PR Slower to wake up?

[Bales9er]

Just curious, is PR slowest to wake up after winter? My entire lawn was brown to the point of looking dead after the snow melted but luckily it has slowly been turning green in areas although it is still way behind everyone else in town. I'm sure within the next week or two it will all come back but I just didn't know if this is status quo for PR, especially here in New England.

[northeastlawn]

Actually from my understanding PR wakes up before KBG annd FF, but specific cultivars can wake up at different times.

Whether or not you did a winterizer fertilizer app also makes a difference. The late fall fertilizer gets stored in the roots and is available as soon as the lawn wakes up.

Some of my KBG in the backyard just woke up, while PR in the front of the house is just going from yellow to green. Which is odd as it's usually the exact oppisite.

[andy10917]

Yes, PRG is usually faster/earlier to wake up. And Yes, Fall fertilization and Winterizer (Urea) generally make grass wake-up a little earlier.

[Bales9er]

Ok so i admittedly did not get my winterizer down so it sounds like thats more of the culprit than anything

[Green]

This year in my area, PR lost the least color over the Winter. Surprising, because it doesn't tolerate Winter too well if there's a lack if snow coupled with cold temps. That may or may not be related to green-up.

[Bales9er]

Yeah that's why this kinda threw me for a loop as I've always read that PR holds its color best into/through winter, mine has been the complete opposite. Guess it doesn't really matter as long as it comes back eventually but I was just curious if there were any other definitive factors that would affect it.

[northeastlawn]

Doing the fall fertilizer apps and winterizer app, has always gave e the greenest lawn throughout the winter.

I always have so many gaps, the lawn looks kind of sparse anyway, but it is very dark green :-)

[maynardGkeynes]

My PRG really woke up about 3 weeks ago. Growing like crazy. But it's warmer here in DC. I have some fine fescue in a shade area that has not done well so far. It may not have survived the winter.

[Bales9er]

I know its still very early and I see more and more green popping each day but there are some areas that I am concerned with. At what point should I chalk it up to winter kill if things haven't turned in some areas? Just trying to get out ahead of it to re-seed spots if need be before its too late in the spring.

[northeastlawn]

It would be easy if anyone knew that by looking at it. This isn't a cop out, but some of its will live, some of it will die. If you have KBG it will spread, PR and FF will require reseeding. One exception seems to be FF that does seem to "puff up" and look better when things warm up, but it still won't spread into large holes in the lawn.

The problem with spring seeding is that unlike summer/fall seeding you have no idea when the soil constantly reaches that perfect temperature. My back lawn has started growing, while even the PR in front of my house seems to be be very slow to actually start growing.

I wouldn't sweat a late reseeding start, I did my sister front lawn last weekend and what didn't wash away last Monday will surely wash away this weekend. I can't remember this kind of rain last few springs. It makes me appreciate my choice of KBG more and more.

[schreibdave]

I have PR in Syracuse NY (actually a micro climate that's a little colder). My PR that survived the winter kill is starting to grow and it's a nice green. Problem is that I have a lot of winter kill. I will rake and re-seed and try to find the energy to transition to a KBG mix this summer/fall.

[andy10917]

KBG doesn't germinate well into an established PRG lawn - allelopathy.

[Bales9er]

Andy - I know about the allelopathy and understand the KBG wont germinate well if overseeded into a PR lawn but what about avoiding an entire reno and doing sections of RU instead, almost like mini renovations to introduce KBG into a PR lawn (think checkerboard pattern)? Would the KBG eventually spread it's way through the PR sections and take over? Let's take the "why not nuke the whole thing" equation out, just trying to see if this approach would work in theory.

[andy10917]

That's not my understanding - find and read the Purdue study that said that the KBG couldn't be found after two years where PRG was > 20% of the mix. I tried several times (years ago) to get KBG into a PRG lawn - without success.

[maynardGkeynes]

KBG doesn't germinate well into an established PRG lawn - allelopathy.

If you start a lawn with a blend, does the PRG also take over eventually? I hope not, because a did a 70PRE/30KBG, last fall with the hope that the KBG will eventually predominate.

[schreibdave]

KBG doesn't germinate well into an established PRG lawn - allelopathy.

Right. I would kill off the PR and seed the KBG.

... but what about avoiding an entire reno and doing sections of RU instead, almost like mini renovations to introduce KBG into a PR lawn (think checkerboard pattern)? Would the KBG eventually spread it's way through the PR sections and take over? Let's take the "why not nuke the whole thing" equation out, just trying to see if this approach would work in theory.

Curious about that myself. My PR suffered a good deal of winter kill. So I will be reseeding those bare spots. I considered using kbg to see if it would take and to make the transition to kbg gradual over the course of a few years - plant kbg each spring where the PR didnt survive the winter. But I think I will stay with the PR now and when I am ready to make the conversion I will do it all at once.

[schreibdave]

https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/ ... e-p137.xml

This article has evidence pointing in opposite directions. In some cases PR overtook KBG. In others the KBG overtook the PR. They suggest that the different results may have been due to the use of different cultivars and different climates.