Anyone happy with their rye/fescue/kbg grass?

16 years ago

My lawn is a mix of all three. From reading this board over the past few weeks, it seems like everyone is rushing to go to KBG, or at least some singular type of grass. Even I have gotten caught up in the hype.

My question is.......Is there anyone out there who seeded with the Scotts rye/fescue/kbg mix (or similar product) who is happy with their lawn?

I know there are some benefits in it, namely the quick germination of the rye as well as the fact that it seems to work in all lighting conditions, but are there any "aesthetic" reasons to go with the rye/fescue/kbg mix?

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Comments (5)

woodycrest
16 years ago
the seed i use comes from the local feed store, its called wrights premium sun/shade mix...not sure exactly what % of what, or whether the ntep rating is good or bad. it cost about $2.50lb. it is mixed by the feed store(been in business here over 40 years). It has worked very well every place i have used it.
i did make the mistake a few years ago of using 'all purpose' grass seed from a box store. i will never do that again.
bestlawn
16 years ago
LOL Not that I can think of. I have seen reeeally nice fescue lawns just like really nice kbg ones but can't say I've seen any nice mixed ones. I sure hope someone will show you one or two or ten so I can see.

While I hate mixtures, none of what I said at all means an attractive mix isn't possible. The problem is usually that the varities poorly selected. No thought goes into it, so you get silliness like rye and kbg in shade mixes. huh? Or, they are all different colors from light, dark, and everything in between. Or nothing in between LOL. And then there are the ones that have higher/faster growing varieties in with low/slow growing ones. You end up with

1) a shady mix that is half dead because rye and kbg cannot survive under shade. The only thing green is the shade tolerant variety that was in there, but it's all one lawn and therefore looks crappy.

2) patchy appearance from the vast difference in genetic colors.

3) uneven, spikey growth, and who wants to mow their lawn every 3 or 4 days to maintain turf appeaarance?

How can any of those possibly turn out to be aesthetically pleasing? See what I mean? They're too often just thrown together.

Scott's is the biggest offender. They have poured millions of dollars into seed research only to mass market junk. They have some good varieties of their own, but you won't find any in the blends and mixes. Then they had the nerve to purchase Turf-Seed, and that just really burns my butt. To do what with it???

I've preached all this for years, and it was the reason I got so deep into plant growth and studying kbg. I wanted to not only advise people not do it but also tell them why, as well suggest ways around it. I won't bore you anymore LOL, but I do want to suggest if you want an attractive mix, you'd do better selecting and mixing it yourself than relying on store shelves.
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I'm trying to picture this. If it's almost 6 ft tall, it must not be a lawn. Is that right? Is this an untended area where you won't be providing any water and basically letting the grass fend for itself? I have some KY31 in my lawn and I'm not much of a fan in a lawn setting. As Auteck says, it's a pasture grass. In your case, if this is not a lawn area, but more of an untended area, KY31 may be a good option for you. I don't like it in a lawn because it is coarse and wide bladed and it grows faster than the rest of the grass in the lawn. It has some features in its favor in an untended setting, though. It's extremely drought resistant. It stays green with no water much longer than KBG will. On the down side, although it's very drought resistant, it's not as drought tolerant. If it does go dormant, it's less likely to pull out of dormancy than KBG. If patches of KBG die, the surrounding grass will fill in. That won't happen with KY31. It spreads VERY slowly through tillering (basically new grass plants spring up right next to the original plant) so if you have a small clump in the middle of a bare spot, it will become a larger clump, but it won't fill in the bare spot. As a result, you'll probably need to overseed periodically to keep the grass full. If this is a lawn that you can water when there's no rain, KBG is a much better choice. That's also true if you want something that will fill in bare spots. The only reason I'd go with KY31 is if you won't be watering at all and want something that will stay green with no attention (and you're willing to overseed periodically).
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User
16 years ago
My question is.......Is there anyone out there who seeded with the Scotts rye/fescue/kbg mix (or similar product) who is happy with their lawn?

Not me, of course, which was where I got the odd fescue, rye, and Abbey bluegrass from (I can't tell you if Scott's just keeps the name but changes the grass, however...!)

My parents have the same mix and are reasonably happy with it. However, they saw my starter-plugs last night and both got "the look" on their faces. They're thinking about it.

I hated the differing growth rates that made the lawn look shaggy after 36 hours, the midrange color that wouldn't deepen, the spotty coverage, and the highly variable drought resistance.

I keep saying I'm a hyper-perfectionist on this point and it's very true. I want something that looks good for a few days, requires reasonably consistent water and looks roughly the same in drought, and is a lot darker.

2) patchy appearance from the vast difference in genetic colors.

Ugh. Yes, that too. The KBG is midrange, the fescue lighter, the rye in the middle of the two. It's like salt and pepper with a little cayenne pepper thrown in for "pretty."

Not.
bestlawn
16 years ago
and the highly variable drought resistance

Yep, I forgot all about that part, Morpheus. Very good point. I also forgot to mention the disregard for area adaptation.
quirkyquercus
16 years ago
Actually I'm phasing out my KBG in the back yard. I'm going with something else, maybe fine fescue or bent there. It's mainly the rabbits. They won't go away. I need something that I can maintain very short and grow densely.

Anyone happy with their rye/fescue/kbg grass?

Comments (5)

woodycrest

bestlawn

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