I live in Maryland and usually wait until mid september to put down seed. It's easier when daytime highs aren't in the 90's. You can do it now, but be prepared to water if it's hot and dry.

I am in the process of killing off weeds and unwanted grass also. I should have everything ready to seed by September 8th weekend. But I do have a question about grass types that are appropriate for my area which is in Northern Virginia (near Fairfax). I would like to avoid putting down Tall Fescue if possible. I was told that Bermuda would be a good choice for Northern Virginia. Does anyone know if this is a good choice? Is there a cultivar (spelling?) that is better than others?

I sent a soil sample off to the lab but haven't received the results yet. I will post the results when they arrive.

Thanks!

Rgillenjr, why do you want to avoid tall fescue? It's probably the best choice for your area. Bermuda will be dormant,i.e. light tan, for about 5 months out of the year, and the seeded varieties aren't as good as the sod only hybrids. Plus you can't seed Bermuda now, where you live you have to wait till late spring, early summer.

@jvallee:

I would suggest you wait for a few more weeks. I would say that between the third or fourth week of September would be a prime time for you to put down grass seed in your area.

I guess you can't fool her after all. She tempted me with cooler temps earlier this month. Thought they might be the start of an early fall.
Guess I'll live with the mud for a few weeks and schedule myself to do then. In the meantime, I can get the yard ready for seeding at least if it cools off at all.
I hate working in 90+ degree weather anyway... just can't do it anymore :-(.

Have you taken soil samples and submitted them to a lab for testing? Prior to seeding would be a good time to incorporate any nutrients that may be lacking in your soil.

rgillenjr,
I have a few neighbors who put down bermuda and I would avoid it. It can take the heat better than fescue and it seems to grow more sideways than up. As was stated earlier, it goes dormant in the winter and if you have any green grass or weeds mixed in (which you will), they stick out like a sore thumb during the winter. It also grows laterally into everything in it's path. It will grow into you garden. It will grow on the street. The driveway. You'll have to constantly trim it back.

rgillenjr,

Zoysia grass is an option for your area. It grows slower than bermuda, and it does go dormant in the winter. However, it is too late this year to plant zoysia; you would have to wait until late next Spring to plant zoysia in your area. In northern Virginia, your only viable option at this time of year for planting is a cool-season grass, such as Tall Fescue.

Sorry for the delayed reply. I went out of town for a few days.

tiemco, I haven't had much luck with Fescue, but I'm sure that is a result of soil and soil management on my part. I also found that I was watering too often. I'm still learning. I also tried a lawn restoration with KBG about 5 years ago. Needless to say, I am starting over again. But this time, I want to try to do it right.

tiemco, nearandwest and kidhorn; After reading your posts concerning Bermuda, and reading several other posts about Bermuda, I will not be using Bermuda. Thank you for the recommendation.

I think I will go with either TTTF or try KBG again. I will look for the best cultivar(s) for my area on NTEP. Or if you can recommend some it would be appreciated.

Thank you all for the replies.

OK, so I have checked out the NTEP website and also a website that tested grass seed in the transition area, which I am in here in Northern Virginia. I was hoping someone could tell me their opinion on the cultivar's that I found. They seemed to do well in my area but I'm not sure of their growing height. They were described as medium width blades and were slow to green up in the spring. I'm not looking for a real low growing blade. They are Bewitched, Midnight and Moonlight. I would like to have a mixture of the three if they work well together. Can you guys let me know what you think of this mix for my area?

I really appreciate your help!

So you're going with KBG. It can be done in your area, but if you want it to stay green all summer, it will need to be watered. The blend you mentioned is not ideal for a few reasons. The first one is that it consists of a compact midnight, and two compact cultivars. The convention is three cultivars from three different subgroups. Most people use a compact midnight, a compact, and a compact America but that isn't set in stone. The other reason; while Moonlight SLT is a great looking cultivar, it is not the best choice for your area. It scored low in the summer patch scores, and necrotic ring spot scores, and is average with regards to dollar spot and red thread. Bewitched is a great cultivar that scores well across the board, it should be your compact cultivar. Midnight is fine, it does well, although there are other compact midnights that do a little better with regards to disease, but it might not be statistically significant. Let me know if you me to look at compact midnights. Your third cultivar could be a compact America, but I really like how Zinfandel, a mid-atlantic, performs in the NTEP's. It will match with the color and texture of the others, and does very well with regards to disease, which can be a problem in the transition zone. Of course these cultivars will be at their best in full sun. If you have shady areas, then the Midnight will struggle, but Bewitched will probably dominate.

One more thing, KBG is not a low maintenance grass. If you think you just seed it, and then mow it once every two weeks, you will be disappointed. It requires watering in times of no rain, 4-6 lbs of nitrogen a year, and mowing 1-2 times a week depending on the time of year.

I would put down tall fescue. If it hasn't done well in the past, the problem probably isn't the type of seed you used, but something else. Maybe grubs or poor soil or inadequate watering or too much competition from trees. KGB does not do well in the Washington DC area. It's too hot and dry during the summer.

rgillenjr, Living in SE Virginia, I chose fescue (Bullseye, FalconV and one more) as a mix from seedsuperstore.com. I also bought some Southern Belle (also fescue mix) at a local Ace hardware store. I planted a pinch of each with a few grains of starter fertilizer in a paper cup in early August to see what they would look like. The Bullseye mix was 4" tall within a week. Southern Belle took a little longer to germinate but both look fine. Bear in mind I was growing them inside in a west facing window. Will be reseeding lawn this weekend if I can get my dethatcher out of the shop.

Thanks for all the replies. After you recommendations, I will go with Fescue. Looking at the NTEP report, it looks like Trio, Bullseye did really well in my area. I did find that Trio was a "dwarf" grass, which I assume meand low growing. However, I looked at seedsuperstore.com per jvallee's suggestion and they recommend a blend of Falcon V, Bullseye, and Monet. I looked they up on NTEP and all seemed to do well too. I think I will purchase this blend but if you have any opinions on this, let me know.

I get full sun in the front yard from 8:30 until about 3:00 PM. My back yard gets full sun as well after about 11:30 or 12:00. There is some shade in the back yard after 4:00 PM. I have a sprinkler system as well so that should help during any droughts.

I will post some pictures as I go.

Thank you all again.