KBG going to seed

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
pristinegreen75
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KBG going to seed

Post by pristinegreen75 » May 27th, 2020, 12:43 pm

Second year with KBG yard. I knew it seeds every spring but gggeeezzz, never seen so many seed heads in my life!(LOL) Curious, how long does this last? 2 wks, 3 wks. Just for my own knowledge. Have been mowing at 3" but couldn't do that yesterday. Had to mow at 3.5". To high. Mowing every 3 days. going to keep it at 3.5 for summer anyway so that's done.

dan10
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by dan10 » May 27th, 2020, 2:30 pm

Lasted about 2 weeks for me this year. Sharp mower blade and some fertilizer helped in recovery from the stemmy look and loss of density from the turf's s expenditure of energy to produce the seedheads.

pristinegreen75
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by pristinegreen75 » May 27th, 2020, 3:21 pm

Thanks Dan-its been about 2 wks. Think I have started to see some slowing today. Will drop some oceangro this weekend. Still have time before the June heat rolls in.

BIGDADDY13
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by BIGDADDY13 » May 28th, 2020, 3:25 pm

I have seen some slowing, but still relentless. I think the heat this week might slow its roll a bit.

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PSU4ME
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by PSU4ME » May 28th, 2020, 6:17 pm

Seed out is nuts and the wife hates the feel on her feet. Going into my 3rd week now but hoping this weekends cut really knocks it back


northeastlawn
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by northeastlawn » May 28th, 2020, 10:02 pm

I cut to 2 1/2" inches today and didnt make a dent in the seed heads. My lawn was cut short at the end of the year, and seemed like it greened up fast, but all the growth I have seen is through stalky seed heads.

I see a lot of rhizomes popping up in bare spots, but again no real blades of grass that are even cuttable.

I know I have to be patient but its so frustrating to mow the whole lawn and cut nothing because all the lawn is doing is seeding.

It will be interesting in how long it takes before the lawn switches gears and starts getting back to normal growth.

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ronfitch
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by ronfitch » May 29th, 2020, 1:04 am

Here, it was a dryer-than-normal April (just over an inch of precipitation, nearly all of it coming on the 29th) and a dryer-than-normal May (no rain until the 17th ... then nearly three inches over two days and another 1+ inch on the 27th). The seed heads all over the neighborhood have been going crazy since the rain on the 17th.

Could it be that the KGB is stressed here, due to the lack of rain in April and first half of May?

northeastlawn
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by northeastlawn » May 29th, 2020, 6:30 am

I don’t know, but here in Massachusetts it was nearly opposite of that. We had a preatty normal amount of rain, some warm days earlier than normal, but then a stretch of cooler and wet weather. I finally have irrigation this year, and my watering coverage is very even now.

Lastly this is the first spring I haven’t been using tenacity because of POA Annua, so in my case the stress level should be down from previous years.

TimmyG
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by TimmyG » May 29th, 2020, 10:53 pm

I wish I had taken pictures before mowing. I had areas of KBG seed heads that looked like I was growing blue rug juniper in my mutt lawn. That was a new level of seed head density.

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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by fun4me2 » May 30th, 2020, 5:24 am

I also wish I had taken a picture before mowing. The seed heads were so bad that when I mowed on Sunday, it left most of them there.
I mowed on Thursday and dropped my HOC to 3" and that took care of most of them.

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andy10917
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by andy10917 » May 30th, 2020, 11:14 am

Always remember that their are two sides to every coin. My "Emblem" monostand front lawn is minimally seeding (maybe 5%). My "Blueberry" back lawn is heavily seeding.

The grass seed farmers grow seed to make a living. If they can't make a living growing the seed, they move on to a different cultivar and the cultivar creator discontinues the cultivar. This has happened to many cultivars, notably "Brilliant" and "Emblem", which were beautiful but low-producers. So, now I can't overseed the monostand if I wanted to. What does that mean over the long haul? It means that cultivars that are heavy seed producers are the only varieties that stand the test of time - the others disappear from the market, no matter how beautiful the cultivar is...

Pway
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by Pway » May 30th, 2020, 12:29 pm

Not to derail this thread but how much of the KBG seed in a lawn is viable and will germinate next year?

fun4me2
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by fun4me2 » May 30th, 2020, 12:58 pm

Pway wrote:
May 30th, 2020, 12:29 pm
Not to derail this thread but how much of the KBG seed in a lawn is viable and will germinate next year?
Pway
I just happened to watch a video on YouTube last night on that very thing....
the guy said contrary to what people think seed heads do not germinate. :no:
of course...
he never mentioned poa or triv (cough) :D
So, I'm not sure what to believe. :shock:

Pway
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by Pway » May 30th, 2020, 1:07 pm

fun4me2 wrote:
May 30th, 2020, 12:58 pm
Pway wrote:
May 30th, 2020, 12:29 pm
Not to derail this thread but how much of the KBG seed in a lawn is viable and will germinate next year?
Pway
I just happened to watch a video on YouTube last night on that very thing....
the guy said contrary to what people think seed heads do not germinate. :no:
of course...
he never mentioned poa or triv (cough) :D
So, I'm not sure what to believe. :shock:
I hear you. I have read that they don’t germinate but as you say, annua and triv certainly germinate as do other grasses that appear here and there.

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andy10917
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by andy10917 » May 30th, 2020, 1:28 pm

It is technically capable of germinating, but totally impractical. You'd have to let it mature on the plant for 3-4 months, dry it out for a month, and then harvest the actual seeds from the seedheads. Who's gonna do that? :no:

Pway
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by Pway » May 30th, 2020, 1:35 pm

andy10917 wrote:
May 30th, 2020, 1:28 pm
It is technically capable of germinating, but totally impractical. You'd have to let it mature on the plant for 3-4 months, dry it out for a month, and then harvest the actual seeds from the seedheads. Who's gonna do that? :no:
Thanks Andy

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PSU4ME
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by PSU4ME » May 30th, 2020, 4:41 pm

I’m trying to resist cutting lower just to trim the bastards off but I’m at 3.25” now, on my way to 4” so I can’t turn back now

pristinegreen75
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by pristinegreen75 » May 30th, 2020, 9:25 pm

I here you PSU4ME, had to mow mine at 3.5 on the 26th. to high for 3". Went out to cut today and yard looked like a tan rug! Still cut it at 3.5 but went real slow. I swear it grew 1" in 4 days!! That did get rid of most of them. Man, the yard starting to look good...….

KnickLeDime
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by KnickLeDime » June 4th, 2020, 8:50 am

I made a thread about this earlier but same experience...wild how many seed heads this year. I've NEVER seen it this bad. I know it will pass but what environmentally changed that so many folks are having the same experience. My lawn is incredibly patch, two weeks in at this point.

pristinegreen75
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Re: KBG going to seed

Post by pristinegreen75 » June 4th, 2020, 11:47 am

This is only my 2nd year with KBG but I'm thinking because of the mild winter we just had maybe that's why the prolific seeding??

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