kbg cultivars

5896 Views 14 Replies 7 Participants Last post by fusebox7, Feb 1, 2018

iowa jim

Discussion Starter · Jan 25, 2018

First post of my life. I have been lurking here for about a month and have learned a lot from you guys. thank you;i am brand new to a computer so please bare with me. i have a lot of questions , but i will start out with one of the most important I have decided to go with 60% midnight,20%bewitched and 20% nu glade.Mostly sunny yard with a few lightly shaded areas. So would two midnight varieties be okay in that mix. I really want a dark color to the lawn. Reno will start first week of August. 12000 s/f. I looked hard at prosperity and blueberry but were worried about diseases.

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Ware

· #2 · Jan 25, 2018

Welcome to TLF! :wave:

The cool season guys should be along shortly to answer your questions.

Green

· #3 · Jan 25, 2018

Everything is a tradeoff as you narrow the genetic diversity. In theory, the closer all of your grass is to having the same genetics, the greater the chance that a bad outbreak of disease could damage a lot of it. I don't think there's a hard line you can draw between "ok" or not. Look at the people who only grow one cultivar of a single species...that's the other extreme. They like the uniform look, and are willing to prevent, look out for, ID, and treat problems as they occur if necessary. The input from people in this thread may guide you, but ultimately, it will be your decision.

Btw, a lot of people do blend Bewitched and Midnight. They blend well from what people have said...but that's not what you were asking about. Just thought I'd throw it out there, though. I'm not sure about NuGlade. Have you considered adding a 4th cultivar as well?

bernstem

· #4 · Jan 25, 2018

NuGlade and Midnight are both compact midnight cultivars. The compact midnights are genetically the most similar so you might think about dropping one of them and adding a third type. Bewitched is a Compact type. The most common blends have Compact, Compact Midnight, Compact America types. Compact America tend to be lighter green with a few exceptions (Prosperity comes to mind) so keep that in mind. Mid Atlantic type is another class that tends to blend well with the Compact types and is a bit more genetically diverse then the Compacts.

Blueberry is also a Compact Midnight. Personally, if I was planning on a 80% compact midnight lawn, i would probably just go with a monostand. The 80% lawn will behave a lot like one. I should also mention that I would only recommend a monostand to someone with moderate to high experience in lawn care. For example, if you can't identify a disease outbreak at the first signs, you can lose 80+% of a monostand in a couple weeks.

Green

· #5 · Jan 26, 2018

Speaking of adding compact America types, have you looked into Mazama and/or Rhapsody yet? I believe they're darker green than many. Mazama: http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1468

g-man

· #6 · Jan 26, 2018

Fusebox7 used the mazama in his reno blend. He has pictures of it in pots.

http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=782

zeus201

· #7 · Jan 27, 2018

Iowa Jim - l'd check out the NTPP results for KBG. If you name indicates you are from Iowa, Ames, IA is the testing location for NTPP testing. The report helps understand what types of bluegrass tested well and etc.

But like everyone else said, genetic diversity is a good idea unless you are seasoned lawn vet and understand the risks if a mono. Here is a link I like which helps summarize the many different KBG "types".

https://ag.umass.edu/turf/fact-sheets/characteristics-of-kentucky-bluegrass-cultivars

fusebox7

· #8 · Jan 29, 2018

g-man said:
Fusebox7 used the mazama in his reno blend. He has pictures of it in pots.

http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=782

The snow melted the last couple days so I got a glance at my shade-test pots from last season and Mazama is still very much retaining its color vs. Bewitched and Award. So far it's been a great performer (in color/shade) as my "Compact America" selection. Bewitched did the most spreading and Award did the most tillering (most dense).

I split so many hairs when I did my research/selections but I really believe you can't go wrong if you're just looking for a nice, dark, well-performing lawn. Any of the top 50+ cultivars in NTEP reports will respond to vigorous management practices OR outperform your neighbor's Tru Green lawn with little to no input. All of my neighbors' lawns are sodded and there's maybe 1 or 2 out of 50 that are anywhere near mine (which was just seeded last year!).

Also, the more people that keep buying/raising awareness of Mazama, the more likely it is to stick around

zeus201

· #9 · Jan 29, 2018

fusebox7 said:
Also, the more people that keep buying/raising awareness of Mazama, the more likely it is to stick around

What dealer / source were you able to purchase Mazama from?

iowa jim

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 30, 2018

Thanks to all that replied to my post.Ido not have the experience for a monostad, so i adjusted my cultivars to 50% midnight,25% bewitched,and 25% mazama. I am hoping this will give me a good dark green and the mazama seems better than prosperity for diseases according to the NTEP trials for Iowa.Also its good in the shade and has as a dark of color as midnight. thanks- you guys rock.

fusebox7

· #11 · Jan 31, 2018

zeus201 said:
fusebox7 said:

Also, the more people that keep buying/raising awareness of Mazama, the more likely it is to stick around

Click to expand...

What dealer / source were you able to purchase Mazama from?

I had purchased over the phone from Long Island Cauliflower Association after speaking with Vista Seed Partners.

iowa jim

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 31, 2018

Thanks fusebox7 I will look them up. I really enjoyed following your reno.

fusebox7

· #13 · Jan 31, 2018

No problem - here to help. Haha yeah nice seeing a "not so perfect" reno log, right?

Trials and tribulations!

iowa jim

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 1, 2018

Hey fusebox7 - I have a few questions for you since where going with just about the same cultivars. I chose midnight over award because it did a little bit better here in Iowa. But not that much difference in each other.

1. Are you happy with the color?. 2. What % did you use between the three cultivars ? 3. Can you see the different cultivars in the lawn? 4. Are you happy with the uniformity of the three together? 5. What does whole milk do for your lawn? tia.

fusebox7

· #15 · Feb 1, 2018

iowa jim said:
Hey fusebox7 - I have a few questions for you since where going with just about the same cultivars. I chose midnight over award because it did a little bit better here in Iowa. But not that much difference in each other.

I'll preface this by saying that everyone inevitably asks these questions when they start getting into renos and more often times than not everyone also simply overthinks it. We're very lucky to have the NTEP results and also personal accounts via this community to help make the cultivar selection a less hair-pulling decision. I didn't do a monostand because this is my first rodeo with all KBG. I did the often-recommended "one from each of the main classifications" approach and I am sure once the lawn matures I will be extremely pleased.

1. Are you happy with the color?.
- so far so good - too young still; we'll see this year - I'm sure it'll be great. Remember, I pushed a reno to its limits by starting in early summer (even in Michigan). I had some disease and watering setbacks but forged ahead with extra attention and work.
2. What % did you use between the three cultivars ?
- about 1/3 of each by weight (actual scale measured weight, not just a guess)
3. Can you see the different cultivars in the lawn?
- no way; some people claim this but these ones are so similar I can only tell them apart in separate pots; some say different cultivars have hints/tints of blue, or are wider/thinner, etc. but it's way too subjective and overall it looks like kentucky bluegrass

4. Are you happy with the uniformity of the three together?
- same answer above applies; same growth rate, color etc. so far - we'll see this year if anything changes as it matures
5. What does whole milk do for your lawn? tia.
- I'm not sure there's a single/verified answer to this but it's an "organic" approach to soil conditioning. Anecdotal evidence suggests an overall more vigorous/healthy lawn

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