# Fall overseed - Cultivar selection advice



## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

*final o.p update* : ended up buying barenbrug rtf turf saver. The blend i got wasn't what i was promised but at the end of the day its just grass and life goes on. Ill post the progression in my journal around mid august. Thx everyone for you precious help ! 
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Based on the context below, what cultivar seed would you recommend (even if its not in my list) ? Thank you advance for your time and support !

*Context*
I'm situated in Montreal (think north east USA for a climate proxy) and the more I do research, the more I am leaning into TTTF for overseeding my front yard (full sun) this fall. I've looked at these (2002-05 | 2007-2011 | 2013-17 ) NTEP reports focusing on the "north east" table.

Seed selection up here isn't super gg, but see below the TTTF options I've been able to find :

*Siesta*. I wasnt able to find any NTEP results

*Inferno*. Based on the 2002-05 report it seems close to Falcon IV

*Titan Ultra*. Found some NTEP results in 2007-2011 but the score looks pretty bad.

*Turf saver RTF*. My local source couldnt provide any info on the specific blend but according to the web-flyer it seems like 40% experimental patent protect RTF combined with BarRobusto & Bonfire. The barrobusto rating from 2002-05 look pretty bad and i couldn't find bonfire NTEP rating. Edited : the Barenbrug rep replied back and my local source has the Thor seed instead of the bonfire

*Falcon IV* seems like an awsome choice but my local source is out of stock for this season so if I want it i'll have to get it shipped from seedworlusa (100$ shipping for a 50# bag that cost 118$ :bd: )


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Rumor has is Siesta is very similar to Summer TTTF, which was a crowd favorite but was taken off the market because it didn't yield enough seed for growers.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=23790


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## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

@gm560 thank you for the ref. Looking at @M32075 post i would say if siesta produces anything similar it does look like an interesting selection.


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## thin_concrete (Sep 11, 2020)

I'm in a similar clime and am doing my front yard in Titan XL and back yard in Rhizing Moon. I picked those cultivars because my front lawn gets much more sun than my back and the back also sees more high traffic and less maintenance than the front. I'm aiming for a late August overseed and am hopeful. I have irrigation in both areas, but need to be mindful of local watering restrictions.


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## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

@thin_concrete out of curiosity, any reason why you picked titan xl over falcon blend or cgi blend for the front lawn ?


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## thin_concrete (Sep 11, 2020)

Pascal-lawn said:


> @thin_concrete out of curiosity, any reason why you picked titan xl over falcon blend or cgi blend for the front lawn ?


I liked the drought resistance profile that I could find online as that half of the yard is baked in the heat for much of the summer. I also just liked the way it looked in the pictures I saw more than others, sadly.

I started looking at cultivars over the winter in preparation for this overseed. I looked at so many reviews and read so many opinions that I was edging the line of analysis-paralysis, so I just pulled the trigger.

As much as I would love to put in a putting green, it's just not feasible given the contours and demands of my back yard (dogs, kids, etc.), so I didn't have to worry about that aspect. Is there a chance the TXL and RM don't take off like I hope? Sure. Would I still be looking up seeds and not doing the legwork needed to give my soil the best possible environment? Definitely. I was also concerned about scarcity/availability of desired cultivars as the summer marched on.


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## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

thin_concrete said:


> I looked at so many reviews and read so many opinions that I was edging the line of *analysis-paralysis*, so I just pulled the trigger.


Sounds very familiar lol. Thanks for your input bud and hope your project goes as you hope !


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## Kissfromnick (Mar 25, 2019)

Titan ttf will have blades look like crabgrass turf saver also is not fine leaves. Also i just spoke with siteone manager and his sure it will be shortage on seeds this season. They trying to get seeds now from overseas.


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## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

@Kissfromnick if you had the choice between siesta and turf saver what would you pick ?


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## Kissfromnick (Mar 25, 2019)

Pascal-lawn said:


> @Kissfromnick if you had the choice between siesta and turf saver what would you pick ?


Barenbrug rtf from sod farms way deferent than they sell at amazon or big box stores. If you can get true rtf definitely rtf. You can also get rtf mix with hgt i have that mix on my lawn and lobe it. The only problem those seeds way expensive when you looking for blue tag seeds.


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## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

@Kissfromnick After speaking directly to a Barenbrug rep they informed me our local wholeseller carries the follow blend : 30% thor (one of the cultivar included in CGI TTTF blend), 30% Barrobusto (high drought tolerant variant) and 40% patent protected RTF (newer blend has bonefire instead of thor).



Kissfromnick said:


> Barenbrug rtf from sod farms way deferent than they sell at amazon or big box stores. If you can get true rtf definitely rtf.


I assume this is the " true" rtf vs a big box store / amazon.



Kissfromnick said:


> You can also get rtf mix with hgt i have that mix on my lawn and lobe it.


Are HGT TTTF seeds or is it KBG (google tells me its probably KBG) ? Never heard of those.


