I'd like to know the answer to this too. I have a monostand of kbg in n.GA and it has better color than the tttf especially in the coldest part of winter and seems to tolate not having rain much better too. And it repairs bare spots. The only reason I can think of is the hassle to get KBG started from seed... it takes forever but fescue comes up in about a week.

Well, there are a couple of reasons. The most important is probably that KBG doesn't grow well in shade. That is usually why people plant a blend with some fescue in it. Also, planting a mix of grasses dramatically increases tolerance to a variety of diseases. A disease that strikes 1 hard may not seriously damage the others. That tends to keep disease from spreading rapidly.

Either way, if you want more KBG, plant more KBG. I would recommend you plant a mix of KBG's though so you get some added disease resistance. If you overseed each year, you will slowly tilt the lawn to more KBG. It will likely never crowd out the other grasses completely though. If you want 100% KBG, you will have to kill the lawn off and start fresh.

My experience is that 100% Turf-type Perennial Ryegrass makes the BEST lawn apperance of the cool season grasses (bentgrass excluded)KBG is second best - fescue is last.

I recommend you kill off the existing grass and start new again. Long term you will be MUCH more satisfied with the results.

You can grow 100% KBG, but disease can be a problem. Not to mention that the seeds takes FOREEEEEEEEEEEEVER to germinate, and once it germinates, it takes FOREEEEEEEEEEEVER to get stablish.

With PR, you'll be mowing in 2 weeks for the first time after seeding, and in 4 weeks you'll have a full lawn with no bare spots. PR also stripes MUCH better than bluegrass and resist Rust and Powerdy mildew unlike bluegrass. Bluegrass loses its dark green color during the hot summer months regardless of water and fertilizer, while PR remains dark green with some fertilizer and water.

The main drawback on PR is that it's very subseptible to Greay Leaf Spot. The good news is that you can spray a fungicide for 3 to 4 months and avoid the disease.

During the winter months, bluegrass looks its best, dark green, fine bladed, and no disease.

Also, PR is much more fine bladed and more dense than bluegrass generaly speaking. It produces a very dense, dark green, very fine bladed turf that is hard to beat.

I have pictures to prove it if you like.

I don't think I care to get into a debate about the best cool season grasses.

But I do want to point out a few things from the last post.

Bluegrass loses its dark green color during the hot summer months regardless of water and fertilizer, while PR remains dark green with some fertilizer and water.

My lawn is 100 percent KBG. My own experience doesn't reflect those of Auteck's apparently. Most cool season grasses tend to lose some color in the summer months. But if my own neighborhood is any indication, the Rye grass lawns do very poorly in the summer heat.

I also have a difficult time believing this:

[Ryegrass is]more dense than bluegrass generaly speaking

Ryegrass is a clumping grass. It doesn't spread. I have never seen a ryegrass lawn with the turf-density of a properly-cared for KBG lawn. NEVER.

(I had a neighbor walk barefoot in my lawn recently and he turned to me and said this:

"Dude, this is so wrong. This ought to be inside somebody's house. It feels like a carpet.")

As for my own neighborhood... my KBG lawn continues to have excellent color and turf-density. The ryegrass lawns are all brown.

I have pictures to prove it :>)

I'll go mostly with the above, although I do prefer KBG over Rye by far, but that's personal opinion and nothing more.

Patience with a bluegrass lawn is not a virtue. It's required. It can take 30 days for the seeds to sprout (generally 2 weeks after any given Dear Spouse starts griping that you've clearly failed). Establishment is not fast (about four weeks after the aforementioned given Dear Spouse wants to know why it's thin and ugly looking).

It eats constantly and heavily--four pounds of nitrogen a year for good bluegrass isn't unusual. It also likes to be irrigated nice and regular-like. An inch to 1 1/2" of water a week is standard during summer. It really wants four to six hours of sunlight a day, and if it gets 14 hours during the summer, so much the better.

On the up side, the color is good, and well-treated bluegrass really does have a beautiful blue overtone. It repairs damage to itself well, tolerates reasonable wear (but nothing extreme), and looks wonderful when well-kept. It's a soft, pleasant grass to walk on. If not watered, it goes into dormancy and comes back out when conditions improve--with few losses (particularly in PA for me and NJ for you).

