A dry, semi-arid climate with widely varying temperatures plus altitude variations influence the choice of turfgrass in this region. If you choose not to irrigate then choose drought-tolerant native grasses such as Buffalo grass and crested wheatgrass.
There are excellent varieties of Buffalo grass coming to market that look almost like bluegrass and grow very slowly. With regular irrigation on your lawn Kentucky bluegrass will succeed in the northern areas and tall fescue, hybrid Bermuda and zoysia in the southern areas.
