# Who's got Summer dormancy?



## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Who else has any level of heat stress or actual dormancy going on? And what are your dormancy management strategies for this year?

My main lawn has some dormant blades despite regular irrigation, because it's been so dry here, and also the heat stress.

Part of the low-input area, which I don't irrigate unless I really have to, is about half dormant already. I've only watered it once so far, whereas the front has been watered a bunch of times (probably 10 or so) this year.

My grandfather's lawn, which receives essentially zero irrigation, is more than half brown in the front, and losing color in the back.

How about your heat stress or dormant areas by choice or necessity? How do they look? How are they doing?


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

I don't know what is in dormancy and what is dead, but my fescue is really struggling right now. Only two more months of 85+ days. Ready for fall. Ready for fertilizer. Ready for green.

But more seriously, I think the bulk of my brown areas is dormant grass. I've been watering some, and a recent round of rain has helped, I believe. I've used baby shampoo to help with water penetration. I've also used kelp and humic acid. I'm watching for the right moment to put down a healthy dose of K as well.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

social port said:


> I don't know what is in dormancy and what is dead, but my fescue is really struggling right now. Only two more months of 85+ days. Ready for fall. Ready for fertilizer. Ready for green.
> 
> But more seriously, I think the bulk of my brown areas is dormant grass. I've been watering some, and a recent round of rain has helped, I believe. I've used baby shampoo to help with water penetration. I've also used kelp and humic acid. I'm watching for the right moment to put down a healthy dose of K as well.


I read your post on that right before you posted here! If it gets some water regularly, a lot of it should stay alive.

A lot of the dormant grass I'm managing in the two yards is FF. I've heard various things about the dormancy of fescue, but I'm not certain how FF and TTTF compare in that way, even though I have both. I do know last year, my neighbor's lawn (FF) was brown for 1-2 months while they were away. It received little water. It came back well in October, and nearly prefectly this Spring.


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

I only have 1 small section going dormant and it's because it's mostly Prosperity. I have a driveway strip that receives no irrigation. The Bewitched in the same strip is unfazed.. It's amazing how drought tolerant BW is.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

LIgrass said:


> I only have 1 small section going dormant and it's because it's mostly Prosperity. I have a driveway strip that receives no irrigation. The Bewitched in the same strip is unfazed.. It's amazing how drought tolerant BW is.


Wow, really? What has your rainfall been like?


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Green said:


> LIgrass said:
> 
> 
> > I only have 1 small section going dormant and it's because it's mostly Prosperity. I have a driveway strip that receives no irrigation. The Bewitched in the same strip is unfazed.. It's amazing how drought tolerant BW is.
> ...


I don't really keep precise track but the frequency of rain has been spaced out perfect this spring. I feel like we had a good rainfall at least once a week up until last week.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

LIgrass said:


> I don't really keep precise track but the frequency of rain has been spaced out perfect this spring. I feel like we had a good rainfall at least once a week up until last week.


Ok, because we finally had measureable rain a few days ago. Before that, we went almost 3 weeks with nothing really measureable. Even before that, we had a deficit of 2-3 inches starting before June. June has been really dry this year, and a lot of the rain passed just a little to our South, so it makes sense that you got it.


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

I have some dormant spots in my lawn. I've hit them with water a few times these past three weeks, but I am fine letting them go dormant. My focus has been on keeping my new grass happy in my backyard low input area and so far so good. Woke up this morning to a crazy thunderstorm and downpours which is nice for a change. I assume you're getting all this glorious rain this morning too, Green? We must have already gotten an inch and a half or more.

Edit: I looked on Wundermap and the closest station is reporting 2 inches of rain today in Plymouth, CT. :banana:


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

I let my Midnight driveway strip go dormant (or dead, who knows). Looking very splotchy right now. We'll see how much of it comes back in the fall.


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## ForsheeMS (May 21, 2018)

With nearly a half acre lawn I don't have a lot of choice but to let it go dormant, die, or whatever else happens during the hot, dry weather. Can't afford to irrigate as it would be far too expensive. So far this year my lawn has done really well through the first hot spell we had. Temps in the 90's and no rain for two weeks. Most of it is still green and growing very slowly. I had a couple sections that were killed off last fall and reseeded due to a bermuda infestation and those are taking a beating. Finally got rain this week and those spots are greening back up.

Basically my summer plan is to stop mowing just before the drought hits. The last cut about 2 weeks ago was at 4.25" and currently it's between 5" to 6" and looking a little shaggy but it helps it survive. Now that we have had some rain I'll probably cut it to 4.5" or a little taller today and won't mow again until we get another good rain. I really don't like to let it go shaggy but continued mowing when dry does it no good.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

My Dad has a lawn that is almost entirely clover and it actually looks really good from the road. All green. Sometimes I wonder...........