They sell those mixes because fescues will take a bit more punishment and poor treatment than KBG will (plus the fescue can tolerate a bit more shade). Fescues don't tolerate a complete lack of water for extended periods, but it takes a lot to kill 'em.

If you're willing to put the effort into feeding, watering, and maintaining a bluegrass lawn, they're worth it. If you aren't then stick with the mix (patchy, sure, but you'll be happier with that than an expensive, crappy-looking KBG lawn).

Like Auteck says, you'll be far happier if you kill off your old lawn and restart from scratch. My lawn kill begins Saturday, July 14. I have bluegrass, but the builder's grade stuff that stinks--I'm replacing it with Midnight II, Bedazzled, and Moonlight.

No, I'm not happy that I'm killing this, but I will be happier if all the different bluegrasses aren't fighting it out in the lawn.

Purely subjective comments from someone who does not maintain bluegrass correctly, i.e. mowing too low particularly and the wrong varities under the wrong growing conditions. Do that to any type of grass and even the weeds will look better.

Aside from that, I don't understand your reluctance to kill the existing grass if you're not happy with it. I could see if you had a particular purpose for adding in some kbg like for it's creeping ability to fill in bare spots, but you want a bluegrass lawn so why not have one? The gradual process isn't the worst idea. It's just not the best idea, plus you can get to the point where the fescue will look like a weed in a bluegrass lawn. What will you do then? Morever, disease is a problem with any type of grass when you invite it with improper maintenance regimens. If there is a prominent disease common to your area, the best idea is to seed with varities bred for resistance. Nothing difficult about that. It is misleading to suggest disease is a given in all situations with any particular species. And to suggest all the varieties within a species will contract all or even any diseases is nothing but absurd.

I would kill it all and start anew, but I have a few reservations, both of which aren't very good:
1) I have put a lot of time into my current lawn, so killing it completely would be tough.
2) I have sworn off the chemicals, and I think my wife would kill me if I was spraying roundup on the lawn.
3) My wife and neighbors all think I am crazy already because of the time I spend on the lawn...particularly the time I spend picking weeds since I no longer spray them.

1. Cut the emotional umbilical cord
2. Scalp it to the ground to severely stress it
3. Easy to wiggle out of the straight jacket

Twice you emphasized how much time you put into the lawn, so I have to wonder why you're not happy with it. Time well spent should equal results.

turf_toes,

You wrote:

"Ryegrass is a clumping grass. It doesn't spread. I have never seen a ryegrass lawn with the turf-density of a properly-cared for KBG lawn. NEVER."

You are correct, ryegrass does not spread. However, it has an exceptional tillering avility which produces the dense turf I mentioned earlier.

I too have a 100% KBG lawn just like you, with the PR growing in between the sidewalk and the curb. People who use the sidewalk almost always complement the rye, but not the blue... My neighbor's words: "my god, that grass looks as good as the pictures you see in Scotts catalogs" "what kind of grass is it?" "you're growing carpet..." My neighbor across the street with his zoysia lawn: "it looks almost identical to my cavalier zoysia but darker green, are you sure it PR?"

The blue gets ignored all the time, and I can see why. I have a few PR grass growing with the blue in some areas of the lawn, and they are so easy to spot. They are always very dense and very fine bladed, and also darker green.

{{gwi:91554}}

PR grows down here in zone 7b, Central North Carolina with proper care and fungicides, it should grow up there with less efford.

Bestlawn,

You wrote:

"Purely subjective comments from someone who does not maintain bluegrass correctly, i.e. mowing too low particularly and the wrong varities under the wrong growing conditions."

Can you explain what the right variaties are and for the right growing conditions? Also, define "mowing too low"

"Do that to any type of grass and even the weeds will look better."

Do what to the grass? Can you explain?

turf_toes,

I wonder if soil temperatures have something to do with the color of the grass. You being further north, your soil do not warm up at the same time as here or gets as warm.

Look at this two pictures, the first one is 100% KBG (Galaxy blend by Turf-Seed) the second one is 100% Midnight II KBG (the darkest bluegrass on the market)

{{gwi:105118}}

{{gwi:101009}}

I had to include this picture, just look at the turf above, it's PR, and Midnight II KBG below. Picture was taken in mid June this year.

