There are three varieties in a ryegrass blend by Lebanon Turf called Trifecta, all of which it seems perform well in your area. There have been problems of ryegrass with a disease called gray leaf spot, which can wipe it out. The disease seems to be spreading across the country (not to be alarming, only food for thought), but these three varieties were bred for resistance and exhibit dark green color.

Secretariat II
Charismatic II
Exacta II which ranked #1 for gray leaf spot resistance

I have no idea where to purchase this blend or the individual varieties, but you might try the retailers on this list or contact Lebanon Turf.

Keep in mind, your current lawn and more recently-developed varieties (such as these suggested and others) will exhibit different growth habits, meaning different rates of growth. Newer ones grow slower and can be mowed lower than the height you currently maintain your lawn. Combining newer varieties with older ones can affect turf quality, in that your current lawn will begin to spike and grow faster following each mowing than the newer ones.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can help with varieties more like your own because, honestly, I don't know anything about ryegrass. I have read about GLS disease and about these varieties being resistant to it and wanted to share that information. That is the extent of my knowledge though.

Thanks. I've read a lot of your postings regarding KBG. Is it fair to say that, if I don't want to start from scratch, you would not recommend overseeding with KBG because it represents such a small percentage of the existing grass? Instead, should I try and overseed with a type of grass that is more prevalent in my lawn, i.e. rye or tall fescue?

Thanks!

Yes, I didn't recommend kbg for the reasons you stated in your first post, only more concerning the rye than tall fescue. Which brings me to pointing out there is no tall fescue in the mix you stated, rye, kbg, and fine fescue. Both creeping red and chewings are fine fescues. And yes again, rye because the rye is prevalent but also because fine fescue is not really a sunny species. Don't hold me to anything. As I stated I don't know anything about ryegrass, but I'm not accustomed to it being a very heat/drought tolerant one. At the worst, I expect you will have to overseed each year to rejuvenate the lawn.

Thanks!

I found bestlawn's info helpful as I am also going to overseed this fall with a rye blend. However, when you look for this blend, be sure to look for "Trifecta II" (not Trifecta, which apparently consists of Affirmed, Charismatic, and Exacta).

Here is a link that might be useful: Trifecta II

I've been reading about the turf-type tall fescues (ie http://www.turfmerchants.com/fescue.html). They seem to be offer a nice dark green color and great wear resistance. Any thoughts about a mix of perennial rye and turf-type tall fescue?

Turf-type perennial ryegrass for overseeding is the way to go. If you were starting from zero I will be suggesting KBG, but since you are not, then I highly suggest PR.

The turf it produces is very similar to KBG, very fine bladed dark green, and dense. It will germinate and stablish VERY quickly, and because of its agressive nature, it will suppress other grasses around it.

Last year I overseeded my TTTF/Bluegrass lawn with a 3-way blend of turf-type perennial ryegrass from Turf-seed with GREAT results.

PR is hardy, but doesn't have the heat tolerance of KBG. So set your expectations accordingly.

Regards,

Auteck

Brian, thanx for correcting me.
I didn't realize there were two different ones.

Thanks for all of the feedback. After reviewing the NTEP results for a test run in Amherst, MA, I think I am going to buy:

PHD TURF TYPE PERENNIAL RYEGRASS BLEND is a custom blend containing 3 top rated perennial ryegrass varieties such as AllStar-3, TopHat 2, Keystone, Essence, Gator 3 and Derby Supreme. It is recognized as the leading 3-way PrG blend in the turfgrass industry and has often been used to seed the Superbowl. Varietal components represent the best turf type perennial ryegrass varieties on the market today.

http://www.dlfis.com/

I bought 75 pounds from protimelawnseed.com for $145 (no tax and apparently no shipping charge).

I like their Fleur de Lawn and often suggest to people who want a no-mow, no-maintenance for large areas and such. It's mostly pretty weeds or what would be considered weeds in most lawns. I don't think I would suggest their lawn seeds because they appear to be non-certified, and how can you know it yields the dark color you wanted?

Dumb question - I bought it from them because they were the only one that I found that sold the PHD perennial rye blend. I was under the impression (hopefully not mistakenly) that they are a reseller for DLF International Seeds. All of the seeds in the blend were top performers of the NTEP test in Amherst, MA (http://www.ntep.org/data/pr04/pr04_07-2/pr04ma106t.txt) and all seemed to have high ratings for genetic color.

Any thoughts and feedback would be very appreciated.

Chaparral Perennial Ryegrass is one of the darkest out there. Barenbrug produces another rye that is as dark or even darker than the darkest bluegrass.

I think is pinacle.

I'll be purchasing a 50lb bag blend of Barenbrug's finest perennial ryegrasses next week. The NC Fairgrounds uses that particular blend and it looks absolutely dark green and fine bleded.

Good luck.

How often does one need to overseed perennial ryegrass? I'm sure there will be summer losses and apparently, it does not stand up to frigid winters either. Do you need to overseed every year to maintain turf quality? I guess one of the beauties of this grass is that it germinates and establishes itself so quickly.

Exactly! By the beginning of August, most the rye has vanished. You'll have to over seed again. So it's fully green for 10 to 11 months out of the year. As far as winter temps, no problem here in Central NC. The record low tempetature is set at -9F set back in the 50's I think, so it shouldn't be a problem.

It's is by far THE fastest grass out there. It germinates in 3 days under ideal conditions, your first mowing will be in 2 weeks after seeding, full coverage in 3 to 4 weeks (depends on rain fall and fertilization)

So basically, you'll go from zero to hero in 4 weeks!!