# Kbg transition zone



## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

Anyone doing this? What varieties are you using? I'm going to renovate part of my backyard. Probably around 6000 sqft or so. I currently have 50 lbs of hancocks transition zone seed. Its has champion gq prg, midnight kbg, and 3 types of fescue. Cayenne, firewall, and blade runner 2. Should i stick with this or try kbg. I can use the other seed in other areas. I'm still pretty new at all of this, but looking for all opinions.

Don't know if it matters, but i don't think I'm planning on using a topdressing. Can always change my mind though.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

I'm currently growing Barenbrug's Turf Blue HGT in Greensboro NC. I chose this mix because it contains Barvette HGT, which tops the NTEP KBG chart in Raleigh NC and other transition zone areas. It is an aggressive cultivar with very high resistance to summer patch. It's meant for athletic fields and fast recovery from wear and traffic.

For that matter, I believe you can get a good look at it right in your "back yard" :thumbup:


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Budstl said:


> Anyone doing this? What varieties are you using? I'm going to renovate part of my backyard. Probably around 6000 sqft or so. I currently have 50 lbs of hancocks transition zone seed. Its has champion gq prg, midnight kbg, and 3 types of fescue. Cayenne, firewall, and blade runner 2. Should i stick with this or try kbg. I can use the other seed in other areas. I'm still pretty new at all of this, but looking for all opinions.
> 
> Don't know if it matters, but i don't think I'm planning on using a topdressing. Can always change my mind though.


I might be wrong on this but I believe the champion gq prg blend is mostly "Sideways" Perennial rye. I've heard some negative things about that blend's summer performance (and that's from fusebox7 in MI). I'm also growing that by itself here and not really impressed (it definitely won't mix well with KBG). It's important because that will probably make up the majority of your lawn if you seed that mix.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Here is a U of Missouri website on selecting turfgrass (pros and cons) for Missouri:
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/MG10
After reading that you might go to NTEP website and read about cultivars and how they fare in disease resistance, heat stress, drought stress, etc. You might find some cultivars that sound promising and then the challenge is to see if they are available anywhere for sale.


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

Thanks for the info all. I may end up going with what sss recommends for my area which is mustang 4, talladega, and 3rd millennium.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Almost everywhere you go you read that KBG requires more water than fescue. This is typically based on the argument that fescue roots can go about 36 inches deep, while bluegrass roots only go about 12" deep. In a typical lawn setup where mowing occurs regularly, fescue roots will only go about 6", same for bluegrass - and fescue's deep root advantage get erased. So far I am noticing no difference in drought resistance with bluegrass vs fescue last year. Another factor that is worth mentioning - in my area, bluegrass grew and spread through the winter while fescue stopped altogether. I had to mow pretty much once a week in December, January, February, March.

I'm going to give it a couple of years - I'd like to see how it behaves as it matures, and I'd also like to see how it recovers from dormancy after a brutal transition zone summer. If it actually recovers instead of just dying like fescue, it may actually be a superior choice of grass for the transition zone.


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

That's the one thing I'd like to get away from is always overseeding fescue.


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

So I'm thinking of giving kbg a try. It is the backyard, so it don't have to be perfect. It's pretty much full sun all day. Only wear it gets is from a 55lb dog and she doesn't dig or tear it up except for pee spots. Right now I'm thinking award and bewitched. Would like to add in another cultivater. Main concern is diesease resistance. Any thoughts?
Here are some that the University of Missouri recommends.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Midnight does surprisingly well in summer patch tests and overall in the transition zone in NTEP.


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

I like midnight, nuglade, and everest for the transition zone, but i think they are all in the same family as award. Not really sure if it makes a big difference or not.


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Budstl said:


> I like midnight, nuglade, and everest for the transition zone, but i think they are all in the same family as award. Not really sure if it makes a big difference or not.


Yeah those 4 are all "midnights". They're all pretty much the same except for minor differences. Pick the midnight that performs best according to NTEP in your zone and go with it. You wouldn't be able to tell them apart grown next to each other. I find the differences in the "compact" types (and possibly Compact America types) are much more distinguishable .

A helpful KBG classification chart:
http://newsomseed.com/resources/KentBlueClass.pdf


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

Thanks llgrass. Think i might go with midnight, everglade, bewitched, and rhapsody. Would like to add in zinfandel, but it looks like it's only sold in 50lbs.


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