I'm not real sure what your climate is like but if it's cool and wet poa will make a darn good turf. The tightest most upright turf I've ever seen was poa. It's disease resistance may be very poor but when it's good it's really freaking goodPNW_George said:Hi Shindoman,
I believe we exchanged some comments on another forum some time ago.
Attempting to get a consistent color while allowing PR in your stand is a losing proposition. Not only is it a coarser grass, it tends to have a much darker green color. It took me a couple years to phase out all my PR and I still have a handful of blotches that crop up.
The advantage of PR in my mind is the ability to control Poa. It is a hardier grass and there are a number of pre and post herbicides available to keep it under control. I have not found an effective poa treatment that doesn't hurt either the colonial bentgrass or the fine fescue and I am not confident there are any available that would work on a pure fine fescue blend.
I have not used any herbicides on my lawn in 3 or four years and while in previous years I would hand pull some and spot treat other poa patches with round up, this year I am letting it ride. The poa is there but it actually blends well with the lighter color FF. Now that my FF is more established and I can cut my watering down, I am curious too see if the poa will take a hit and the FF will fill in the patches.
PR might be a great option, I would love to follow your progress if you decide to go that route. Not that I will change but I'm getting bored and always welcome a new challenge and might not be able to help myself.
I love PR but compared to FF it is a much wider blade. You cut PR and it has a flat tip. You cut FF and it still looks like a pointed blade. A healthy, mature FF stand cut short looks like a thick, finely weaved carpet. The other day the FedEx delivery man complimented me on my lawn and asked me if it was real. I first thought, yes I use a reel mower, but that is not what he meant.
Looking forward to your decision; either option will be great.
Regards,
George
Looking for opinions on best seed type for 1/2" HOC in the Pacific Northwest.
New guy here. Found this Forum a few months ago and it's great! I'm in Vancouver B.C. Canada. I've been lawn obsessed for about 3 years now. My lawn looks great, but it has quite a few different types of grass so it looks splotchy and inconsistent colorwise. I think the only solution is a full reno so I am starting to plan one for late summer. I love some of the very old lawns in the old neighbourhoods of Vancouver. Very fine bladed and consistent color. I have a Caltrimmer that will cut down to about 5/8"
before the bed knife starts to dig in sometimes, but I'm going to hopefully switch to a Swardman Electra soon. I'll be asking lots of questions over the next few months as this sure seems like the best place for real world info about trying to accomplish what I'm after.
I'll start with grass types. For the last 1 1/2 yrs I have tried overseeding with a Fine Fescue/Colonial Highland Bent Grass blend. I've had some success with this but I feel like it will never completely overtake the sod blend of mostly PRG and KBG that we laid down before I got obsessed with my lawn.
Is a FF and Colonial Bent the right choice for our mild wet climate? I'm only about 10 miles away fro the ocean. We only get snow once or twice a year. I have an irrigation system that works well but needs a bit of tweaking and I have a very level flat lawn. I've top dressed 4 times in the past 1 1/2 yrs with sand and it's really stating to firm up nicely.
I'm fortunate to have a local turf products supplier that has many years of greens keeping experience and is happy to come by and offer his advice and give me great deals on all the products I need.
I'm nervous about the reno (my wife thinks I'm nuts.). I love spending time working on the lawn so if I plan things right and with a little luck I'm sure I can succeed.
Thanks in advance,
Dale
before the bed knife starts to dig in sometimes, but I'm going to hopefully switch to a Swardman Electra soon. I'll be asking lots of questions over the next few months as this sure seems like the best place for real world info about trying to accomplish what I'm after.
I'll start with grass types. For the last 1 1/2 yrs I have tried overseeding with a Fine Fescue/Colonial Highland Bent Grass blend. I've had some success with this but I feel like it will never completely overtake the sod blend of mostly PRG and KBG that we laid down before I got obsessed with my lawn.
Is a FF and Colonial Bent the right choice for our mild wet climate? I'm only about 10 miles away fro the ocean. We only get snow once or twice a year. I have an irrigation system that works well but needs a bit of tweaking and I have a very level flat lawn. I've top dressed 4 times in the past 1 1/2 yrs with sand and it's really stating to firm up nicely.
I'm fortunate to have a local turf products supplier that has many years of greens keeping experience and is happy to come by and offer his advice and give me great deals on all the products I need.
I'm nervous about the reno (my wife thinks I'm nuts.). I love spending time working on the lawn so if I plan things right and with a little luck I'm sure I can succeed.
Thanks in advance,
Dale
21 - 35 of 35 Posts
I'm not real sure what your climate is like but if it's cool and wet poa will make a darn good turf. The tightest most upright turf I've ever seen was poa. It's disease resistance may be very poor but when it's good it's really freaking goodPNW_George said:
Turfguy93, in the PNW, after 10 years, all the golf course greens become poa. Even Chambers bay that started with unique FF tee thru green is converting to poa greens now. I think they have converted a half dozen so far. The poa greens are perennial though, not annual. If the poa in my yard becomes perennial I will be OK with that.
It is the seed heads that can look bad, not the grass itself.
Regards,
It is the seed heads that can look bad, not the grass itself.
