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I don't know how to read that list. What is the consensus? Where would I get the best KBG to grow here? Lowes/Home Depot?
I am thinking of tilling up my fescue lawn, adding 3-6" of compost to till in, and replanting but I was unsure of what to grow.
I like the KBG attributes in that it repairs itself. Does it require more watering than fescue?
The higher the number then better the turf quality.
the consensus still out there for Fescue because it's what people here have been using for ages... But Bluegrass is slowly getting into people's lawns. And when I say slowly getting into people's lawns, that means as a monostand and not as a mix. Fescue and Bluegrass is what most lawns are comprised of in the Raleigh area, fewer 100% Bluegrass lawns, however.
The compost is great idea! The best screened soil I have ever seen is from American Soil and Mulch in Cary. They charge $18 per cubic yard, plust $45 for delivery. It's well worth it. I want to say it is better than the top soil you get in a bag at HomeDepot or Lowe's.
You can't buy "Elite" Kentucky Bluegrasses at Lowe's or HomeDepot, they sell the common types which are ok for light to medium shade areas, but those don't have the heat, drought, appearance, and performance of the Elite Kentucky Bluegrasses of today. You can mail order them for different places, www.turf-seed.com is one of them, or you can simply drive to Southern Seeds in Middlesex, NC and pick up a bag or The Best of the Blues; which has Midnight Star, Prosperity, and Moonlight.
As far as water requirements, I'll let you be the judge (look at the picture below) Fescue is at the bottom, Bluegrass is second, then Bluegrass/ryegrass, then Fescue again at the very top of the picture.
The bluegrass looks good. My lawn is mostly shady, but neglected from the previous owner, and I'm deciding what to pant this fall. I think I'll try the Kentucky bluegrass.
Kentucky Bluegrass does NOT tolerate shade very well. Partial shade is more like it. So if you area is mostly shade, then Fine Fescue is your grass. A blend of Hard, Chewing, and Creeping Red Fescues is best.
You can find this blend at Southern Seeds: 1-800-682-1102. They're located about 35 miles east of Raleigh, in Middlesex, NC.
You can mail order them for different places, www.turf-seed.com is one of them, or you can simply drive to Southern Seeds in Middlesex, NC and pick up a bag or The Best of the Blues; which has Midnight Star, Prosperity, and Moonlight.
I emailed the contact on turf-seed.com, where did you buy the Galaxy blend? I want the one you have not the Best of the Blues, or is it the same thing?
Kentucky Bluegrass does NOT tolerate shade very well. Partial shade is more like it. So if you area is mostly shade, then Fine Fescue is your grass. A blend of Hard, Chewing, and Creeping Red Fescues is best.
You can find this blend at Southern Seeds: 1-800-682-1102. They're located about 35 miles east of Raleigh, in Middlesex, NC.
I should have said partly shady - every part of the lawn gets hours of sun a day, and a few parts sun all day, so I'm still looking at cool grasses. I may have some issues under trees, but I could put in bigger mulch beds.
NuGlade is really blue in color, more blue than green. Performed very well on the NTEP ratings for NC1.
Talk to John, he's VERY knowledgeable and can recommend a good blend for you with the NuGlade. Always a blend, the more types of bluegrasses the better. It's good practice to overseed in the Fall with the latest and best performing bluegrass of that year. My blend is about 5 years old, so there's better out there. However, it's a good blend for the Triangle area, too.
Partly shade is good enough for bluegrass.
One thing that is very critical, do not use big box stores crabgrass pre-emergent. Either use Dimension, or Ronstar. Ronstar is the best and the recommended one. The problem with the cheap big box store pre-emergents is that the prune the roots of the grass. Most crabgrass pre-emergents are root inhibitors, that's how the stop crabgrass seedlings from maturing. Ronstar does not prune roots, it kills crabs shoots/seedlings by its leaves and dies.
Thanks so much for you inquiry on seed blends for your area.
I would recommend to you two choices. Both of the blends below have tall fescue and bluegrasses in the blend and would be a nice addition to your yard.
ShadyNook - a mixture of tall fescues developed in your area, heat tolerant bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and fineleaf fescues.
Gold Standard Plus – a mixture of tall fescues developed in your area and heat tolerant bluegrass.
Either of these mixes would blend well with the yard you have and give you the addition of bluegrass you desire.
These can be purchased through Logan Trading Company or Burke Brothers in the Raleigh area.
Thanks again and I hope this is helpful.
Thoughts on their selection? I think they thought I was trying to blend in with my current grass and I didn't explain that I was planning on starting anew with just dirt.
I guess it depends on if you want to go with the blend they suggest or just fescue. You could clarify in a new email that you're putting down a new yard and see if they have other blue mixes they suggest.
That's what I did, we'll see what they say when they get back to me.
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