# Solargreen Texas Bluegrass



## zeroibis (Sep 28, 2020)

Apparently the new Black Beauty with Solargreen contains a Texas Bluegrass. Tried to find more information but it looks like things are pretty limited.

Anyone have an idea what the actual seed composition of this is, I have not seen info anywhere.

I am doing a lot of changes to my backyard and was originally planning to seed this fall with GCI TTTF but then when I saw this I got excited for the chance to get some beautiful bluegrass in zone 7.

Any thoughts on this Texas Bluegrass? I have heard good things about SPF-30 so I would imagine that this is supposed to be even more heat resistant?


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

I was looking at it as well after seeing them on Allyn's podcast. He sells it on YardMastery
https://yardmastery.com/collections/grass-seed/products/black-beauty®-solargreen-grass-seed#

EDIT: Btw, I think this is the bluegrass portion in that mix (Bluegem aka NAI-13-9)
https://www.cascadeinternationalseed.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Blue-Gem-Tech-Sheet_lo.pdf

I just called the grower who referred me to Jonathan Green directly and they said there's no plan to sell the bluegrass seed on its own, only as the current 90/10 mix. They also said this mix will probably not last here in the south, at least not through the August/Sept timeframe, without some serious shade and water. I asked about the roots of the bluegrass and she said they're deeper than "regular" bluegrass(?) but not any deeper than the fescue. While it is heat resistant it's in comparison to the regular bluegrass I don't know that it'll be any more resilient than the likes of SPF30, at least not according to Jonathan Green (she did say they get regular emails from ppl in Texas and Oklahoma, etc, showing off their product ... which I almost took as an invitation :lol: )

Check out the NTEP trials under NAI-13-9 for more details. And here's an quick snippet out of a turf grass sod magazine I found:


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## zeroibis (Sep 28, 2020)

Very interesting, I suppose at the end of the day if it is not a worse performer then TTTF might as well jump in. Good to know it is 90/10 split, I was wondering if the main sell was the bluegrass how much TTTF they were tossing in there. I suppose in a worst case I could always kill it off and go all TTTF or if it turns out that SPF-30 is a superior cultivar I could do that.

I guess the real question is how the humidity effects it. Honestly, we might see less than a hand full of days where it is over 100 here. Now in the 90s yea but really what is killing you down here is the heat index not the actual heat.


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## zeroibis (Sep 28, 2020)

One thing I just thought about, what sort of shade performance should I expect from this?


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## zeroibis (Sep 28, 2020)

Oh it might actually not be blue gem just found this: https://www.cascadeinternationalseed.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SODPRO_SOLAR-TEXAS-BG-Tech-Sheet_1.pdf

Name Solar matches as does the claim of 104F it looks like the code was: NAI-14-128


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

zeroibis said:


> Oh it might actually not be blue gem just found this: https://www.cascadeinternationalseed.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SODPRO_SOLAR-TEXAS-BG-Tech-Sheet_1.pdf
> 
> Name Solar matches as does the claim of 104F it looks like the code was: NAI-14-128


You're spot on! I referenced the wrong one there ... the 14-128 sounded familiar. 👌


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

Well, I just dug this up this old thread and wondered if ya'll, @corneliani and @zeroibis, went forward with this Texas bluegrass, and if so your opinions? I'm thinking of purchasing a 3 lbs. bag of Jonathon Green Solargreen to fix some areas of my BB Ultra lawn that gets stressed in the summer. It looks like it's the same BB TTTF but with a Texas-tolerant KBG (10%) mix.


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## maynardGkeynes (May 23, 2017)

Old Hickory said:


> Well, I just dug this up this old thread and wondered if ya'll, @corneliani and @zeroibis, went forward with this Texas bluegrass, and if so your opinions? I'm thinking of purchasing a 3 lbs. bag of Jonathon Green Solargreen to fix some areas of my BB Ultra lawn that gets stressed in the summer. It looks like it's the same BB TTTF but with a Texas-tolerant KBG (10%) mix.


FWIW, I tried a lawn with HKBG Thermal Blue and HKGB Thermal Blue Blaze a few years back. The TB was too light color, but the TBB was quite dark; Sounds good right? Nope. Even though the color was dark, it was a dull, lifeless green, no sparkle or shine. Basically, ugly. Even a 90/10 mix is going to be 50/50 approx, so 50% will be ugly. I think it's probably a good thing for school yards and commercial lawns, but nothing you would want for a home lawn. Maybe solargreen has solved that problem, but I wouldn't count on it. Not that it would hurt to try a small test plot, as I am extrapolating from a different blend, in all fairness to JG.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

Old Hickory said:


> Well, I just dug this up this old thread and wondered if ya'll, @corneliani and @zeroibis, went forward with this Texas bluegrass, and if so your opinions? I'm thinking of purchasing a 3 lbs. bag of Jonathon Green Solargreen to fix some areas of my BB Ultra lawn that gets stressed in the summer. It looks like it's the same BB TTTF but with a Texas-tolerant KBG (10%) mix.


No go for me. Sorry.


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## zeroibis (Sep 28, 2020)

Old Hickory said:


> Well, I just dug this up this old thread and wondered if ya'll, @corneliani and @zeroibis, went forward with this Texas bluegrass, and if so your opinions? I'm thinking of purchasing a 3 lbs. bag of Jonathon Green Solargreen to fix some areas of my BB Ultra lawn that gets stressed in the summer. It looks like it's the same BB TTTF but with a Texas-tolerant KBG (10%) mix.


I decided the disease pressure in my GA climate was not going to be a good match. Went with TTTF (Super Turf 1) and have had some disease problems in the last month wiping out about 10% of my yard due to it being constantly wet. I imagine if I had gone for KBG the situation would be a lot worse. Unfortunately for me the effected areas are also conveniently where the slope is the steepest so I am looking at Bonfire TTTF sod for the areas to go with my over seed.


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