Seed selection help

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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Wally
Posts: 804
Joined: July 16th, 2009, 1:25 pm
Location: NJ
Grass Type: Northern Mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Seed selection help

Post by Wally » October 12th, 2019, 5:01 pm

I have a section of the lawn that didn't do well in the last drought. It pretty much looks dead. Anyway, I'm thinking of adding some topsoil to even things out, and seeding next spring. It's on a hill with plenty of rocks underneath.

I need a blend that will do really well surviving hot-dry spells as this will be non-irrigated turf. Do I go with TTTF, drought hardy KBG, or something like LICA's Sunny MIx? Some other blend? The LICA Sunny Mix contains:
30% Diva Kentucky Bluegrass
20% Exacta II GLS Perennial Ryegrass
30% Fairmont Chewing Fescue
20% Charismatic II Perennial Ryegrass

User avatar
Wally
Posts: 804
Joined: July 16th, 2009, 1:25 pm
Location: NJ
Grass Type: Northern Mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Seed selection help

Post by Wally » October 12th, 2019, 5:17 pm

I should have added this. Does one want PR in a non-irrigiated turf situation?

Masbustelo
Posts: 488
Joined: September 14th, 2018, 10:56 pm
Location: Western Illinois, parallel to tip o Lake Michigan.
Grass Type: Mazama KBG
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Seed selection help

Post by Masbustelo » October 13th, 2019, 9:02 pm

My predominantly perennial rye lawn looked incredible in the spring, until about July 1st. We basically had high heat and no rain for 7 weeks. By August 1st the rye was so brown and dry, that I think I could have set fire to it. I have no irrigation.

maynardGkeynes
Posts: 679
Joined: September 24th, 2012, 12:41 am
Location: Washington, DC
Grass Type: PRG & KBG (front); TTTF & HKBG (rear)
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Seed selection help

Post by maynardGkeynes » October 24th, 2019, 2:29 pm

Masbustelo wrote:
October 13th, 2019, 9:02 pm
My predominantly perennial rye lawn looked incredible in the spring, until about July 1st. We basically had high heat and no rain for 7 weeks. By August 1st the rye was so brown and dry, that I think I could have set fire to it. I have no irrigation.
Same here in DC. I plant PRG every year now, even though I know what will happen. Really quite beautiful until July 1, then falls off the cliff. I replanted on Oct 15, and I'm now getting germination. I think by early November it will be established. My lawn is only 260 sq feet, so doing this every year is not expensive or burdensome. For a large lawn, I would not use PRG w/o irrigation, especially in a warm area.

Pway
Posts: 771
Joined: May 29th, 2014, 5:42 pm
Location: Piscataway NJ
Grass Type: Northern Mix
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Seed selection help

Post by Pway » October 24th, 2019, 3:55 pm

Just a matter of personal taste but I don’t like fine or chewing fescue. The texture is significantly different from the others in your mix. It does do well in shade , though. A guy from Summit seed talked me into a Northern mix 7 or 8 years ago (I guess I let him talk me into it) but I wouldn’t add it again. Despite the difficulty in overseeing KBG into a mix, I’ve been able to have some reasonable success the last few years without a full renovation. The biggest problem areas are the full shade where the FF still dominates.going to have to nuke it one day.

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