# Turf Type Tall Fescue Questions



## livelawnandprosper (Jul 6, 2017)

Hi everybody, I had a few questions regarding Turf Type Tall Fescue.

From what I have been reading, TTTF exhibits characteristics which make it shade and drought resistant and some types of it even provide a fairly dark green colour. I have a property that sees mostly direct sun in the back yard from early in the morning, until sun down. The spots along the hedges how ever see mostly shade. My front lawn also sees large amount of sun, except where the shadow of the house is. Because of this, I was thinking about overseeing my current lawn (a hodgepodge of KYB and Perrennial Rye, planted before I moved in)in order to combat the heat stress, and provide a uniform lawn in the shady areas as well. I am located in the Pacific Northwest, on Vancouver Island.

My questions,

1.Are there different types that provide a deeper darker colour than others?
2.What recommendations can be made for (or against) TTTF?
3.How well does TTTF grow in clay soil?

Because I am located in Canada, I am not having much luck finding great variety online at this time for TTTF seed. One product that stands out as its available to me, and fairly regular in terms of price is Scotts 17327 Classic Seed, linked here on Amazon.ca, does anyone have any opinions on this, or other brands/cultivars of seed available to me in Canada?

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00BUP05AE/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I6EQNHE3K9VVX&colid=22G77AVBOH73U&psc=1

Thank you for your time,

-Rob Baxter


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Sounds like TTTF would be a good fit for your needs.

1. I would look at NTEP data, and pick the US testing location that's closest to your area to evaluate cultivars for shade tolerance and color. ntep.org.

2. Arguments for TTTF: Fairly rapid germination, heat tolerant, shade tolerant. Arguments against: Less competitive in mixtures than TTPR or KBG. Many cultivars do not do a good job of going dormant in Summer; when these cultivars go brown, it's too late...they're mostly dead.

I'd recommend overseeding in late Summer (from mid August on). Having overseeded with TTTF a number of times, the biggest mistake I made the first few times was using too little seed. Since it's less competitive, the 4-5 lb/M that is usually recommended was too low in my experience. Using 7 lb/M to overseed a mixed lawn has worked a lot better for me.

Scotts and other major brands vary what cultivars are actually in their blends, depending on what they can get each year.


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## livelawnandprosper (Jul 6, 2017)

Thanks for the quick reply Green. I wanted to ask a rookie question, what do you mean by lb/m? I know lb is pound, but the m, is that meter? I'm used to reading lb per 1000 sq.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

I'm in Ontario Canada and renovated my lawn last year with certified bewitched KBG that I got from http://www.brettyoung.ca/professional-turf-and-reclamation/seed/turf-seed I just looked on there site and they seem to have a couple tttf seed varieties. I don't really know much about tttf as I can't grow it in my location so can't really speak about the varieties they carry. What I can say is I'm happy with the seed I did get from them and would recommend them to others. There one of the only places I've found that you can get certified seed in Canada. Maybe give them a call and see if they have more varieties than what they have on there site.

Also I know you didn't ask me but lb/m is the same as lb/k or lb per 1000 sq ft.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

How cold does it get in the Winter on Vancouver Island on average? I'm guessing it's fairly warm compared to the rest of Canada, and maybe even the Northern US. Similar to Seattle, right? Of course this Winter, you guys had more cold than usual, right?

Pretty sure TTPR, fine fescue, and Bentgrass are commonly used in your area...but there is no reason not to use TTTF if it fits your conditions. It's pretty cold tolerant, but that probably won't be a selling point for your area, or a feature that you need too often.

I'm also pretty sure that 30 years ago, hardly anyone was using Tall Fescue for lawns in the Northern quarter of the US and Canada. I know Tall Fescue was used in Southern New Jersey through most of Georgia, but North of that, like where I am, I don't think it was popular when I was a kid in the 90s. Today, that's changing...I feel like Tall Fescue is being used more and more because it's so versatile.

Another issue it has is that it's susceptible to Brown Patch. I'd try to find cultivars that have high tolerance to that.

When I looked at neighborhood lawns, very few of them have Tall Fescue as the main component...in fact mine is the only one. But many lawns have it mixed in in some areas, because people overseeded with whatever the store had. So you see lawns that are mostly fine fescue, but with Tall Fescue or Ryegrass mixed in where someone patched an area.

It's getting more popular, though.


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## LawnNerd (Sep 2, 2017)

While i'm in the southeast US and i have stronger sunlight, I have sections of the yard behind my south facing house that never receive direct sunlight. The TTTF is still going strong there and it's on year 2 without overseed back there.

However, I get a lot more and stronger sun than you do. For the areas behind your house that never sees direct sunlight, i'd try fine fescue, then if that doesn't grow well, you might need to think about landscaping a bed or something there. FIne and Turf Types are great for shady areas, but they do need some sunlight.


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## livelawnandprosper (Jul 6, 2017)

Thanks for all the great replys! Green, we have had a fairly mild winter, Im not sure if we even had black ice on the roads this year. The coolest I saw my outdoor thermometer go was -2C or 28.5F and that may have only been a day or two. And yes we generally have very mild winters like Seattle, the tip of Vancouver Island (south) where I am is actually below the mainland Canada US boarder, so our weather is quite similar indeed.

Snowbob11 I will be checking that link out, I appreciate that very much,

Lawnnerd thank you very much for your input, its much appreciated. I have used a thermometer to read the temp of my side walk near my lawn in the dead of summer and it reads 40C which is about 104F. Thats not the air temp, but the temp of the actual sidewalk which is baking in the sun all day. We usually get air temps in august of 27-30C which is 80F-86F


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Love the avatar! Do they have Rural King in Vancouver? They have a bunch of tttf products and a monoculture "Hounddog*" that looks to be a great deal. See the near by thread. If not try DLF inc. seed company


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## livelawnandprosper (Jul 6, 2017)

Thanks gene_stl! Little something I made up for my Instagram account. Ill definitely look into those brands/suppliers! Much appreciated.


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## MNguy (Mar 5, 2019)

I thought I would weigh in as well. After reading a good amount of research from the University of Minnesota, I was confident in my decision to plant a TTTF where we built our home in the Minneapolis St. Paul area. I just finished my second season (first full) with it and I love it. The lawn is not irrigated and performance was on par with the irrigated bluegrass lawn next door.

The only drawback with TTTF is that it performs poorly under prolonged ice cover. I was nervous last year with the early winter rain we had, followed by very heavy snow fall (my lawn performed well).

In summary, I'd have no issues with TTTF in Vancouver or any northern climate. Additionally, though I planted Barenbrug RTF, I noticed a very similar blend of Berenbrug RTF in the Home Depot Vigoro store brand RTTTF seed. Since the Vigoro blend is so similar, I over seeded with that for much less money.


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2020)

What height do you want to cut at?

My favorite grass type is a toss up between TTTF and KBG. The University of Missouri recommends 90% TTTF with 10% KBG. I think that is a good recommendation and _should_ help with repairability of the lawn, refilling dead spots, fill in thicker, etc.

All this to say, I recommend 85-90% TTTF with 15% KBG. Check out United Seed or GCI Turf seed. Hogan seed is recommended on here quite a bit too. Or check a local supplier and make sure it is 0% weeds and 0% other crop.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

OP hasn't logged in in almost 2 years, but you never know...


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## MNguy (Mar 5, 2019)

Macdog, I'm at 3.5 to 4 inches in the peak of summer. I mow relatively short in the spring and fall.


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