# Best Tall Fescue Grass seed



## bpcanecorso

Lawn Enthusiast,
I will be overseed this year on a new acquired tall fescue lawn. What are some nice rhizomatous tall fescue turf grass seeds you would suggest? I live in Illinois. 
Thank You


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## SJ Lawn

Here is a starting point:

http://www.ntep.org/data/tf12/tf12_18-3/tf1218t10.txt

http://www.ntep.org/data/tf12/tf12_18-3/tf1218t15.txt

http://www.ntep.org/data/tf12/tf12_18-3/tf1218t14.txt


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## ForsheeMS

I've bought seed from Hogan seed not too far from you down in Tennessee. Everyone there is very nice and helpful and their seed is top notch. Been using it since 2013 and have been very happy with it. I use the Hogan Blend and over the years the cultivars in the blend have been Bullseye, Turbo, Hemi, Hot Rod, and GTO which have all done very well for me.


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## ericgautier

ForsheeMS said:


> I've bought seed from Hogan seed not too far from you down in Tennessee.


+ 1 on Hogan. I am very happy with my TTTF mix in the backyard. Check out my Journal (link on my signature) for some pics.


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## Cincinnati guy

Another vote for Hogan. Very nice to do business with and fast shipping. I used the hogan blend and had great results with their seed.


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## Hoosier

Our new home was sodded in front and seeded in the back (Dec 2016). Almost none of the seed in the back took, so I re-seeded with Falcon IV, which I purchased at a local Ace Hardware. The Falcon IV is a MUCH darker green, fuller, and despite multiple fungicide treatments, brown patch is running rampant in the front, but not so much in the back. As already mentioned, I would read through the NTEP report and decide what characteristics are important to you (color, brown patch resistance, summer density, overall quality, etc.), and select a handful that meet your criteria, giving more weight to the scores for your area - one of the test areas is in Urbana. Then, Google around to see if the ones you've picked are possible for you to get/fit the budget. I'm no expert at all, but this is what I'm doing based on the research I've done.

That said, a lot of those listed in the report will be either hard to find or cost prohibitive to get/ship, so if you can't get exactly what you want, a good option I've found is to look for a local commercial turf supply company - they will likely sell a blend that they have determined will work well in your specific area, and have an in depth knowledge of the companies producing the different varieties. Hogan is a short drive from me, so I'll probably buy from him. I have also found that pricing and availability on some of these will not be available until after harvest in late July, just fyi.


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## Budstl

Traverse 2, 4th millennium, and ls1200 if you're in southern Illinois. Traverse 2 is the highest rated for the transition zone.


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## SJ Lawn

Titanium 2LS and Valkyrie LS are also 2 cultivars to consider. Both did very well in the shade test.

Valkyrie LS also did very well in the brown patch test.

4th Millennium is an excellent all around performer. Excellent summer density too.


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## social port

As far as I know, the jury is still out on spreading TTTF cultivars, so I would say to be mindful of your expectations, especially if you are accustomed to KBG. The grassfactor recently caught my attention with 3 that he is trying in Tenn. 
Screamer LS
Dynamite LS
Valkyrie LS
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NUFD5RxUix4


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## kevreh

I've ordered all my seed from Hogan too. They pick cultivars that do well in the transition zone based on NTEP results. So cant go wrong.


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## bpcanecorso

Thanks Do you ever mix with KBG?


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## JDgreen18

bpcanecorso said:


> Thanks Do you ever mix with KBG?


This is common as far as I see...if you look in lawn journal section a thread by Greg you will see this. It has his whole lawn reno process including lots of pics. After seeing the pics I might go this very route myself.


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## kevreh

bpcanecorso said:


> Thanks Do you ever mix with KBG?


I don't because kbg is tougher to maintain in the transition zone with summer heat and all that. Tried kbg and it definitely struggled vs tttf.


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## Stegs

Turf merchants
I used turf gem 2 here in Michigan. Mixed it with VIP 3 pro and its looks like a amazing kbg lawn

I highly recommend turf merchants turf gem 2.


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## MarkAguglia

I used Preferred Seed Summer Green Supreme and honestly wasn't impressed with the results I had. (This was done overseeding a KBG, PRG, Fine Fescue lawn).


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## j4c11

I'm skeptical of RTF. Drew Kinder did a 2 year test here https://seedsuperstore.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/does-tall-fescue-spread/ and observed no actual spreading via rhyzomes, just tillering. I think these varieties do produce more rhizomes, but they don't turn upwards and sprout a new plant. It's still useful when cutting sod as it will hold the soil together better, but not much advantage for us homeowners.


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