# Does low mowing really help Kentucky Bluegrass spread (tillering)?



## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

I'm applying nitrogen each week as urea. I dropped the HOC down to the lowest level on my toro recycler. I was going to wait till October to do this but I need to fill some low spots and repair a few 3inchx 3 inch spots with actual seed.

This is my first KBG lawn and so far I'm not that impressed with the spreading ability. My mix is bewitched/midnight and it was planted on May 18th. This September 18th will be 4 months  Maybe my expectation are too high for such young grass?

Other issue was I think some of the grass just flat out died from rust. I see the remaining lesions on some of the old blades. I believe they are done for. There was a lot of dead material down there so I went low and bagged it. For the amount of time I've put in this I really do want it to look spectacular. That dead yellow/brown stuff was showing under and wasn't looking good.


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## KoopHawk (May 28, 2019)

You're not going to have a full, lush lawn for at least the first year.


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## fusebox7 (Jul 27, 2017)

Three years for it to impress you. Although some will argue the 2nd year it will do that. (1st yr it sleeps, 2nd yr it creeps, 3rd yr it leaps)... this is true for a lot of plantings (shrubs, trees, etc.)...I have a northern mix with a good amount of KBG in it that was planted in 2006... the sod is extremely interwoven because of the rhizome network the KBG has created over the years... whereever a barespot was in the summer (from disease, damage)... there's at least one new KBG plant coming up magically through the rhizome network underground.

I also did a spring reno a few years back and the first year was tough/boring. The next year it took off big time and then the 3rd year was absolutely ridiculous how dense it was. Please be patient and it will show you.


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## BarakaRS (Jun 23, 2018)

I'm going to agree with KoopHawk and Fusebox7. My lawn was a northern mix of PRG and FF with plenty of thin areas. Last fall I did the dreaded and never recommended KBG overseed into my PRG mix lawn. At first it seemed to be doing great going into winter. Then this spring hit and we received rain by the inches for weeks in a row. Fungus seemed to decimate my hard work in many areas. Now that we are out of summer and cooler temps have moved in I can tell my lawn has thickened up! A lot! I had some real doubts and was planning on a second overseed this fall, but it's more than obvious to me now that would be a waste of time, seed, and money. It just took a full year for the desired results to show up. If what everyone says is true about year 2 and behind I'm in for a real treat. Stay patient and you will enjoy the KBG benefits in due time. &#128077;

PS, After writing my post I re-read your OP question. Never really answered it directly so here goes what my understanding is on the subject. Regular mowing in general appears to encourage a thicker lawn. The grass plant stores a chemical in the tips of the leaf blade that gets removed with regular mowing. The plant responds to this by generating more leaf growth laterally creating a fuller plant. I don't recall hearing that keeping a tall or short HOC changes that overall concept. I believe the driving factor is simply mowing regularly and observing the 1/3 rule at all times if possible. In other words... if you want to mow short... Mow short! If you want to mow tall... Mow tall! Just mow regularly! I am sure other more educated and experienced members can provide some more insight on this topic. &#128513;

Best of luck!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@john5246 do you have pictures of the kbg?


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## llO0DQLE (Dec 4, 2017)

KoopHawk said:


> You're not going to have a full, lush lawn for at least the first year.


Disagree. Look up my 2018 reno thread. Seeded in May, full lawn in 3 - 4 months. Some thinner areas but the full sun area was definitely full and lush.


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

g-man said:


> @john5246 do you have pictures of the kbg?


@g-man yes...


you can see in the top right around the tree how it looks when it's not mowed low 








[url=https://postimg.cc/CZFc094W]


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

keep in mind I mowed on the lowest setting on a toro recycler and some areas a little scalped, still need to work on leveling a bit but that's for next year.

And yes...I know my blades need to be sharpened, was just about to do that.

Upon noticing the rust, I applied a quarter rate of scotts disease ex (it's all I had left, I had already applied it at the preventative rate in June I think). In late july when I noticed the rust I applied what I had left and ordered some concentrate from the marketplace on here of propaconazole. I also applied fertilizer the next day. I thought that would be enough, but the rust just kept going. The back lawn got hit hard as well and it's PRG (some garbage stuff the water company laid down, I'll reno that next spring/fall). I tried bagging the clippings and washing the mower each time before switching to front and back lawn.