Regards,
That is a great point! It is those dreaded seed heads that ruin the look. That is what I am just starting the battle. Tenacity the other day for the first time. So here we goPNW_George said:Turfguy93, in the PNW, after 10 years, all the golf course greens become poa. Even Chambers bay that started with unique FF tee thru green is converting to poa greens now. I think they have converted a half dozen so far. The poa greens are perennial though, not annual. If the poa in my yard becomes perennial I will be OK with that.
It is the seed heads that can look bad, not the grass itself.
Regards,
George, you are right there seem to be very few herbicides to battle the Poa that are safe for bent and FF. Did you ever try Xonerate? I believe I remember you talking about trying it out. Poa is always a part of the equation around here. And some of the nicer golf courses are Poa.
That soft fine look of the FF I see in some of the old neighbourhoods in Vancouver looks amazing.
A lot of good useful info from everyone here on TLF. Glad I found it.
That soft fine look of the FF I see in some of the old neighbourhoods in Vancouver looks amazing.
A lot of good useful info from everyone here on TLF. Glad I found it.
Tenacity is not safe for FF or bent. Good Luck.Rule11 said:That is a great point! It is those dreaded seed heads that ruin the look. That is what I am just starting the battle. Tenacity the other day for the first time. So here we goPNW_George said:Turfguy93, in the PNW, after 10 years, all the golf course greens become poa. Even Chambers bay that started with unique FF tee thru green is converting to poa greens now. I think they have converted a half dozen so far. The poa greens are perennial though, not annual. If the poa in my yard becomes perennial I will be OK with that.
It is the seed heads that can look bad, not the grass itself.
Regards,
George, what blend of FF and Colonial do you have and where did you source the seed?
Thanks
Thanks
I have been getting my seed from Seed Research of Oregon. They keep changing what they offer so I have used a few blends and mixes.Shindoman said:George, what blend of FF and Colonial do you have and where did you source the seed?
Thanks
I started with their Fairway Links Mix; By weight: 49.37% SR5130 Chewings Fescue, 38.80 % SR5250 Creeping Red and 9.88% SR7150 Colonial Bentgrass.
They no longer offer Fairway Links and I have needed to replace SR5250 Creeping Red with Ruddy Strong Creeping and SR7150 Colonial with Puritan Colonial. I haven't added Colonial in my over seed for the last two years.
SR 5130 Chewings
http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Tech_Sheets/Turfgrass/Fine_Fescue/SR_5130_ts.pdf
Ruddy Strong Creeping
http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Tech_Sheets/Turfgrass/Fine_Fescue/Ruddy_ts.pdf
Puritan Colonial
http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Tech_Sheets/Turfgrass/Bentgrass/Puritan_ts.pdf
Consider their Champion Fine Ryegrass if you go that route
http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Tech_Sheets/Turfgrass/Perennial_Ryegrass/Champion_Fine_ts.pdf
They even have Two Putt Poa reptans - Perennial Poa annua or creeping bluegrass seed available.
I order from Wilbur-Ellis Company, Agribusiness Division. If you call or email Seed Research of Oregon they could give you Vancouver suppliers.
Regards,
Thank you George,
much appreciated!
much appreciated!
Turfguy, that's impressive!
Thank you! Still needs a lot of workShindoman said:Turfguy, that's impressive!
I agree that looks great and super leveled.
Thanks @g-man having a single cultivar of grass really helps it look smooth but trust me it needs a lot of sand lolg-man said:I agree that looks great and super leveled.
I was curious how to purchase seed from SROO. Went to their website but couldn't find a page to purchase. So I sent them an email. I am thinking about trying that 2 Putt blend. I am in the middle of a 1100 sq ft back yard renovation. I figured maybe ride the Poa train since it is so prevalent up here in the PNW.PNW_George said:I have been getting my seed from Seed Research of Oregon. They keep changing what they offer so I have used a few blends and mixes.Shindoman said:George, what blend of FF and Colonial do you have and where did you source the seed?
Thanks
I started with their Fairway Links Mix; By weight: 49.37% SR5130 Chewings Fescue, 38.80 % SR5250 Creeping Red and 9.88% SR7150 Colonial Bentgrass.
They no longer offer Fairway Links and I have needed to replace SR5250 Creeping Red with Ruddy Strong Creeping and SR7150 Colonial with Puritan Colonial. I haven't added Colonial in my over seed for the last two years.
SR 5130 Chewings
http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Tech_Sheets/Turfgrass/Fine_Fescue/SR_5130_ts.pdf
Ruddy Strong Creeping
http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Tech_Sheets/Turfgrass/Fine_Fescue/Ruddy_ts.pdf
Puritan Colonial
http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Tech_Sheets/Turfgrass/Bentgrass/Puritan_ts.pdf
Consider their Champion Fine Ryegrass if you go that route
http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Tech_Sheets/Turfgrass/Perennial_Ryegrass/Champion_Fine_ts.pdf
They even have Two Putt Poa reptans - Perennial Poa annua or creeping bluegrass seed available.
I order from Wilbur-Ellis Company, Agribusiness Division. If you call or email Seed Research of Oregon they could give you Vancouver suppliers.
Regards,
Thoughts
21 - 35 of 35 Posts
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