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windmiller_gw

Looking for an alternative to Kentucky 31 fescue

windmiller
13 years ago

We recently moved into a neighborhood outside of Chapel Hill, NC and the Kentucky 31 fescue that was used seems to require large amounts of water and did not tolerate this years heat.

Many switched to Bermuda grass but I am not sure i like the idea of a brown lawn in the winter. So I am looking for a good alternative that doesnt require so much water, is heat tolerant but stays green in the winter.

Any ideas would be great!!

Comments (6)

  • alex_7b
    13 years ago

    There is none.
    In the SE, one chooses between cool-weather turfs that require extensive summer irrigation or a warm-weather turf that is winter dormant.

    You might try something like Centipede, a summer turf and create small islands of Fescue or Bluegrass near the house so that there is something green year round.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    13 years ago

    alex is correct. You have a choice, in your location, between some warm season grasses and some cool season grasses. These two groups of grasses are very different from each other. The cool season grasses thrive in the colder temperatures, but fizzle out in the heat. And vice-versa.

    What some people do to in the deep south is to overseed their permanent warm season grass every fall with ryegrass. I DO NOT ADVISE THIS! Though it gives them a green lawn throughout the winter, it is very hard on the permanent turf.

    You might want to contact your local extension office to find out which of the grasses would be a good option for you. I wonder, for example, if Centipede would be a good choice due to the winter temperatures.

  • taxonomist
    13 years ago

    To rhizo and Windmiller: For what it's worth, Centipede does NOT do well here in central Virginia. The long very hot and dry summers coupled with some pretty cold winter temps. are not at all condusive to Centipede lawns. Bite the bullet and stay with the old stand-by Kentucky 51 Fescue!

  • taxonomist
    13 years ago

    Just wanted to add: Dottie in Charlotte is so very right. I had a beautiful Zoysia lawn then came the Bermuda and all went to the dogs. In this area (Richmond, Va) we know Bermuda as wiregrass. It can and does very quickly ruin any kind of gardening project and getting rid of it is virtually impossible. The tops die back in cold weather, but the rhizomes last forever. It is a pain in the butt!!!

  • grassboro
    13 years ago

    Welcome to the Southern Part of Heaven! I am a native of the âÂÂboroâ beside Chapel Hill. As you have seen, both warm season grasses such as Bermuda and Zoysiagrass can be grown here as well as cool season grasses such as Turf Type Tall Fescue(TTTF) and Kentucky Blue Grass (KBG). As was previously stated, there is no one grass that will grow here without pluses and minuses. I like the TTTF. I just did a renovation with it. I donâÂÂt like the brown in the winter either but to each his own.
    You may want to explore the Lawn forum on this site as well as the NCST Turffiles site http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/ for ideas. I will say once you go with Bermuda you will never be able to change. It is very hard to get rid of and can be invasive. Wild Bermuda (wire grass) is very common around here and very hard to get rid of, if you can at all. More like controlling it.
    If you go with TTTF you will need to over seed about every other year because it does not self repair. KBG does self repair with rhizomes. KBG likes full sun. TTTF takes sun or shade. What a lot of people do is a mixture of TTTF and KBG. I think I may do that with my side yard next year. You should buy the new cultivars of seed that can be found at http://www.ntep.org/contents2.shtml. Look at the cultivars that did well at the Raleigh, NC test site. The Kentucky 31 fescue is about the worst fescue you can use for a lawn. Great for pastures though.
    No matter what grass you choose your cultural practices will have the most impact on success. That is fertilizing (mostly in the fall, definitely not in the summer and maybe very little if any in the spring around here), watering (1 inch a week all at one watering so it is deep watering) and mowing (TTTF to 3-3 ý inches). And get a soil test. It is free. Good luck.

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