{{gwi:101051}}

1) I have put a lot of time into my current lawn, so killing it completely would be tough.
2) I have sworn off the chemicals, and I think my wife would kill me if I was spraying roundup on the lawn.
3) My wife and neighbors all think I am crazy already because of the time I spend on the lawn...particularly the time I spend picking weeds since I no longer spray them.

Oh, I completely understand the feeling! I organically fertilize once a month, water as needed, hand-pick the rare weed, and generally already have the nicest lawn on the block (which is not really saying all that much).

It's hard to decide that you're going to take an expanse of grass, perhaps not perfect but trying...and kill it. Then you have to look at the dead stuff for quite some time while you sow and water and wait for it to sprout and fill in.

What finally convinced me were turf_toes' photos of his lawn. It's beautiful, and so much more...there...than my existing lawn. He's reasonably local to both of us, too, so our conditions should be fairly similar.

I'm not real happy about the Roundup either, but I don't see a way around the whole mess. At least it's rapidly biodegradable. The only other option would be to solarize it under plastic until it dies. That's not realistic with 7,000 square feet...and I don't want to have to stare at the plastic.

Maybe we can start a debate about chemicals in this thread too.

Everything I said is self-explanatory and nothing difficult to understand.

"Can you explain what the right variaties are and for the right growing conditions? "

Purely subjective comments from someone who does not maintain bluegrass correctly, i.e. mowing too low particularly and the wrong varities under the wrong growing conditions. Do that to any type of grass and even the weeds will look better.

KBG is not a grass for shade. However, there are a few varieties that will withstand light shade but none for deep shade and none to live the better part of its life under shade.

Also, define "mowing too low"

Purely subjective comments from someone who does not maintain bluegrass correctly, i.e. mowing too low particularly and the wrong varities under the wrong growing conditions. Do that to any type of grass and even the weeds will look better.

Bluegrass should be maintained at 3 inches or higher. The newer, elite varieties bred for lower/slower growth habit should be maintained at 2-2.5 inches. Higher if the manager wants.

Do what to the grass? Can you explain?

Purely subjective comments from someone who does not maintain bluegrass correctly, i.e. mowing too low particularly and the wrong varities under the wrong growing conditions. Do that to any type of grass and even the weeds will look better.

When grass is treated improperly as described - i.e. mowing too low particularly and the wrong varities under the wrong growing conditions - how could anyone expect it to look?

Your testimony and pictures prove nothing to anyone except that you don't properly take care of your lawn and then blame the grass for the awful results. I do not understand why you keep saying the same things or why anyone would have to keep running all over this board to dispute and correct you. Additionally, warm soil is no excuse. Even Quirky's Georgia bluegrass experiment looks better than yours.

And speaking of pictures, I wish you would resize them as you also keep being asked to do.

Turf Toes' properly cared-for bluegrass lawn
{{gwi:105121}}{{gwi:105123}}

Turf Toes' properly cared-for bluegrass lawn

Great, now I'm drooling again. Photos like that are to me what chocolate is to a chocoholic. :-)

rutgers1,

I sure can empathize with you. I have scalped/aerated/overseeded or scalped/slitseeded/rolled the last three or four Septembers rather than just biting the bullet and killing off the lawn to start from scratch. I do believe my lawn has an improved appearance, but even overseeding with 100% kbg at significant rates is not enough to deliver the results in any of the above photos.

You don't mention the size of the lawn you have, which can sometimes be the source of such consternation. I have about 40,000 sq. ft. of grass and the idea of killing it all at once was just something I couldn't get my head around. Of course if I had taken it in 10,000 ft chunks each year, I'd probably be more pleased today.

To get back to your question, overseeding with 100% kbg can help tilt your lawn in a kbg-dominated direction if your growing conditions are favorable (i.e., sun, water, soil, etc.) and you have a significant amount of kbg already growing. You mention your lawn is a blend, but if the kbg is a only small percentage of the blend you will really be fighting an uphill battle.

I'm not looking to make more work for you, but is it feasible for you to kill off either the front or back lawn this August/September and go 100% kbg in that area? The results will likely be encouraging enough to get you over the emotional hump to finish the job. I mention this as an option only because I am wishing I had done it (and may...).

Overseeding elite KBG into a reasonably healthy lawn that is PR or KBG is a losing proposition. It simply isn't worth it, especially, if you are trying to convert the lawn to predominantly elite KBG. KBG just has too long of an establishment time--particularly true of the elite cultivars. Most of your newly overseeded KBG will die from competition from the existing lawn.

