It sort of depends.
Where in the world are you asking about? And when during the year are you asking about?
You see, the climate has much to do with grass growth, and so does the season. So, where and when are additional contexts for the question of the fastest growing grasses.
Let’s dig deeper.
Climate Zones and Grass Types
As you might expect, the fastest growing grasses will be the grasses that are well suited to a particular climate. Let’s break them down, then, as between cold/cooler and warm/warmer climates.
Warm Season Grasses
For warm weather climates, like the southern US, you’ll not find a better suited and fast growing grass than Bermuda.
It’s a good choice for your lawn as it tolerates warm weather and drought. Even in minimal water supply, Bermuda can survive up to 3 months while retaining its bright green color. With a typical germination period of 5-10 days, it grows quickly and well in warmth.
Bermuda grass requires full sun and good drainage. It is heat, drought, traffic, and salt tolerant, making it perfect for lawns and parks. It is also a high maintenance grass, needing to be cared for and fed often to produce well-established planting.
Another grass well suited for warmth is St. Augustine. Like Bermuda, St. Augustine grass grows quickly in very high heat. However, St. Augustine is more difficult to grow from seed and requires established sod pieces to propagate.
Zoysia,another warm season grass, is perennial, lasting well from year to year in the right climate. It’s well-suited to lawns across the southern tier of states, from the hot, humid Southeast to parts of California. Because Zoysia is a spreading grass, it is known to overtake other grasses and weeds in all types of soil conditions.
Lastly, on our list, Centipede grass is known for its excellent heat tolerance and extremely low maintenance requirements. Lawn owners appreciate Centipede grass as requiring far less attention and input than other grasses in its growing region.
Cool Season Grasses
The counterpart to Bermuda grass in the northern parts of the US, in colder climates, is ryegrass. It’s fast growing, easy to maintain, and long-living. It’s among the best choices for lawns and parks in its most favorable climate conditions.
Ryegrass forms a lush, fine-bladed lawn that will hold its color well into the winter months.
High summer, though, is typically a dormant time for ryegrass. Temperatures close to 90 degrees will stop its growth, and over 100 degree temperatures for a prolonged period can kill it.
Kentucky bluegrass is a perennial, cool-season lawn grass. It comes back every year and grows most vigorously during the cool seasons of fall and spring. Kentucky bluegrass has the greatest cold hardiness of all the common cool-season lawn grasses.
Creeping bentgrass is a cool-season specialty grass most often used on golf course putting greens, lawn bowling, bocce ball greens, and lawn tennis courts. The skill and expense needed to maintain bentgrass usually dissuades its use as a home lawn turf.
Finishing off this partial list of cool season grasses is the fescue variety of grasses. Fescue grasses are a cool season grass. Lawn owners often choose it because it stays green year-round, unlike warm season grasses that brown out in winter.
Factors That Contribute to Fast Grass Growth
We’ve already established that certain grasses grow quickly and well in the right climates, and we’ve identified some of the common grass varieties well-suited to both warm and cold temperatures. But, it’s not just the climate that matters.
Grass and lawn care also requires a healthy soil, the right amount of irrigation and watering, the daily amount of sun or shade, and periodic feeding with fertilizers.
Grasses need a good and regular supply of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus to invigorate root growth and establishment during the planting and growing season. Care of grasses for a good lawn or park requires regular cutting, also.
Fall aeration, using an aerating machine, punches holes in the soil into which both fertilizers and water can seep and enrich the soil. It also loosens up the ground to allow for greater root spread and deeper establishment.
All of these measures will contribute to faster and healthier growth of both seed and established grasses, irrespective of the climate.
The Answer To The Question What Is The Fastest Growing Grass in the World
You’re not likely to see this as a lawn grass choice, but the fastest growing grass in the world is bamboo.
Despite its oft appearance as a tree, bamboo is actually a grass. In fact, there are approximately 1000 species of bamboo, with China and India leading the world in bamboo growth.
There are two main categories of bamboo among all those species – clumping and spreading. Clumping bamboo grows in clumps like a bush and does not spread much beyond the diameter of its base of culms; spreading bamboo spreads forever and is extremely invasive. It is a powerful grass, and its shoots can break through roads and driveways.
It is not only the fastest growing grass in the world; it is the fastest growing plant in the world. If you are patient enough to sit and watch, you will be able to see it grow. Certain varieties of bamboo have been measured to grow up to 3 feet per day and reach a height of 90 feet at full growth.
There are both cold weather and warm weather bamboo species that grow well in Sichuan Province, China leading up into Tibet and the tropical areas of China and India. Live bamboo is very flexible and bends in high winds and under heavy snow all the way to the ground, waiting patiently for the opportunity to rise unhurt.
Imagine having to cut a grass that grows 3 feet a day, that if left unchecked, can reach a height of up to 90 feet.
Final List of Grasses and Climates
Warm Season Fastest Growing Grasses:
- Bermuda
- St. Augustine
- Zoysia
- Centipede
Cold Season Fastest Growing Grasses:
- Ryegrass
- Kentucky bluegrass
- Bentgrass
- Fescue
Bamboo is in a class of its own, with genera and species that fit in either climate category and far outpaces the growth of any of the others listed.
You now have enough information to choose the right grass for your lawn that fits your climate and region, north and south. Choose wisely, and you will enjoy the green plushness of a grass well suited for your lawn.