Rye does tend to be a bit more summer-tolerant than most other grasses, which can come into play in some more southern locales.

Rye and fescue don't repair holes, KBG does (if fed properly).

High levels of rye in the mix will tend to dominate the stand and kill other grasses (it's allelopathic).

Overall, I'd lean toward the Sun and Shade mix, mostly for the self-repairing and killing other grasses issue.

Pennington has a Tall Fescue blend too, I just used it. You should probably plant soon?

Thanks all.

morpheuspa - what do you mean by repairing holes? Do you mean spreading to fill in minor bare spots? Rye and fescue don't spread out?

I'm thinking the Sun and Shade is the way to go. I've always thought it made sense that if you have the 3 types of grass, give all 3 a chance to grow and whichever one takes, it takes, depending on their preference/tolerance for where they land on the lawn (sunny vs. less sunny, etc.)

Plus - I could try the Sun/Shade now - see what thrives - and next year or future years, adjust and reseed more with whatever seems to be thriving...

Newtolawncare - are you saying Tall Fescue does well in full sun?

Thanks!

One thing to be aware of is the percentages of seed listed is by weight. I didn't realize this the first time I seeded. For example, if you were using a Turf Type Tall Fescue / KBG mix, to get a 50/50 ratio of seed, the label will list it as 80/20 or 85/15 ratio, which is the weight. Bluegrass seeds are much smaller and weigh less.

Okay - update: I think I misread the labels - below pics.

Sun & Shade is blend of Tall/Fine Fescue and KBG

Northeast Mix is blend of P Rye, KBG, and only fine Fescue.

Now I'm back to wondering which way to go.

Is there a way to calculate the approx seed number based on weight? Which seeds are the largest to smallest, among P Rye, Tall Fescue, Fine Fescue, KBG.

I assume chewing and red fescue are fine, I think.

Perhaps mixing in some Tall fescue into the northeast blend?

(btw - unclestuck - good point on the weight vs. #seed consideration)

I guess my other question is which varieties are suited better for sun vs shade?

in the sun and shade mix, which is for sun, which is for shade? I thought KBG is better for sun (albeit needs more water?)

sorry for all the posts - just keep thinking of new questions. I think I'm leaning now toward the Northeast Mix. But still the question I have is: is this blend still suitable for sun & shade areas? Again I mostly have alot of sun but don't want to discount the fewer, more shady areas (against certain sides of the house, under a few trees, etc.)

Thanks!

I have no preference on the seed, I think you'll be pleased with either. Both will do well in full sun to modest shade, but the Northeast Mix will establish a little more grass in deeper shade areas due to the red fescue.

KBG is less shade tolerant (it'll deal with six hours of sun and look great, at four it starts to get a little rangy). Fine/Tall fescues still look pretty good at four hours, but don't tolerate conditions that are shadier. Red fescue works down to about 2 hours of sun.

However, KBG, fine/tall fescue, and rye will all work right up to an overall yearly average of 12 hours of sun per day (full sun, in other words) with essentially identical water demands. Red fescue can tolerate much higher sun, but water demands go through the roof.

With a lot of considerations. House or fence shade is very different (with much more open sky) than tree shade. Fence shade is technically light shade, tree shade is usually deep shade.

awesome - thank you. I'm leaning not toward the Northeast Mix. Although what am I missing if no Tall Fescue? Seems like T Fescue and P Rye look very similar. I suppose I could also blend some in over time.

Once established, rye will tend to resist having other grasses seeded into it (more rye is usually OK). Rye is strongly allelopathic--it kills other grasses trying to root near an existing tuft. Regrettably, that doesn't work on weeds.

But if it thins out, you can seed in whatever you want.

The look is similar. Rye does fantastically well during winters in Pennsylvania, with the neighbor's rye lawn looking almost as good as my bluegrass. Everything is competitive during spring and fall, and for summer it depends on your watering schedule. With proper watering, all of them look good. With lower levels of watering, either fescue or rye will look better than KBG, but KBG will survive a dry summer with no watering whereas fescue and rye won't.

Personally, I'm a fan of fescue/KBG mixes and not so much of a fan of rye/KBG mixes, but that's purely personal preference. Other people are the exact opposite. I find that the blue note of the KBG tends to fight a bit with the gray-green note of the rye, but I'm a total stickler on colors. I spend days balancing hues for the garden every year.