Scalping the lawn is extremely difficult to do properly. You have to do it very gradually and in most cases, your lawn mower just won't have the muscle to do it. Realistically, a 1" cut is about as close as you can get it. At this cut, sure, some crowns will get stressed but under favorable seeding conditions, the existing lawn will be dominating the dojo again in no time. Meanwhile, at the 2month mark, elite KBG seedlings are still very small...they will get punked.

Subywu,

I love this comment!

At this cut, sure, some crowns will get stressed but under favorable seeding conditions, the existing lawn will be dominating the dojo again in no time

I was a judoka for about 10 years. Your comment actually made me laugh out loud.

Made me laugh too.

Rutgers, a vinegar solution is much the same as that "R" word stuff. I should have thought to mention that. Even boiling water would help but you'd sure need a lot of it.

Hey Guys. I'm so glad I found this site. There is so much knowledge here. As I explained in another thread I want to slit seed my 3 year old lawn comprised of 50% KBG, 30 Rye, and 20% fescue that was most likely seeded with a generic seed. I was thinking of just seeding with an elite KBG but I am now rethinking that. Since I don't want to start from scratch what do you guys think about slit seeding the entire yard with the same porportion of a premium seed blend. Most of the lawn is in good shape, but there are some thinner patches. Thanks for the feed back.

Thank you to everyone who offered their suggestions. I am going to try my crazy approach this year. Then, a year from now when it isn't working, I will come back with my tail between my legs and tell you that you were all right. At this point, I am just not unhappy enough with my lawn to warrant killing the whole thing and starting from scratch. It doesn't look like bestlawn's lawn, but it is ok from the street. I just want some more KBG in there so that the occasional spot fills in without me having to patch it. I also think that having some more KBG will help smother the weeds that find their way in there. I know that I am going against your wishes, but I would rather try to introduce some more KBG than have my wife stop talking to me, lol. Tough choice, but I have to do it!

"Even Quirky's Georgia bluegrass experiment looks better than yours."

I'm not sure if I should be flattered or offended.

Kind of got a little lost here in all the sub-discussions going on and various arguments.

All I can say is thanks to Auteck's and Drew's recommendation, I tried some Peren. Rye this summer where some of my back yard grass turned brown and it thriving in the conditions which are full sun, no water and very compacted. It's very dark green and did not use fertilizer.
I'd like to know why this grass isn't used in monostands this seems like a low maintenance grass that germinates rapidly and establishes fairly quick too.

It's simply goowahjuss.

I wish I had seeded a little heavier with it.

Flattered, Quirky. I was saying your experiment KBG looks better than his meticulously-groomed KBG. However, the discussion was not about whether rye can or does look good.

I wonder if soil temperatures have something to do with the color of the grass. You being further north, your soil do not warm up at the same time as here or gets as warm.

Auteck,

I think you actually have it backwards. I would suggest that your experience with KBG is sort of not relevant in that you are trying to grow KBG in North Carolina and the original poster is in NJ (central I'm guessing based on his screen name).

Most folks here would probably agree North Carolina is not the location where Kentucky Bluegrass is best adapted.

By my estimate, you have to be nearly 500 miles south of the original poster (I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC while in the service so know the distance by heart).

My main home is about 25 miles from NJ. (Prolly 90 miles from Rutgers, but I have a 2nd home in Metuchen, NJ about 10 miles from Rutgers).

In both cases, KBG will normally produce a better lawn than Ryegrass.

I think it great that you are trying to grow all these different cool season grasses in that more challenging environment.

But I would suggest that your experience is probably not so relevant for someone in the midwest or northeast who might want to grow KBG or a ryegrass lawn. (I do think it interesting that you and quirky have had any success... and enjoy reading about it.)

Now if the original poster was in the Research Triangle area... I think your experiences would probably be much more relevant.

subywu says: "Overseeding elite KBG into a reasonably healthy lawn that is PR or KBG is a losing proposition. It simply isn't worth it, especially, if you are trying to convert the lawn to predominantly elite KBG. KBG just has too long of an establishment time--particularly true of the elite cultivars. Most of your newly overseeded KBG will die from competition from the existing lawn.".

