A Kentucky bluegrass plant which exhibits strong rhizome spread and thus predominates over other adjacent bluegrasses. The plant is a medium to light green color and this contributes to more drouth tolerance than dark green bluegrasses characteristically have. The new variety has moderate leafspot and powdery mildew resistance and is ideally suited for roadside use where competition from weeds is intense. The density and wear resistance of the new variety also make it useful for athletic fields, playgrounds, parks, and other surfaces where a high wear factor is involved. The new variety of Kentucky bluegrass was developed from clones originally discovered during 1952 among a collection of 24 bluegrasses taken from fairways of the Chicago Golf Club of Wheaton, Ill., in a cultivated area. The new variety was the result of six generations as reported hereinafter, and the variety has been named "Wabash". The instant plant was asexually reproduced by cuttings through succeeding propagations. Each subsequent generation from seed maintained the characteristics of the original parent plant. The original plant was selected as a discovery which was unique. The subject plant is a single, genetically identical plant, as shown by the fact that applicants carried through additional generations and continued to find that this particular plant was genetically true. A single plant propagation was used, reproduced in series, as a way of maintaining identity. The plant increase began with 1W19N, the sixth generation. The variety is characterized by its rapid spread by rhizomes and its predominance in solid stands after establishment. Its tolerance to disease and its good density have resulted in reduction of crabgrass and weed infestation of Wabash stands when compared to other bluegrass cultivars. The new variety has greater tolerance to drouth, probably due to its lighter green color, as indicated by delayed wilting. It is distinctive in this wilt resistance from all other varieties of which applicant is aware.
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