over vulnerable plants in high-traffic areas.
Unlike other weed control products that kill weeds that have already sprouted, pre-emergent herbicides work ahead of time, preventing seeds of unwanted plants from sprouting in the first place. They target the weed seeds before they have a chance to germinate.
But timing is everything. Applying the pre-emergent herbicides early enough is important because they won't be effective if you wait too long. Here in Idaho, we typically start applying pre-emergent around April 1.
But pre-emergent herbicides often aren’t enough to battle weeds. Some will still sneak through. Once weeds have broken ground, use post-emergent herbicides to control them.
Better yet, let the pros do it for you, and hire plant health care services in Idaho Falls and Boise, ID.
Pros can access weed control products you can’t use without a license. They can also custom mix products or mix them in higher concentrations than the pre-mixed products homeowners can buy at the store.
Fertilizer is food, so don’t starve those hard-working plants struggling to withstand foot traffic.
Fertilizer offers nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to promote faster and stronger plant growth.
Bugs are tiny. How do they eat so much?
Insects damage and weaken your plants in so many ways, you have to hand it to them — it’s pretty impressive.
They chew, suck and bore into plant tissue, transmit diseases, lay eggs, and the developing larvae feed on plants, causing damage.
Chewing insects like caterpillars and beetles cause direct tissue damage, while sucking insects like aphids and scales weaken plants by removing sap.
It’s a real bug battleground out there for your poor plants — then, people walk all over them!
A plant health care company will show up at precisely the right times of year with fertilizer, weed control and insect control to protect your hard-working plants. Then, they can focus all their energy on looking great and standing firm when they get walked on.
When your lawn and garden get a lot of foot traffic, they need extra help. Don’t let them down.
Expert plant health care services are available for our Idaho Falls and Boise customers who use our full-service lawn care program. The program starts at $50 per visit, based on a 5,000-square-foot lawn.
It could cost you less than repeatedly replacing weak grass and plants that take a beating from heavy foot traffic. The first step is to sign up for our 6-step complete lawn care program.
You’ll be glad you did.
Choose lawn care and plant health care services in Boise and Idaho Falls that make it easy, bundling your yard’s most-needed treatments into one convenient, no-fuss plan.
Fertilizing, weed control, and grub control. Done. Expert plant health care that keeps your plants fertilized and safe from weeds and bugs.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Call us at (208) 656-9131 or fill out the form on this page. Then kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.