The seed dealer suggested varieties that were tested NC or somewhere in the south and proven to do the best in full sun test plots. Usually what is in those shade mixes at retail stores is 'Boreal' or varieties that really don't perform that well anywhere and the Perennial Rye grass isn't going to live through summer unless you are in a part of the country that gets an extremely short period of hot temperatures. LAst year I was using just Florentine CRF in part of my yard and was very happy with it. We virtually skipped right over spring last year and went straight to 90's and drought. It was a lot tougher than I had expected it to be in terms of traffic and it did great in the drought. It fared better than TTTF and KBG that I had and I like the way it looks. So this fall I blended hard fescue into it ('Aurora Gold') and insisted on using the florentine from last year because of how well it did even though there were some newer highly ranked varieties. As for long term success, I can't comment. But so far this grass is my favorite type of grass that I've ever owned and I've owned almost all of the popular lawn grasses. Most people consider this stuff utility grass for a hillside or shady dry site with poor soil but I've found with a higher level of maintenance it will get a lot of compliments. It doesn't spread fast like bent to form a perfectly smooth sod but if you can overlook some clumpiness to it, it is more user-friendly and you can do what you want to it. Mow it low, let it grow tall, it's up to you. You can mix something like KBG or TTTF in there to get it to sort of stick together better but then it won't have that soft fluffy appearance as much. If you don't do anything to it, it will look something like In a blend with KBG and PRG, it looks like . I don't remember the seed costing that much. I think it was $2-something a pound. The shipping from Oregon is high but I don't have a big yard so I didn't need hundreds of lbs of it. And I don't have any left. I wish I did have a little on hand. If you want to check in later in the summer maybe we can split an order or something or you can find out how it did over the summer. And last but not least, I am an experimenter not an expert. I just try different grass and push the limits of what is possible and report my findings to the forum. I will do my best to answer your questions though.

I'm in Holly Springs, NC and re-did my lawn last summer. Luckily the lawn was established before the drought was made official and water restrictions were in effect. My bermuda looks great, although it has some weeds--which I'm about to take care of with some RU. If I were you I'd go with bermuda. The NC legislature is trying to pass a bill that will force differenct manicipalities to share water supply systems when necessary. This means that Cary and Apex will share the Jordan Lake resevoir with Raleigh and Durham when their reservoirs are too low. What does all this mean? It means water restrictions could become more of a state mandated thing than a city or county thing. Fescue needs too much water and who knows when you'll be able to water with your sprinklers again. Just my 2 cents.

So you actually live in southeast NY, Portchester. We are only about thirty miles apart. You can still go with KBG if you want, but the shade issues you have means cultivar selection is very important. 1/3 of an acre is a lot of area to cover, especially when you should be dropping seeds in about 3-4 weeks. It might be easier to do either the front or the back, but not both. If you do so I would recommend doing the back first so you can get your feet wet and learn from your mistakes for next year. Also once you get your soil test back (you sent that out already, right?) you can begin working on getting your soil ready in the front for next fall. I know it's hard to wait a whole year, but grass renovations are marathons, not sprints. Also, a sprinkler system will make it much easier to keep your seeds wet, but it's not necessary. If you decide to get one, time is of the essence. Since the clock is ticking here's what I would do: Soil tests today if you haven't already done them. Round-up the areas you are going to do tomorrow, but once you do that, there's no turning back. Schedule the sprinkler system to be put in a week after the Round-up (if you are going to do that). When everything is brown and dead, mow it as low as you possible can, using the bagger attachment to get all the dead grass up. Then I like to core aerate, north-south, then east-west. Follow this with a good power raking. This will break up the cores, fill in the holes and break up the remaining dead grass. After this (if your arms haven't fallen off) then a final manual raking will smooth is all out and you can remove any dead loose grass. Now it's time to seed. Use a rotary spreader. Apply half the seeds in a north/south direction, the other half east/west. Shoot for the middle to lower seeding rate, don't think more seed is better. More seed equals trouble. Use a water filled roller to press the seeds into the soil. Now you can top dress with a very thin (1/8") layer of peat moss or fine topsoil or compost, but it's not entirely necessary. Apply some starter fertilizer (I use half the recommended rate) and then keep it all moist (not wet) for three weeks. This usually entails 2-4 five or ten minute waterings every day. No one, kids or pets, can use the yard for at least two months, another good reason to do the front and back separately.

"I'm not sure I agree with the idea that the lawn MUST be re-seeded, unless the OP has decided he wants a KBG lawn. The Perennial Rye that was in the original mixture will eventually predominate over the KBG, so he will end up with a mostly PRG lawn. Some people do go that route. Not sure what the recommendation is for upstate NY." The perennial rye cultivars in that mix do not spread. Any bare areas now will be bare in the fall unless some of the KBG made it and starts to spread. I said anything that survives into the fall should do well, but how much grass is left at the end of August is anyone's guess. There is nothing wrong with a PR lawn, they look great, and are easy to overseed if need be. Upstate NY is KBG country, and if it gets too cold PR can die off due to cold kill, but I have read this isn't as much as an issue as once believed. I happen to think monospecies lawns are easier to start and take care of regardless of what type you pick. My whole point is this; 2500 square feet isn't a lot of area to seed again. Most of the work has been done. Instead of having a weed filled patchy lawn, kill everything and do it over. The grass will do much better, the weed pressure will be minimal, and the lawn will be very consistent and thick into the winter.