Would winter seeding offer any advantages? Cut it real low (not necessarily scalped) in late fall after all the top growth has stopped. Overseed in winter afer the ground has frozen. In the spring the seed would be worked into the soil and would have a longer (I think) window to establish itself before the rest of the lawn is really going strong and crowding the new seedling outs. Maybe still not ideal, but would this be a better alternative?

I wouldn't go so far as to call overseeding with KBG a losing proposition. It just depends on what your expectations are. If you seed properly, you will grow some additional KBG. The more years you overseed, the more KBG you will have. However, if your goal is to have a KBG lawn, or even mostly KBG lawn, then you are going to be disappointed with the overseeding route. If you start with a mix of grasses, you will always have a mix of grasses. It will be a mix with more KBG that it had originally, but it will still be a mix.

My comment was only with regard to overseeding elite kbg into PR or KBG lawns--both formidable grass types. One university study (posted here previously on the board) looked at overseeding KBG into PR fairways. None of the KBG took... NONE! And in my previous two attempts at overseeding elite KBG into my previous Kenblue KBG lawn, I have been utterly disappointed. Despite cutting the lawn short (albeit not quite scalped) and verticutting the lawn heavily, the existing lawn was some 4 inches in 3-4 weeks time under favorable fall seeding conditions! That is the kiss of death for hairlike kbg seedlings.

However, if you have a mix with a good chunk of slow growing FF, or a lawn that is not doing particularly well, then overseeding can be worthwhile. Just do not look at Turf Toes lawn pics and think that is achievable with overseeding. It may not even be achievable with 10 consecutive overseeds...

Turf Toes,

You wrote:

"Most folks here would probably agree North Carolina is not the location where Kentucky Bluegrass is best adapted."

Wrong. Do not generalize NC's climate/weather as it varies dramatically from region to region.

KBG grows better it's better adapted to Western NC than to any place in the state of New Jersey. Summers in Western NC are VERY mild and summers in NJ can be very warm like Central NC, especially in Central and Southern NJ.

Turf Toes, you wrote:

"In both cases, KBG will normally produce a better lawn than Ryegrass."

That depends on the blend of KBG and the blend of PR. The only advantage KBG has over PR is its cold tolerance, which in Central NJ will not be a problem.

You wrote:

"I think it great that you are trying to grow all these different cool season grasses in that more challenging environment."

Well, NC is a cool season state so it's what grows better here, stays green the longest, and greens up the quickest. In other words, it's Fescue country up here.

You wrote:

"Now if the original poster was in the Research Triangle area... I think your experiences would probably be much more relevant."

The information provided IS relevant. I've stated many characteristics of both grasses that have been written in lawn books, how is that not relevant?

Fact: KBG seed takes forever to germinate
Fact: KBG seedlings take forever to get establish
Fact: PR establish it very quickly

Get the point?

And yes, soil temperatures make a huge difference.

Bestlawn,

You wrote:

"Additionally, warm soil is no excuse."

I threw that in there and you failed miserably.

Soil temperatures are paramount to turf grasses, plants and trees. Soil temperature influences plant growth and microbial activity. Everyone knows you must have roots to have grass, so understand and manage what's below the turf and you will have turf to manage. The temperature at the soil surface is more important than air temperature because the growing points of turf grasses, especially those with rhizomes and stolons, are at or near the soil surface.

For example:

Studies show that KBG optimum soil temperature occurs between 55F to 73F degrees. Ryegrass is between 44F and 63F degrees (no wonder it's the first one to green up in the spring) Bengrass is 59F to 72F degrees. Bermuda is a whooping 80F to 100F degrees!

You wrote:

"Your testimony and pictures prove nothing to anyone except that you don't properly take care of your lawn and then blame the grass for the awful results."

Remember the old saying: "A picture is word 1,000 words" ?

Point to me in any of the pictures I have posted in this forum where my grass looks bad or not cared properly like you said.

You wrote:

"And speaking of pictures, I wish you would resize them as you also keep being asked to do."

You don't get the same effect, and I want people on this forum to see as much as they possibly can - I'm not hiding anything. What you see in those pictures is all REAL, no photo shop.

And by the way, my KBG is in nearly full sun. The shade you see in the pictures is the shade from the house and the trees behind the house on a LATE summer day. The house is located on an eastern exposure and hence the shade.

Next time, don't assume.

I suspected and now I know you cannot follow the course of a conversation. I am done with your antics and just feel sorry for anyone who thinks you make sense.

