# 2 year old bewitched clippings vs 1 month old



## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

I cut my front lawn and back lawn this morning. There both bewitched KBG. Front is 2 years old back is 1 month old reno. Sometimes there is questions about how much bewitched or KBG in general darkens over time. I thought it would be cool to show the difference in color of the clippings of mature bewitched compared to newly germinated bewitched. I hope it shows in the picture the difference in color because it's significant.

2 years old on the left newly germinated on the right.


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

difference is iron I think, under the exact same soil conditions I think they will be the same


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

john5246 said:


> difference is iron I think, under the exact same soil conditions I think they will be the same


No


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

SNOWBOB11 said:


> I cut my front lawn and back lawn this morning. There both bewitched KBG. Front is 2 years old back is 1 month old reno. Sometimes there is questions about how much bewitched or KBG in general darkens over time. I thought it would be cool to show the difference in color of the clippings of mature bewitched compared to newly germinated bewitched. I hope it shows in the picture the difference in color because it's significant.
> 
> 2 years old on the left newly germinated on the right.


Very interesting. Thanks for posting :thumbup:


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

SNOWBOB11 said:


> john5246 said:
> 
> 
> > difference is iron I think, under the exact same soil conditions I think they will be the same
> ...


What makes it darker then? My guess was the roots get deeper the older it is and it is able to get the iron deeper in the soil.


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## iowa jim (Jan 22, 2018)

I grew bewitched, mazama and midnight in some pots and bewitched was significantly lighter. I planted all three and when they germinated in the lawn i still could tell that bewitched was slightly lighter and that was a fall reno . Come by the next June i could not see any color difference at all and its still the same as of today. What made it catch up i don't know but it defiantly did.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

tgreen said:


> SNOWBOB11 said:
> 
> 
> > I cut my front lawn and back lawn this morning. There both bewitched KBG. Front is 2 years old back is 1 month old reno. Sometimes there is questions about how much bewitched or KBG in general darkens over time. I thought it would be cool to show the difference in color of the clippings of mature bewitched compared to newly germinated bewitched. I hope it shows in the picture the difference in color because it's significant.
> ...


Glad you found it interesting :thumbup:


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

john5246 said:


> SNOWBOB11 said:
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KBG gets darker after the first year. I have high PH soil so the iron isn't really available to my grass roots anyways.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

iowa jim said:


> I grew bewitched, mazama and midnight in some pots and bewitched was significantly lighter. I planted all three and when they germinated in the lawn i still could tell that bewitched was slightly lighter and that was a fall reno . Come by the next June i could not see any color difference at all and its still the same as of today. What made it catch up i don't know but it defiantly did.


Yes, bewitched I have noticed too is very light green early on. It's just another reason you have to be patient with bluegrass before you can really judge how it looks.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Thanks for posting this, @SNOWBOB11. This was a great idea. In my monitor, the difference is very clear.

I'm not really sure, but I have the impression that most of the higher-performing KBG cultivars we use take at least a year to develop their full color. If so, perhaps the great change can be seen in Bewitched?

More generally, I am interested in how the appearance of grass changes over time as a part of the natural development of a plant. I think first-year fescue often looks much better than fescue at 2+ years.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

social port said:


> I'm not really sure, but I have the impression that most of the higher-performing KBG cultivars we use take at least a year to develop their full color. If so, perhaps the great change can be seen in Bewitched.


Yes for sure it seems like you have to be patient before you can really see the true color of the elite cultivar KBG. From what I've seen from not just my lawn but others on the site bewitched does seem to have some of the most significant darker color in year two.



social port said:


> More generally, I am interested in how the appearance of grass changes over time as a part of the natural development of a plant. I think first-year fescue often looks much better than fescue at 2+ years.


Interesting. Out of curiosity what is it about fescue that looks better in the first year? I've never had TTTF before so not as familiar with its characteristics.


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## JDgreen18 (Jun 14, 2018)

I too notice my kbg has darkened over the last year. This is awesome to see it side by side tho.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

SNOWBOB11 said:


> social port said:
> 
> 
> > More generally, I am interested in how the appearance of grass changes over time as a part of the natural development of a plant. I think first-year fescue often looks much better than fescue at 2+ years.
> ...