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## dacoyne (May 27, 2018)

My lawn has not shown any signs of dormancy just yet, it's actually looking pretty good. We have a stretch of 90+ temps starting tomorrow. I have sprayed down humic acid twice in the last 30 days. I'm mowing at around 3" anything higher than that and the grass lays over and gets fungus.

Is there anything else I can put down to help ward off dormancy and heat stress?


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

jessehurlburt said:


> I assume you're getting all this glorious rain this morning too, Green? We must have already gotten an inch and a half or more.
> 
> Edit: I looked on Wundermap and the closest station is reporting 2 inches of rain today in Plymouth, CT. :banana:


Yup. 1.37 in my gauge. Dried out enough a little bit ago to mow, and now another downpour. Finally, rain. I was wondering what that was a week ago. Well, the grass won't die in the heat, at least.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Nope, just disease. We've had an awesome spring/summer so far here in Oregon...no rain but constantly 65-80F for weeks on end with no change in the next week at least.


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## rockinmylawn (Mar 25, 2018)

I have some 'spots' that look like disease - but upon inspection just went yellow & died.
No mounds to signal any animal infestation.
Irrigation is not missing any areas.
We've been getting some 90+° days here & but it rains 1/2"to 2 inches @ least weekly.
Really odd since the rest of the grass is still green & lush.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

Green said:


> Who else has any level of heat stress or actual dormancy going on? And what are your dormancy management strategies for this year?
> 
> My main lawn has some dormant blades despite regular irrigation, because it's been so dry here, and also the heat stress.
> 
> ...


Yes, it's started here also. No significant rain for about 3 weeks and it suddenly got hot. Even well irrigated turf has some spots of heat stress. No way to really manage heat other than stay off it and don't cut it. For drought stress, of course up the irrigation and check for coverage problems.

On my own lawn, it was looking great up until yesterday and then by this afternoon, I could see some small areas starting to needle. I believe it's a soil issue in those spots that will have to wait for Fall to deal with. For now, I broke down and yup, bought a bottle of baby shampoo and gave 'er the gundy plus another half inch of water on that zone. I doubt the shampoo will help anything long term, but I have July 4 company coming and they expect to see some awesome turf. It was an admittedly desperate move but it can't hurt so what the hell. Also smells nice  .


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

@rockinmylawn have you checked for grubs?


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## rockinmylawn (Mar 25, 2018)

social port said:


> @rockinmylawn have you checked for grubs?


Appears to be no roots but no white grubs either....


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

rockinmylawn said:


> social port said:
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> 
> > @rockinmylawn have you checked for grubs?
> ...


If it was grubs, the grubs are already gone and flying around as beetles. No roots in a dry / hot spell = dead turf. I think social port is probably right.


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## rockinmylawn (Mar 25, 2018)

Delmarva Keith said:


> rockinmylawn said:
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> > social port said:
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Yeah he's usually right. LOL!

Anything to do now to prevent this from reoccurring?


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

rockinmylawn said:


> Delmarva Keith said:
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> 
> > rockinmylawn said:
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I don't know much about grubs, but I know who does.
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2032
There is also a briefer post here (See alpine0000)
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3984
I'm not sure if there is something you can do immediately or not.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

You can try trapping beetles. Also Spring grub preventative next year. Chlorantraniliprole. Read those links!


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

rockinmylawn said:


> Delmarva Keith said:
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> > rockinmylawn said:
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You're still in time for a preventative app. Products containing the brand name Merit (imidacloprid) are effective. There are others. I use either what I have on hand or what has the best price break. Follow all label directions carefully, especially watering it in. Needs to be watered in to be effective.


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## rockinmylawn (Mar 25, 2018)

social port said:


> I don't know much about grubs, but I know who does.
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2032
> There is also a briefer post here (See alpine0000)
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3984
> I'm not sure if there is something you can do immediately or not.


@social port - thanks! Never had to deal with Grubs either.


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## Rucraz2 (Apr 8, 2018)

pennstater2005 said:


> My Dad has a lawn that is almost entirely clover and it actually looks really good from the road. All green. Sometimes I wonder...........


Clover releases Nitrogen into the soil. Mix white clover into your yard and you would never have to fertilize again. When the roots die, nitrogen from bacteria is released into the soil for other plants to use. Perennial clovers release nitrogen when they are mowed, because a portion of the root system dies off when the plants are cut.


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## kolbasz (Jun 7, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> My Dad has a lawn that is almost entirely clover and it actually looks really good from the road. All green. Sometimes I wonder...........


I have a neighbor like this. See the lawn across the street and I'm like damn, how do they do that with no fertilizer or water.

Then you get up on it and remember it is all chickweed, clover and Crabgrass. It's a special blend


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

@Rucraz2 @kolbasz

This is basically what his lawn looks like. It out competes other weeds and so it doesn't look terrible because it looks fairly uniform.