Auteck is right about the western part of North Carolina having no problem growing KBG. Mine is thriving and spreading like crazy. I am thinking Auteck may be on to something however with the PR. Maybe if you do the first year with a mix of KBG and come back the following year with a good PR you can have a great mix that does have great color. Auteck please post more updated pictures so we can see how the PR looks as the summer season progresses. His obviously looks like a golf course.

Turf Toes,

You wrote:

"Most folks here would probably agree North Carolina is not the location where Kentucky Bluegrass is best adapted."

Auteck,

calm down. I think you're reading something into my post that isn't there.

I never wrote KBG won't grow in North Carolina. I wrote that North Carolina isn't the place that it is best adapted. Yes. I lived in NC for a while and I know that the western mountains are cooler than the coastal areas.

But having lived in both places, I can tell you, the climate in NC (even in the mountains) isn't even close to central NJ.

I think that is also why NTEP tests in various locations. What works in New Brunswick, NJ at Rutgers won't give you the same results as a test in Asheville, NC. Yes.

I know KBG can grow in NC. But I still maintain that even in western NC, it is not the region in which KBG is best adapted.

Auteck,

I've one other point to make. Actually, I will let the original poster make the point:

I live in New Jersey. It seems that, wherever I go, all you ever see for sale are the blends. However, whenever I see a lawn that absolutely blows away all others in the neighborhood, 75% of the time it is a KBG lawn. So here is my question....

Thanks Best lawn for the compliment then.

Grass should be chosen based on the needs of the homeowner, site conditions and climate and dedication of the owner to maintain it.

Yeah in the southern states, the sod farmers would love for you to believe the only thing that will grow here is their sod. You can read the comments from one of our own sod farmers on this board to understand the mentality. And I think the State Univ here in GA must get a lot of funding and or royalties from their warm season grasses they release. Warm season sod = $$$money.

All I can say is stop growing sod and start growing corn. And lets focus on how to promote grass that are better suited to the climate and look good too with reasonable amounts of maintenance. Warm season or cool season.

That's what quirky is after. More green for less dough and less work to keep it that way.

Sounds to me like Quirky is correct. Maybe the NTEP and their ratings should be thrown out. KBG is a grass that likes mild summers and alot or water like most grasses. We have that here in WNC but still if you are out West where it is hot and dry and you water regularly you will also have great results. Like he said more green with less dough and work.

Auteck,

I'm not sure if I should be insulted by your post or what. Are you implying that my photos have been photoshopped? If you have the skillset to properly examine the jpg, I'd be happy to send you the original file for your examination.

You don't get the same effect, and I want people on this forum to see as much as they possibly can - I'm not hiding anything. What you see in those pictures is all REAL, no photo shop.

As for your resizing the photos. I work on the web. I am a web developer. You really do need to resize them. Some folks here may actually be using a computer with a screen resolution of 640 x 480.

In case you don't know, that means that they would have to scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll to the right to see the right side of your photo. They may be looking at individual grass blades at that resolution. But they are NOT seeing your full lawn.

For what it is worth, this is all that those users (at that resolution) can see when viewing your photo at that resolution (without having to scroll).

{{gwi:105125}}

You can see that while the Ryegrass in your hellstrip is viewable. Most of the KBG is off the screen.

It's just bad design to post something that requires a reader to scroll back and forth just to follow a thread.

Auteck,

calm down. I think you're reading something into my post that isn't there.

That is my point, Turf Toes. He twists words and tacks some facts onto them to make it seem like he knows what he is talking about and you cannot possibly. When in reality, all his garbage has nothing to do with what was stated, thereby trying to make you and me look foolish. Left on his own, he makes no sense whatsoever, like there being such a turf species as dwarf fescue and all that other mess he said. Remember? At first I thought he was just innocently mistaken. I was just returning to the board and couldn't believe what I was reading from his posts. Now I know he's just a troll trying to set people up.

turf toes,

You wrote:

never wrote KBG won't grow in North Carolina. I wrote that North Carolina isn't the place that it is best adapted. Yes. I lived in NC for a while and I know that the western mountains are cooler than the coastal areas.

But having lived in both places, I can tell you, the climate in NC (even in the mountains) isn't even close to central NJ.

