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| My back lawn has been invaded with Poa Trivialis and I'm going to start over this fall. I am in eastern VA.
I want to establish a fine-bladed tall fescue lawn. The yard is shaded part of the day and bordered by 5-6 large pine and oak trees. Must be able to stand up to multiple dogs running at full speed. No foot traffic except for me. I have the usual big box stores nearby and a couple of specialty l&g stores. I need some recommendations on what brand and type I should try. I'm willing to buy via internet if it's the right stuff. (I'd ask my neighbors but they're all growing crabgrass and chickweed!) |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by Ibanez540r 6 - OH (My Page) on Sun, Jul 29, 12 at 18:13
| I'd go to the local l&g stores and see what they carry. A lot of high quality seed is packaged in various mixes by different companies. What I mean is Conchise IV fescue or Rambler SRP fescue could be in a bag of seed from several different companies. ...as far as a recommendation, it's a lot more in depth than just A or B. Your conditions, what you prefer, amounts of water, color, etc. If your just looking for something basic, I'm sure the l&g will have something that will work for you. Just don;t buy scotts or pennington, etc. from the big box. I'm sure someone will recommend you to the NTEP trials... |
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- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Sun, Jul 29, 12 at 18:24
| You have a couple issues which drive you to opposite ends of the grass spectrum. One is shade and the other is dogs. Dogs require a grass that responds quickly to damage. Unfortunately there are no grasses which respond quickly and can handle shade. Fescue can deal with the shade but once it is uprooted, it is gone. The adjacent fescue will not spread in to fill the hole. What I always suggest for dogs is to fill the area with several inches of shredded tree mulch. You can usually get it for free from a company that trims trees and shreds them on location. If you wanted it 2 inches deep, you would need 6 cubic yards of mulch per 1,000 square feet. You would have to replenish a little each year because it is organic and not a permanent material. |
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| Funny you should mention tree mulch. I'm about to have a 100ft dead white oak tree cut down (and hauled away). However, since it died 2 years ago, I have a hefty collection of dead limbs and I have a shredder/chipper that I make mulch with every year from all the leaves and lawn clippings. I can shred these for the mulch layer. Now after I put this down, are you saying I would seed and/or top dress over it? Or are you saying this would be my substitute for grass? |
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| Ibanez540r, yes I have spent some time already at NTEP since my original post and think I have decided on what to buy. While I love the results of gardening, it irks me to no end that when I make a mistake on choosing what to grow, I usually don't find out til months later when it's too late to fix it. I guess that's why I'm still rehabbing my yard for 5 years now. |
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| If I could recommend only one TTTF it would be Bullseye, check the NTEP. You might consider mixing in 10-20% Kentucky bluegrass by weight. It will be able to fill in the inevitable bare areas, and provide some genetic diversity. Bewitched is a good choice as it has good shade tolerance and does very well in all areas. Zinfandel is also a good suggestion if you want to mix in some KBG. There are others, but I won't go into detail as it's only a suggestion. |
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