"It depends"

Turflon ester can be used for bermuda supression but it really is going to be a tough battle since bermuda spreads very aggressively and very quickly. Seemingly overnight.

Whether or not this makes sense also depends in large part on the length of your cool season. I'm 40 miles north of atlanta and KBG not only grows here, it makes sense since the bermuda is only optimal about 3 months of the year if that.

KBG will do best down here in a protected area with afternoon shade. If you have full sun only with compacted soils then you might instead explore using something called Seashore Paspalum. Seashore paspalum is a warm season grass that combines the best qualities of both KBG and bermuda. IT has the dark green color but is very durable and aggressive like bermuda and can be mowed very short. It is believed to be native also to coastal regions. It can be irrigated with salt water which may not interest you if you are inland but what might interest you is using salt as a natural herbicide. It reportedly stripes easily like KBG and has a waxy leaf appearance. Winter dormancy is probably a little later than bermuda and I think it may only be semi-dormance but I'm not entirely sure.

Another thing you're going to be faced with is getting rid of the bermuda which is practically impossible. For all intents and purposes, it is impossible with most homeowner budgets.

Also you might consider using a cool season grass for a cool season overseed. You probably wouldn't want to use KBG as it is super-expensive and takes forever to germinate. Something like perennial rye would work though.

Tell us more about your conditions and where you are located.

Also I would add that I have a section of my lawn that is midnight and midnight II KBG. I would suggest going only with proven varieties like that that have not just good heat tolerance but more importantly good disease resistance. Afterall, it's not heat that's really the problem it's warm humid nights where the grass sits wet all night.

Not sure exactly where you are in SC, but KBG may or may not be possible for you. There is a test site in Raleigh, NC and KBG does just horribly there. It is fine in the cooler months but just burns to a crisp in summer. The test plots are in full sun, so it might fair better with a little afternoon shade.

You could always plant a small patch and see how it goes. I wouldn't go trying to kill off all your bermuda and seed right away though. KBG definitely prefers to grow in a cooler climate than you likely have.

Not actually perennial rye for winter overseeding, but annual rye. It is a consideration though. Honestly, Quirky, I imagine seashore paspalum to be much more aggressive than bermuda, meaning his neighbors had better look out LOL.

scgreendude, correct me if I'm wrong in thinking you want the height of bluegrass and lush carpet it produces, in addition to having a green lawn for longer periods than bermuda allows. Is that reason you're thinking about converting? You do know regular irrigation will be necessary in summer to keep it green, right?

Good idea on the test area, Bill

I don't know that seashore paspalum is more aggressive since there are articles published by uga discussion bermuda supression in it but it can be used for greens and fairways and roughs, it's a multi-purpose grass.

And no, I didn't mean annual rye. That stuff is ugly as you know what. I meant perennial rye as in, not meant to die.

The test area is a good idea but I think you really can't go wrong removing your bermuda in place of something more ecologically friendly. I presume OP is in the upstate of SC. A bag of proven tall fescue varieties is Easy to get, easier to get going and a lot cheaper. Or perhaps you can get teh thermal blue/tttf blends that are available in big boxmart and super boxmart.

There was someone who posted here last year that was in Ridgeway SC that had been using KBG with success and I can guarantee you that is one toasy, muggy area during the warm season.

If you really have your heart set on KBG down there, give strong consideration to a cultivar called Midnight Star. It has been an excellent performer at Turf-Seed's Rolesville, NC test site.

A.J.

Wow, that's a lot of info guys. Thanks!!!

My conditions: New construction home, finished about year 1/2 ago. Heavily compacted soil that is 100% clay, I am working on it with surfactants and aeration. Front of the house has full sun in morning, and shade in afternoon/evening. The back yard is the oposite.

And yes I am looking for the lush carpet that KBG offers, the great dark green color, but not neccesarily the higher mowing hight.

I'll have to check on that Seashore Paspalum

IF the home was finished so recently you may still be able to pry up your bermuda sod that will make life so much easier if you could just hire some laborers to scrape that up and toss it in a dumpster. Then haul in some top soil and plant your KBG or KBG/tttf mix or Thermal/Dura blue.
Pretty simple.

If you are happy with your bermuda, leave it, just overseed it in the Fall with Turf-type Perennial Ryegrass. It makes a very fine bladed turf, dark green, and dense. Carpet-like turf like Kentucky Bluegrass.

billl, I'm west of Raleigh, about 15 minutes from NC State Univ. I have a 100% Kentucky Bluegrass lawn. It grows here with the proper care. My neighbors' Fescue lawns don't look much better than my Bluegrass lawn. In fact, my next door neighbor's bermuda lawn does not look better than my bluegrass if you can believe that. It's the common type, and he does not care for the grass properly.

So it comes down to how much care are you willing to give your lawn.

Where in NC are you located?

Overseeding with perennial rye will make the period of optimal quality of the bermuda even shorter and it will hinder germination of the rye especially if the bermuda is still actively growing. Not to mention it's hard to get soil contact with a dense mat of bermuda. You could try to find that magic spot in between bermuda dormancy and deep freeze but then you risk seeding too late. And of course you could spend lots of money killing off the rye in the summer when the bermuda comes back to life but what is the point of going through this trouble when the bermuda isn't going to be around all that long.