Grass Test Plots
Roadside landscapes in Northern Colorado face harsh conditions year-round, including hot asphalt and concrete, road salts, and snow piles. Installing plant material that can tolerate these conditions improves the appearance of the landscaping and helps reduce maintenance costs. We conducted a trial comparing the performance of several landscape grasses installed at the intersection of two major roads to determine which species may be best suited for this location.
The trial took place at the Chapungu Sculpture Park, part of the master-planned Centerra community in Loveland, CO. We installed 13 species of commonly used landscape grasses at the intersection of two major roads. Each grass was installed using one or two methods (seed, sod, plugs, divisions), making a total of 20 plots (Table 1). The High Plains Environmental Center (a Loveland non-profit organization that manages the entire park) maintained the plots under typical landscape maintenance practices, usingbappropriate irrigation and mowing schedules for each species.