# KBG Overseed Compliment



## matthew_kbg (Sep 4, 2018)

I'm looking for a complimentary grass variety to overseed my KBG lawn. Any suggestions on specific varieties would be welcome. I love my KBG, but it thins out very badly in winter in Southwest Ohio and the yard becomes a muddy mess with the dogs. My neighbors tend to have what seems like fescue lawns and don't have this problem. But, if anyone has a variety that has blended well and holds up with their KBG in my area that would be helpful. Thanks and happy new year!


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## cleohioturf (Jul 20, 2020)

Tttf will be darker and blend in well, very dense if conditions allow. PRG will grow in the empty spots quickly, but sucks in the sun, you will battle dead/thinning spots in the summer, but it will certainly help in fall. A lot of times this is a good overseed going into fall, it will grow quickly, help with your vacant spots being muddy, but be prepared to do this often.

If you are looking to fill bare spots, put a blend of grasses in. If you are concerned about single types of grass or color differences and same growing heights, then you want to limit large varieties. I say that because some people are very particular, others just want a thick lawn but dont care if its numerous types of grass.

I would venture to guess your neighbors just have cool season mixes of fescues, rye, and maybe a little KBG, this blend covers a large array of conditions in most cool season climates.


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## matthew_kbg (Sep 4, 2018)

TTTF is what I figured would be the route to go with. Do you have a recommended mix or a specific few varieties that you like or have seen perform well? With out wet weather, fungus can be an issue in spring, so maybe something more resistant in that regard. I used to want a solely KBG lawn, but now I'm looking for something more practical given our wet off seasons that will just hold up better.


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## cleohioturf (Jul 20, 2020)

I personally do not, I dont like the coarseness of TTTF in home lawn. I know of good results from others with firecracker, and titanium. It can be very dense and dark, its great for golf course roughs and field use.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

The are really only 3 choices:

Tall Fescue

Ryegrass

Fine Fescue

Ryegrass is best if you want to mow low, want something that germinates fast, something moderately drought tolerant, holds up to high use, or something that stripes really well and has a shine to it. It's not a good option if you're trying to avoid certain diseases like Rust and Gray leaf spot, or if you don't irrigate in Summer. It is also more readily killed by cold temps than other species.

Tall Fescue is best if you want something that is the most drought and heat tolerant, holds up to moderate use, and moderate speed of germination is ok. It's not a good option if you need to mow low, need fine texture and the best uniformity possible, and you never use curative fungicides, since it can get zapped by Brown Patch in humid weather. Snow mold susceptibility can be bad in early Spring, too if you get a lot of snow over the Winter.

Fine Fescue is best if you need shade tolerance and a reduced fertilizer input, and a lawn with a high density. It will tolerate low mowing if done right. It's not a good option if you need any level of wear tolerance, good overall color and appearance, or can't tolerate a partially brown-dormant lawn in full sun areas over the Summer. Red thread disease also tends to be a problem during cloudy, wet periods. That said, different types of Fine Fescue have specific strengths and weaknesses. It doesn't look like the other grasses as it's usually an even finer blade than the finest Perennial Ryegrasses or KBG. The fineness of FF is more pronounced than the coarseness of TTTF.


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