I'm sorry to tell you, but you are wrong. Central NJ's weather is much closer to Central NC than the Mountains of NC. I know, I own a cabin in Piney Creek, NC, and most of the cabins there don't have A/C, just heating. summers there are VERY mild. Last year we went there in early August, and in the morning, the temperatures were always in the mid 50's. Snows falls often during the winter months, very different from Central NC. We only average about 10" snow or so per year vs 35" plus for Boone, NC, for example.

You wrote:

I know KBG can grow in NC. But I still maintain that even in western NC, it is not the region in which KBG is best adapted.

Although, temperatures alone do not determine grass adaptation, KBG is very well adapted in the mountains of NC. In fact, the average temperature in the hottest month (july) is only 76 F. Compare that to Piscataway, NJ at 87f, just 2F below Raleigh, NC.

turf toes,

You wrote:

I'm not sure if I should be insulted by your post or what. Are you implying that my photos have been photoshopped? If you have the skillset to properly examine the jpg, I'd be happy to send you the original file for your examination.

Not at all. I think you have a beautiful KBG lawn, and I don't think for a second that your pictures have been photoshopped. No need to send any thing for my examination, I believe you.

As far as the screen resolution, I'm very familiar with the different sizes as I spent the past 7 years of my prefessional career working for a computer company. I see your point, but seariously, it's hard to believe that any one that uses the internet now days will have a monitor/screen that is only capable 640 x 480. My old crappy Compaq laptop with windows NT had 800x600...

I'll keep that in mind anyway, thanks.

bestlawn,

I'm not here to set anybody, just to give some advise when needed. And if you can not accept that, then I ask you to please stay out my posts/comments. You and I have difference of opinions, welcome to the world of turfgrass.

I wish you well anyway.

Regards,

Auteck

turf toes,

You wrote:

I've one other point to make. Actually, I will let the original poster make the point:

I live in New Jersey. It seems that, wherever I go, all you ever see for sale are the blends. However, whenever I see a lawn that absolutely blows away all others in the neighborhood, 75% of the time it is a KBG lawn. So here is my question....

Kentucky Bluegrass makes one of the best turfs out there, cool and warm season grasses included - no doubt about it, and that's why I grow it. But so is Perennial Ryegrass.

Perennial Ryegrass is not very popular in the east coast, therefore it's no surprise that 75% of the time KBG is what he finds. Travel to the Pacific North West and you will see the most beautiful home lawns in the country, most of them if not all are Perennial Ryegrass. Unfortunatelly KBG does very poorly in the Pacific NW despite the cool summers and mild winters.

I'm in NJ as well and when my house was completed my builder seeded grass with rye/fescue/kbg mix. It didnt fill in that well and I liked the way KBG looked so in the front of my house I kept reseeding with just KBG mixes and the back of my house with rye/fescue/kbg mix. So I think I was exactly in the same boat as you. My front looks great and it was a good thing that it was originally seeded with the mix because there is one area in the back that gets a lot of shade and KBG didnt take there but fescue did and it looks great. The rest where there is more sun fades from fescue to mostly KBG but the transformation from one to the other is unnoticable from the street. My neighbor across the street got his house built after mine and my front yard looks better then his $2000 sod.
Now my backyard was originally seeded with rye/fescue/kbg mix and reseded with that as I'm still trying to get it as thick as my front yard. It looks fine but nowhere near as good as my front yard. It also doesnt require the amount of maintenance the front does and it seems to be more resistant to kid abuse.
I guess what I'm trying to say its all relative to your situation and what you are trying to do.
I wanted my front to be mostly KBG as it looks better but it took forever to establish and it takes more work to maintain. Not a problem for me as a like working on it. The existing mix that was seeded might not be a bad base as it will cover any places that are shaded where kbg wont grow (I dont know your yard so thats really up to you) but it wont be as uniform as the pictures posted by pure KBG owners. Tall fescue stands out in KBG and you will definitely notice it.
Now my backyard didnt have to be nice but more drought and abuse resistant. Thats exactly what it is plus it doesnt require as much work. So it all worked out well for me and I got what I wanted. I have nice lawn in the front and decent but resistant and low maintenance lawn in the back.

Everyones situation is different and you have to take it all with a grain of salt and decide on your own. I dont know what your lawn looks like now, how much time and money you want to spend and what kind of final quality are you looking for. Either way good luck and I hope it turns out good.