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## Kissfromnick (Mar 25, 2019)

Hgt -kbg. It hold very well under low maintenance plus i have areas with no irrigation and hgt jut hold great. If you store carry seeds in yellow bags go for it you wouldn't be sorry. Also see it with yellow jacket that another great stuff from Barenbrug.


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## Kissfromnick (Mar 25, 2019)

gm560 said:


> Rumor has is Siesta is very similar to Summer TTTF, which was a crowd favorite but was taken off the market because it didn't yield enough seed for growers.
> 
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=23790


Hows your triv war going on ? Any luck?


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Kissfromnick said:


> gm560 said:
> 
> 
> > Rumor has is Siesta is very similar to Summer TTTF, which was a crowd favorite but was taken off the market because it didn't yield enough seed for growers.
> ...


I'll have an update soon, but basically I went nuclear. I have kept from posting about it since I'm doing things unconventionally and didnt want people to confuse it with any sort of good idea or best practice.


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## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

I finally decided to go with the Barenbrug RTF turf saver blend w/ yellow jacket coating (40% RTF / 30% Barrobusto / 30%Thor). thanks to everyone for your help and guidance.

Hopefully this will look nice and dense. I'll keep my journal updated for the overseed in august.

*Edit June 22nd 2021* : Turns out what the Barenbrug Rep told me wasnt accurate and i got shipped a different blend of seed. Pretty frustrating imo. Next time I order some seeds i'll request a written proof by the seller of the blend sold. Lastly turns out the yellow jacket coating represents 50% of the bags weight... Not sure I would of ordered that if I knew I was paying for 50% coating.


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## Kissfromnick (Mar 25, 2019)

Pascal-lawn said:


> I finally decided to go with the Barenbrug RTF turf saver blend w/ yellow jacket coating (40% RTF / 30% Barrobusto / 30%Thor). thanks to everyone for your help and guidance.
> 
> Hopefully this will look nice and dense. I'll keep my journal updated for the overseed in august.
> 
> *Edit June 22nd 2021* : Turns out what the Barenbrug Rep told me wasnt accurate and i got shipped a different blend of seed. Pretty frustrating imo. Next time I order some seeds i'll request a written proof by the seller of the blend sold. Lastly turns out the yellow jacket coating represents 50% of the bags weight... Not sure I would of ordered that if I knew I was paying for 50% coating.


If you do everything right at fall seeding you wouldn't be sorry next spring. I use this seed mixture couple years ago. Fungicide treatment with seeding must!!!


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Kissfromnick said:


> Fungicide treatment with seeding must!!!


Im surprised, doesn't the yellow jacket coating contain a fungicide? I thought that was one of the value propositions.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

Good luck I'm sure it's going to look really nice just remember to start early considering your location fall comes quick


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## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

Kissfromnick said:


> If you do everything right at fall seeding you wouldn't be sorry next spring. I use this seed mixture couple years ago. Fungicide treatment with seeding must!!!


Nice to hear ! I was pretty bummed not to get what i wanted but in the end its just grass and its still a barenbrug yellow bag so hopefully I will succeed with the process.



gm560 said:


> Kissfromnick said:
> 
> 
> > Fungicide treatment with seeding must!!!
> ...


Its does but maybe @Kissfromnick meant for the regular grass since its not a renovation but a straight overseed ?





M32075 said:


> Good luck I'm sure it's going to look really nice just remember to start early considering your location fall comes quick


Thanks man. I beleive up here if the avg temps are as per the past i should be doing the overseed around mid august.


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## Kissfromnick (Mar 25, 2019)

You will need to water allot for new seeds, existing grass wouldn't be happy. Wouldn't be really nice to renovate one part and damage whats already there spatially before winter with no time to recover.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Kissfromnick said:


> You will need to water allot for new seeds, existing grass wouldn't be happy. Wouldn't be really nice to renovate one part and damage whats already there spatially before winter with no time to recover.


That makes sense. I was just curious that maybe the yellow jacket wasn't as good as I had always heard. But I guess I'm just dense and didnt think about the existing stand.

Good luck with the project @Pascal-lawn, can't wait to see how it turns out.


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## Kissfromnick (Mar 25, 2019)

gm560 said:


> Kissfromnick said:
> 
> 
> > You will need to water allot for new seeds, existing grass wouldn't be happy. Wouldn't be really nice to renovate one part and damage whats already there spatially before winter with no time to recover.
> ...


Im not sure if yellow jacket good as fungicide (and don't really trust it) but it help seeds germinate way way better then blue coating or uncoated for sure. I plant seeds in cups twice and twice 100% success just from rain water. Blue coat and uncoated 70-80%


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## Pascal-lawn (Mar 15, 2021)

gm560 said:


> Good luck with the project @Pascal-lawn, can't wait to see how it turns out.


Thank man ! Im due for a journal update aswell. Im starting to get fairly setup for the fall overseed. Ive ordered some mp rotators to built myself an above grove ground diy sprinkler system. I still need to buy the ryobi handheld spreader and im still shopping around for a roller. Last thing ill need to figure out before august is how to deal with the neighbor grassy weed invading my lawn (ill post a quick vid on it soon).


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