If you’re a gardening enthusiast, you are probably familiar with the annual Ryegrass. For the uninitiated, this is a cool and flowery bunchgrass that gardeners often plant to limit and prevent potential erosion. And that’s not just the only benefit of this beautiful grass.
To top this off, it helps keep your soil healthy, weed out the grasses that get pesky and make your otherwise bare patio beautiful with a bed of grass.
But what is the lifespan of annual ryegrass and when do they die? Sadly, this variant of ryegrass is known to die annually. Luckily, it germinates just as fast within a week or 10 days. Following that, you can witness a spurt in its overall growth over the next 2 months.
The most average variant of this grass will last until a maximum of 8 weeks during the colder months. If the temperature is adverse, it will slowly become dormant and subsequently, die. But even after it dries, you can reseed these grasses and witness a new spurt of growth once again.
In this article, we will discuss Annual Ryegrass in detail and shed more light on the plant and similar variants of plants.
Annual Ryegrass vs. Perennial Ryegrass – What’s The Difference?
Because you know now about Annual Ryegrass, you are probably wondering whether it is a variant of the Perennial Ryegrass. In this section, we will clarify all your doubts and explain what annual and perennial ryegrass is and how they are different from each other.
Identifying the Grasses
To understand the difference between annual and perennial ryegrass, you first need to identify the grasses.
Perennial Ryegrass
As evident from the name itself, you will find this grass growing in perennial regions and it returns annually in hardy zones. Although these grasses thrive well in most regions, their ideal growing conditions include fully moist soil that also drains enough water. Additionally, you also need to make sure the soil gets enough sun.
Most ryegrass leaves will have a folding in a bud-like pattern and their color will vary from medium to a bright greenish hue. The texture of these leaves is excellent and depending on the situation, the flower spikes assume an impressive height ranging from two to 12 inches. They also come with up to 10 florets.
Almost all types of perennial ryegrass can withstand some form of moderate traffic. However, if your lawn witnesses heavy traffic, this grass may not be the best option.
These grasses are also known to thrive frost. However, they aren’t as heat tolerant. The temperature spikes up to 90 degrees F or more, it might end up affecting the grass eventually causing it to die.
Annual Ryegrass
Popularly called the Italian ryegrass, you can grow Annual Ryegrass annually and biannually. The grass can thrive in almost every type of soil, though it prefers well-drained variants. It is also known to withstand moist and wet soil.
Unlike perennial ryegrass, annual ryegrass requires full and direct sunlight. In some cases, however, it has thrived even under partial or indirect sunlight. This grass can also withstand cold and foot traffic. However, it has a proclivity to fall sick. That is why it is best to check on your grass from time to time.
In optimal conditions, the Annual Ryegrass assumes a height of six feet. It also comes with a bunch of flower spikes that are around three to six inches. All the leaves are perfectly bunched as green and beautifully finished buds. Their texture tends to be coarse, and their points and ridges are sharp.
You will also find this grass growing in a bunch without any intention to spread across. However, depending on the climate or the geographical location, the grass may be classified as invasive.
Choosing the best grass for your lawn
Both these types of grass exhibit a growth habit where the plants grow in bunches. You might also want to use it for overseeding your summer grass. This will leave you with a beautiful green yard throughout the year.
Whether you want to grow an annual or perennial ryegrass entire depends on your geographical location, the prevailing climate, and your specific preferences.
Both annual ryegrass and perennial ryegrass have several shared features, and the texture and color are both excellent. Unlike perennial ryegrass, the annual variant has a coarse texture and a light shade.
While both the grasses are hardy neither of them can withstand extreme drought or high temperatures. You might want to use perennial ryegrass because it gets back annually. But if the summers in your location are hot, the plant may not thrive.
The germination period of both types of grasses ranges from five days to a week or more. This is significantly quicker than other variants of grass. With that said, it is worth noting that annual ryegrass is more inexpensive when compared to the former. However, if you are getting annual ryegrass, reseeding will be part of your routine.
Does Annual Ryegrass Come Back Every Year?
No, annual ryegrass won’t come back annually. If you have planted the seeds during fall, the grass is likely to die in the summer or late summer months. To avoid this, you need to continue spreading a bunch of seeds every year in summer.
While this may seem inconvenient at the outset, the results are spectacular. You will soon be left with a beautiful grass bed with thriving and growing grass that’s also excellent for your lawn.
Is Annual Ryegrass Good For Lawns?
If you want your lawns to assume a quick hue of green with minimal effort, you might want to try using annual ryegrass for its incredible qualities.
Ryegrass is excellent for lawns regardless of whether you need temporary or permanent support. As you already know, in case of permanent support, you would need to re-seed the grass annually.
The biggest highlight of this grass is that you can plant it in any corner of the globe and add a bunch of seed and grass mixes to it. The grass is perfectly adaptable to all types of soils and varying climatic situations. It also germinates quickly and exhibits a spectacular growth rate.
The grass also comes with a set of key benefits:
Controlling erosion: This is one of the biggest benefits of planting annual ryegrass. The root system is extensive, and it can therefore retain soil for a longer time. This is also the reason the plant will thrive well even when the soil is rocky or wet.
Once you finally set the grass, it will withstand flooding and a variety of similar conditions. So, if you have any exposed zone or any waterway in the vicinity, you might want to use this grass.
Suppressing weed: When you mix this grass with legumes, it will effectively help control the growth of pesky weeds.
High nutrient content: This grass is extremely high on nitrogen which is one of the crucial foods for plants. With high amounts of nitrogen, your plant will thrive and receive all the nutrients it needs.
Does Ryegrass Die in the Summer?
If you have planted annual ryegrass in the winter or fall months, you can expect it to die during early or late summer. Do not be worried because this is the natural lifespan of the plant.
At this point, you want to clean the area off the dead grass, moisten the soil, and add new seeds of annual ryegrass. This will leave you with a beautiful, lush green lawn in no time!
Perennial ryegrass doesn’t die like annual ryegrass. It thrives for a longer time and doesn’t require frequent re-seeding.
Does Ryegrass Spread on its Own?
If we are discussing perennial ryegrass, you needn’t worry about their invasion because they are not naturally invasive. This is because the plant doesn’t come with any rhizome or stolon. If you are looking to add perennial ryegrass to your garden, just moisten the entire area and add seed or some form of sod.
How Long Does Annual Ryegrass Last?
The typical life cycle of annual ryegrass is 12 to 15 months. It may even die sooner if it doesn’t receive optimal growing conditions. After the grass dies, you may need to re-seed the area for a new bed of grass over the following few weeks.
Do Deer Eat Ryegrass?
Deer eats anything in the vicinity when they are hungry. So, if you have a bed of beautiful ryegrass, they may be devoured by deer in case they do not find any other options. However, unlike some specific plants that deer love to devour, ryegrass is not at the top of their favorite list.
Either way, it still makes sense to safeguard your property from deer by adding fences and incorporating other precautionary measures.
Now that you are familiar with the reseeding process of ryegrass, you can enjoy a beautiful lawn every year. Just follow our suggested procedure and make sure to protect your grass during extreme and adverse temperatures. Once you follow this simple trick, you’re good to go and you will have a perfect lawn with a beautiful bed of ryegrass.