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## rockinmylawn (Mar 25, 2018)

Delmarva Keith said:


> rockinmylawn said:
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> 
> > Delmarva Keith said:
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@Delmarva Keith - thanks I still have hope then! 
Any preference for application with granule or concentrate mix ?


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> @Rucraz2 @kolbasz
> 
> This is basically what his lawn looks like. It out competes other weeds and so it doesn't look terrible because it looks fairly uniform.


Can't zoom in. That looks like giant clover!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Green said:


> pennstater2005 said:
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> > @Rucraz2 @kolbasz
> ...


He didn't plant anything it's just what took over. Nothing fancy like Dutch or micro clover. Just weeds!


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

rockinmylawn said:


> Delmarva Keith said:
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> 
> > rockinmylawn said:
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Liquid concentrates are much less expensive than granular. If you are comfortable spraying, it will cost a lot less. For effectiveness, I doubt there's a big difference. Turf can tolerate some grubs, just not a lot of grubs. Liquid would be, in theory, more effective. In practice, I don't see how it would make any real difference.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Delmarva Keith said:


> Liquid concentrates are much less expensive than granular. If you are comfortable spraying, it will cost a lot less. For effectiveness, I doubt there's a big difference. Turf can tolerate some grubs, just not a lot of grubs. Liquid would be, in theory, more effective. In practice, I don't see how it would make any real difference.


I want to add to this that when I think about liquids, I think about the plant getting coated, so any beneficial (or detrimental) insects that are on the grass and get sprayed may be collateral damage.

Also, it's worth noting that for Imidacloprid, it's very important to make sure there are no flowering plants in the area it's applied to. If there are, they need to be removed (e.g. clover flowers in grass should be mowed off) before application. And it should be watered in as soon as possible.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

Green said:


> Delmarva Keith said:
> 
> 
> > Liquid concentrates are much less expensive than granular. If you are comfortable spraying, it will cost a lot less. For effectiveness, I doubt there's a big difference. Turf can tolerate some grubs, just not a lot of grubs. Liquid would be, in theory, more effective. In practice, I don't see how it would make any real difference.
> ...


Good point. Don't kill honey bees or any other "good" bugs. :nod:


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

Green said:


> ... for Imidacloprid, it's very important to make sure there are no flowering plants in the area it's applied to. If there are, they need to be removed (e.g. clover flowers in grass should be mowed off) before application.


Imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide -- it enters the plant and remains in the plant for a significant period of time (this is how it protects the grass from the grubs!)

What this means is that if you are trying to avoid pollinators (e.g. bees) from being affected by imidacloprid, you need to keep flowers out of the lawn for as long as the imidacloprid is effective (probably around 6 months). So, you need to not just mow the clover flowers off the lawn before applying the imidacloprid, but _*continue *_mowing the lawn short enough so that no clover flowers are present in the lawn for about 6 months after the imidacloprid application. I don't think low-mowing is really a viable approach for 6 months, as the clover will adapt to the low mowing and produce low flowers.

Practical alternatives are to eliminate clover from the lawn entirely (such as with triclopyr or quinclorac) or switch to a different insecticide (such as chlorantraniliprole, used in Grub-Ex1.)


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

good to see you again, @ken-n-nancy


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

ken-n-nancy said:


> Green said:
> 
> 
> > ... for Imidacloprid, it's very important to make sure there are no flowering plants in the area it's applied to. If there are, they need to be removed (e.g. clover flowers in grass should be mowed off) before application.
> ...


Excellent addition to the previous posts, and worth repeating.


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## rockinmylawn (Mar 25, 2018)

Thanks all for the Imidacloprid tips.
Final question:
can Imidacloprid be mixed with other weed killer like weed b gon.
I want to multitask & take advantage of the the 80° weather.


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## luderiffic (May 1, 2017)

I think I've got a combo of fungus and dormancy/death. We had a very wet Spring and a very hot and dry summer. I've been nailing it with liquid fungicide but it doesn't look good. I've been watering but it doesn't seem to be helping. This is my 3rd summer with the TTTF and its never looked this bad.


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

luderiffic said:


> . . . This is my 3rd summer with the TTTF and its never looked this bad.


Blue marker dye, to the rescue! Seriously, I went through the same thing last summer (not as bad this summer, Thanks to PGR!) and SWMBO and I couldn't help noticing how great the yard looked (- from the water out back or from the frontage road) after I sprayed each fungicide app. (This year I'm combining my PGR and fungicide app.s together)

Even an occasional neighbor was like, "Dayummmm" (until I fessed up :roll: )

Then I remembered: "mixed together, the primary colors yellow and blue make ... GREEN!"