Once I hit it with the propaconazole it was over. No more rust. But quite a bit of damage has been done as you can see from the blades.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

John, this doesn't look healthy at all. It looks a bit drought stress, maybe from the scalping. I also see lessions that look like leaf spot.


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

g-man said:


> John, this doesn't look healthy at all. It looks a bit drought stress, maybe from the scalping. I also see lessions that look like leaf spot.


It's getting 1 inch per week. I'm making sure of that.

It might have had leaf spot and rust, but after the propaconazole I believe everything is ok. The new blades have no spots and are a nice green. I will try to take another pic of fresh growth.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

In the summer it takes more than 1in a week for our areas. It peaks to 1.5in, regardless of the grass type. I end up doing 0.5in around every 3days. Check pete1313 thread. He shared a lot for the weather details for his area (Rockford, IL).


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

g-man said:


> In the summer it takes more than 1in a week for our areas. It peaks to 1.5in, regardless of the grass type. I end up doing 0.5in around every 3days. Check pete1313 thread. He shared a lot for the weather details for his area (Rockford, IL).


Yeah that's what I was doing but now I'm trying to let it go to once a week, for example, it rained last Saturday I think, so sunday I set the sprinkler to get me to inch. We're going to get rain tomorrow so I set the sprinkler today. It's really cooled down and I feel like it doesn't need water that often. Even if you stand in the sun now you notice it doesn't pierce through like a couple of weeks ago. I have a rain gauge set up so I know I'm getting at least 1 inch/week.

I did the hell strip area. Midnight monostand and had exceptional germination, came in beautifully. I just didn't expect the other lawn to get hit so hard and by the time I got my prop and sprayed it the rust had already spread everywhere. Might have been leaf spot in there too. So much for genetic superiority and "elite" grass. Poor stuff seems to have no resistance to rust.


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## osuturfman (Aug 12, 2017)

The short answer to your question is no.

Lower AND more frequent mowings together will improve density, if done correctly.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

osuturfman said:


> The short answer to your question is no.
> 
> Lower AND more frequent mowings together will improve density, if done correctly.


Hmm...well, that piqued my interest. I wonder about the specifics of doing it correctly. Is it something like HOC+mowing frequency+irrigation+N timing? Or is there some method of timing your mowings?


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

As far as i know its more about consistency, and 'training' the lawn that this is its new life. Which involves cutting more often so it doesnt grow out 2 inches and get cut back 50-75%.


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## KoopHawk (May 28, 2019)

llO0DQLE said:


> KoopHawk said:
> 
> 
> > You're not going to have a full, lush lawn for at least the first year.
> ...


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## Jayray (Aug 8, 2018)

llO0DQLE said:


> KoopHawk said:
> 
> 
> > You're not going to have a full, lush lawn for at least the first year.
> ...


Yep, the sleep, creep, leap is for bamboo not turf. My Reno (Midnight, Blueberry, Bewitched, Blackjack, Bonaire) struggled for a few months last fall and this spring but exactly one year later it puts my other non-reno 3 year old grass areas to shame. There is nothing it could do to improve. Large dinner plate areas are 100% gone from Spring. I'm too late this fall now to reno the rest of my yard but I'm debating a spring reno now as I can't wait to have the rest of my yard look like my reno from last August.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Somewhere I read a study about 2in being the best for KBG to spread. While cutting at 0.5in was really nice, and it gave the appearance of being thick, I don't think it was spreading faster. It is the cutting of the tips of the blades that triggers the grass to spread. So keep spoon feeding urea and mowing constantly if you need it to fill in.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

social port said:


> osuturfman said:
> 
> 
> > The short answer to your question is no.
> ...


^+1
For both comments. To follow up/add MHO, this changes with seasonal needs and growing conditions. Basically, the lower the HOC, the more often you need to mow to stay within the 1/3 rule. This varies throughout the season and can be inversely proportional to irrigation frequency. In the spring/fall, mowing might be 2x-3x per week (or more), and summer might be only 1x per week (less if it is allowed to go dormant). Watering requirements are the opposite, more often and more total in the summer as @g-man states. This is for mature turf. A reno (especially a spring reno) will need a lot more water more often and more fertilizer (in smaller doses-spoonfeeding) to crutch it through the first summer. The tender, immature roots need some TLC.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

@FuzzeWuzze , @GrassDaddy , @Chris LI, Thanks for the information. This is helpful to know as I move into the blitz. Guess who mowed some bluegrass this afternoon? :gum:


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