Sherry Andow-Jansen, Cleveland, Minnesota, says she didn't mow her lawn all year, thanks to her NoMow grass. Neil Diboll usually mows his lawn only once. Both grass researchers hate mowing, and have developed alternatives to the traditional bluegrass lawn.

Andow-Jansen's NoMow is a slow growing, creeping blue grass and centipede grass mix that's available as plugs or seed. It usually grows to about 3 1/2 in. high, though with heavy rains and no mowing, it reached 5 1/2 in. this year. Andow-Jansen, a former engineer, got into grass seed production by doing research at a nearby ag college.

"I developed this variety after 15 or 16 years of cross-breeding grasses," says Andow-Jansen. "I finally developed a short-growing deep-green grass. It is a fairly aggressive grass and likes to spread out. Once it has filled out, it's easy to get a manicured look."

She has sold seed from Mexico to Canada and California to the East Coast. Neil Diboll, owner of Prairie Nursery, Westfield, Wisconsin, has been offering his brand of limited growth grass for 8 years. He developed a mix of six fescues, including two creeping fescue varieties. He doesn't recommend them for heavy clays or wet soils. With their deep root systems, they handle drought well, naturally grow slow, and require little or no fertilizer.

"Fescues shouldn't be cut closer than three inches, and if you let them, they grow to five to six inches," explains Diboll. "If you want the golf course look, this isn't the product for you, but it's great for low maintenance areas, trail systems or if you just don't like to mow."

He recommends Prairie's No Mow mix for northern US and southern Canada homeowners. He mows once in June to knock back the seed stalk, which can reach 24 inches, but suggests mowing once a month or so, for a cropped look.

Both slow growing varieties do best in full sun, but can handle some shade. Andow-Jansen's sells 1,000 NoMow grass plugs, enough to cover 500 to1,000 square feet of lawn. She sells a pound of seed to cover 2,500 to 5,000 sq. feet. Diboll suggests 5 lbs. of Prairie's No Mow grass seed per 1,000 square feet. Prices vary with volume sales.