Rye/Bermuda/Fescue

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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weigojmi
Posts: 507
Joined: March 31st, 2011, 7:34 pm
Location: Mooresville, NC
Grass Type: TTTF...with way too much Bermuda!
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Rye/Bermuda/Fescue

Post by weigojmi » November 4th, 2019, 1:24 pm

So I typically lurk in the Cool season forum but gonna give my post a shot here...

I have a roughly 60/40 (Fescue/Bermuda) lawn with no irrigation so I've been struggling getting the fescue to thrive over the years thus I've been letting things take its course so to speak. At this point I mow regularly, but fertilize, and weed prevent a little less so. I almost never water. I'm not shooting for the best lawn in the 'hood and have been able to keep it above average for my troubles.

Typically every fall I would overseed fescue and hand/sprinkler water as I could but never really got much new germination that stuck. This year I threw a bit of caution to the wind and decided to overseed with annual rye. I considered perennial but with our summers I'm pretty confident it wouldn't last much longer than annual so I went with the much cheaper option. I had very little faith I'd have much success since I wouldn't be watering much.

Long story short, about 3 weeks later, my lawn looks better than it ever has. The rye color is a little lighter green than the fescue and a little darker than the existing Bermuda but the overall look is surprisingly nice.

I guess my question is what to expect next spring and the best way to handle the new grass? My understanding is that cultural practices for rye are similar to fescue. Its a shame this type of grass can't handle heat because I would be thrilled to have my lawn look like this most of the year.

I also would appreciate any comment/advice from anyone else over-seeding (mostly) Bermuda with rye. I read a couple posts here panning the concept due to grass competition issues during the spring/summer transition.

Thanks in advance.

Green
Posts: 6837
Joined: September 14th, 2012, 10:53 pm
Location: CT (Zone 6B)
Grass Type: KBG, TTTF, TTPR, and FF (various mixtures)
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Level: Experienced

Re: Rye/Bermuda/Fescue

Post by Green » November 25th, 2019, 11:19 pm

All I can say is, please report back about how this goes over the Winter and Spring. If a method works for you, why not?

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turf_toes
Posts: 6042
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 8:46 pm
Location: Central NJ
Grass Type: 77% Blueberry/23% Midnight Star KBG in front. Bewitched KBG monostand in back.
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Re: Rye/Bermuda/Fescue

Post by turf_toes » November 26th, 2019, 12:14 pm

what you describe is a common practice in warm season lawns. (Overseed Bermuda with annual rye so it has some color in the winter months)

The practice has been criticized by those pursuing show case lawns as not good for the Bermuda grass.

If you aren’t going for a showcase lawn, my only concern would be that annual rye tends to not look that great. It resembles an unwanted weed, at least to my eye.

But if you like it and don’t care about it possibly stunting Bermuda green up in the spring summer, you should go for it.

It’s not like you’re doing something thousands of other folks aren’t already doing (even if it isn’t a best practice). It’s your lawn.

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Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3339
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
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Re: Rye/Bermuda/Fescue

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » February 12th, 2020, 5:12 pm

Even not considering showcase lawns, I've seen a homeowner's bermuda lawn not recover at all from a ryegrass overseed. They sold the house not long after that with very poor curb appeal. The new owner switched to St Augustine and not overseeding. It has looked very nice since then.

It would be nice to see some updates with pictures as this project progresses this season. I have an open and optimistic mind for successful people even if it might seem closed.

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