If there's not much that can be down until cooler Fall temps arrive, I hope it helps! :thumbup:

2.0 oz to each 4-gal backpack sprayer tank-ful works like a charm! https://www.solutionsstores.com/super-marking-dye-blue


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## goodtimes1104 (May 18, 2018)

I thought I was doing really good and then BAM the heat wave hit us hard and now I'm starting to struggle. I just got my order of the n-ext bio-stimulant package and wondering if it's ok to apply any of these products while the turf goes dormant.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

goodtimes1104 said:


> I thought I was doing really good and then BAM the heat wave hit us hard and now I'm starting to struggle. I just got my order of the n-ext bio-stimulant package and wondering if it's ok to apply any of these products while the turf goes dormant.


I've heard the humic acid is fine, but Kelp might be a stress to the lawn during a stress period, because of the growth stimulants in it. So it depends which product.


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## goodtimes1104 (May 18, 2018)

I was definitely thinking about the Humic 12 product but was curious about the 0-0-2 MicroGreene fertilizer product. It has:
2% Potash
.5% Magnesium
3% Sulfur
.05% Copper
3% Iron
.25% Manganese
.15% Zinc


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

goodtimes1104 said:


> I was definitely thinking about the Humic 12 product but was curious about the 0-0-2 MicroGreene fertilizer product. It has:
> 2% Potash
> .5% Magnesium
> 3% Sulfur
> ...


Did you get the guide on using these products? I deleted mine in my email, but if i remember correctly it stated not to use the microgreene on dormant grass.


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## goodtimes1104 (May 18, 2018)

Budstl said:


> goodtimes1104 said:
> 
> 
> > I was definitely thinking about the Humic 12 product but was curious about the 0-0-2 MicroGreene fertilizer product. It has:
> ...


Forgot about that. Just took a look at it and it does say to not apply if dormant.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

A couple of days ago:


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

That looks very dormant, like it will not wake up.


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## LawnNerd (Sep 2, 2017)

g-man said:


> That looks very dormant, like it will not wake up.


I agree. That's sleeping for sure.... Sleeping 6 feet under...


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

LawnNerd said:


> g-man said:
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> 
> > That looks very dormant, like it will not wake up.
> ...


I think it's mostly still alive. The grass doesn't pull out, and it hasn't gone without water for more than 2 weeks at a time. Last year, my neighbor's lawn looked like that when they went away for a few weeks. It mostly came back before the end of the year, and fully came back the next Spring.

Anyway, this is what plugs, seed, and aggressive fertilizer in the Fall are for. Some humic acid treatments probably wouldn't hurt, either. I'll update the progress of bringing it back this Fall in my lawn thread.


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## SJ Lawn (May 7, 2018)

Green said:


> A couple of days ago:


Hi Green,

Is there a lot of KBG in this area ? KBG can survive longer during drought periods.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Looks like I'm getting some dormancy here in West St. Louis County.


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## probasestealer (Apr 19, 2018)

Green said:


> A couple of days ago:


@Green I would like to see the progression of this area. Any interest in not overseeding this area and just pushing it with fall N to experiment/document?


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

probasestealer said:



> Green said:
> 
> 
> > A couple of days ago:
> ...


I did that another year, and it didn't totally fill back in. Close, but not 100%. So I'll definitely be going with grass plugs (and possibly some overseeding). There's a good amount of fine fescue, which is slow to recover and slow to fill back in, so it needs help. There's also a good amount of KBG, but I really need some Tall Fescue in that spot to help keep something green and keep the soil temps down in the Summer. I have 3 lbs of Scotts coated TTTF seed with Faith as one of the cultivars (so actually 1.5 lbs seed). It's not going to go very far, but I have KBG and FF seed I can also use.

There might be another area that's not as bad that I can just push with N a bit after it greens up, but of course the fine fescue can only be pushed with N so much (not very much...maybe an extra half pound).


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

SJ Lawn said:


> Hi Green,
> 
> Is there a lot of KBG in this area ? KBG can survive longer during drought periods.


Maybe half of it is KBG. But between Winter and Summer damage, these areas get hammered bad. Almost a losing battle.

I was surprised that my neighbor's mostly FF lawn came back as well as it did last year.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Another neighbor's front lawn is mostly brown (mostly FF and some KBG, as well as weeds). He said it looks like most of the Creeping Charlie and Violets he had went brown. He's hoping they're dead, since he doesn't want to use chemicals. It will be interesting to see what happens.


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## probasestealer (Apr 19, 2018)

Green said:


> Another neighbor's front lawn is mostly brown (mostly FF and some KBG, as well as weeds). He said it looks like most of the Creeping Charlie and Violets he had went brown. He's hoping they're dead, since he doesn't want to use chemicals. It will be interesting to see what happens.


The violets will certainly be back. They are aholes...


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