I agree with SP. Tall Fescue just seems to get less uniform as time goes on. There are varying blade widths, growth habits, shades of color, etc., in some cases that are evident over time. It also seems to not cut as well when it's been there a number of years. I'm on year 6 now, and I'm definitely seeing a bit of unevenness in my TTTF/KBG (which incidentally has Bewitched, which definitely darkened over time). Though, it could have been from reseeding patches as well (though essentially the same cultivars have always been used for all reseeds...it's always been some mix of the same 6).


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

SNOWBOB11 said:


> social port said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not really sure, but I have the impression that most of the higher-performing KBG cultivars we use take at least a year to develop their full color. If so, perhaps the great change can be seen in Bewitched.
> ...


For my TTTF mix, the young fescue had thinner blades and the color was incredibly rich. It seemed like there was a touch of blue to the color. And as I think about that description, I suppose that I am really saying that TTTF looks a bit more like bluegrass when it is younger. 
As I have obsessed about the similarities and differences between KBG and TTTF this year, the width of the blades rings out as the most important difference, at least to me. Those thinner blades of KBG go a long way in the right direction for keeping a tidy look. It's sexy, elegant, and easier to mow.

One exception to this: I added one TTTF cultivar to my mix last year. It was thin-bladed as well (in fact, it seems to be a very thin cultivar even when mature), but its color was slightly on the lime side for several months of very slow growth.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

social port said:


> SNOWBOB11 said:
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Interesting. I like to hear what people like or dislike about a specific cultivar or grass type. I like the look of your fescue in your yard but your bluegrass really looks great too. It seems from your posts that both you and @Green prefer the bluegrass you have. I can't blame you as bluegrass is a great looking turf. And I agree the blade width of KBG is something that makes it stand out. Maybe time for you to reno the fescue areas to all KBG then? :lol:


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

I've noticed my light greenish 1yr old kbg finally start to develop that dark blueish look since the cooler weather and starting my blitz and I love it.
Excited to further the colour with FAS for the first time this week!

Will you be applying feature to your reno sometime soon? Would be interesting to see its effect on baby kbg.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

SNOWBOB11 said:


> I like to hear what people like or dislike about a specific cultivar or grass type


Me too! I like having access to NTEP data, but I also heavily weigh comments about personal experiences.


SNOWBOB11 said:


> Maybe time for you to reno the fescue areas to all KBG then?


 :lol: The truth is that I think about it every day. It is hard to let go of that fescue, though. And I do think that fescue is more hardy in dealing with the heat and lower water levels of summer. 
But my long-term plans include a complete reno. I'm sold on either a KBG mono or a TTTF mono.
If the latter, then my strategy is to use test plots for several cultivars to see which I like best in my soil and under my growing conditions. My assumption is that one can go a long way to correct aesthetic imperfections in TTTF by sticking to a single cultivars that has the desired qualities in its appearance (e.g., thin, ridiculously dark green :mrgreen: etc).


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Grasshopper said:


> Will you be applying feature to your reno sometime soon? Would be interesting to see its effect on baby kbg.


Haven't fully decided yet. I probably will. I'm due for a app on the front lawn in a week or so, so I might just do the back while I'm at it.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

social port said:


> SNOWBOB11 said:
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> > Maybe time for you to reno the fescue areas to all KBG then?
> ...


I say go for the bluegrass. After all, what's a extra $200 a month in water to keep it green right. :rofl:


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

Thanks for sharing @SNOWBOB11! Hoping to have some side by side pics of 2 year old vs. 1 month as well in about a month with some patch repairs I made.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Does this count? The 8ft in the back is last year Bewitched vs this year. All freshly mowed, but the back gets pgr and feature.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Pete1313 said:


> Thanks for sharing @SNOWBOB11! Hoping to have some side by side pics of 2 year old vs. 1 month as well in about a month with some patch repairs I made.


Cool. I seeded a couple very small areas under my tree that get a lot of shade and don't spread very well. The new seeded area looks completely lime green compared to the established grass. So annoying. I have to keep telling myself it will blend eventually.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

g-man said:


> Does this count? The 8ft in the back is last year Bewitched vs this year. All freshly mowed, but the back gets pgr and feature.


I'd say the difference is pretty evident. :lol:


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## KoopHawk (May 28, 2019)

Very cool!! Thanks for sharing!


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

That is really cool to see!


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