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blaher

New Lawn Seeding Help

blaher
10 years ago

I'm in the first round of killing off my front lawn with roundup. The lawn had way to many problems, and I decided it was best to restart and let the neighbors gawk over my new perfect lawn next year.

I keep second guessing my self on the seed selection though. I came across this form hundreds of times while googling for research, so I figured this might be a good lead. My first choice was to go full bluegrass, but then I decided on midwest mix due to heavy shading in some areas. Now I'm thinking a 50/50 mix of Scott's turfbuilder Midwest mix and Bluegrass mix. Though I'm open for opinions.

I live in North East Ohio, with harsh winters and harsh humid summers. I'm not quite in the snow belt with being in North Canton, but I come close. I have a small front yard, no Irrigation, but I obviously plan to water daily for the first month after seeding. I have one mature dogwood in the corner that provides heavy shade, a newly planted sapling dogwood I planted in the middle of my lawn, and the neighbor's maple slightly over hangs the other end of my yard. The front yard is on the north side of the house, so there's also that shade factor along with my neighbor's house shades from the west. I keep my john deere at 3.5", but I can adjust that. I will post pictures when I get home.

I really love the look of dark bluegrass and thick cushioned grass, I think it would do really well in the non-shaded spots of my yard. Then again, I don't plan on watering myself and the heavy shade spots could be a huge issue with pure bluegrass. I'm also doubting the quality of the Scott brand, but I don't know what consists of quality or not. Money is no limit for this project, and I provided enough time left for that early fall planting.

What is everyone's opinions and advice for what brand and mix of grass seed I should use? Pictures coming soon for a better reference.

Comments (5)

  • grass1950
    10 years ago

    There are some KBG cultivars that are somewhat shade tolerant. Tiemco should be along to give you advice. Discribe what sun if any reaches the lawn areas to be seeded--number of hours of morning, afternoon and evening sun and get the pics posted.

  • blaher
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I forgot to mention. It's mostly flat, except a slope on the right side that I may end up lifting with a retaining wall. As you can see I cut the shrubs down, will dig them out, and move the house edging back a few feet (just enough to be under the gutters). No shade from any future house edging, I'm probably going to go low maintenance and plant some time of long grass or flower bush.

    You can somewhat make out the new sapling over the green spot on the left. The mature dogwood is very heavy shade, and light rarely hits around the base ever.

    Just for reference, the front face of the house is north.

  • blaher
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here's a picture of how high the neighbor's maple is, also another angle to show the depth of the front yard. I would say the north west never gets any shade. The north east gets shade from the neighbor's tree in the morning to probably close to noon, then the rest of the day is sunny. However, that will change over the years as the sapling grows. The south west rarely gets any shade, due to the dogwood. The south east side is completely shade in the morning, and partial shade afternoon.

  • grass1950
    10 years ago

    Tiemco must have missed your post.
    You should be able to grow KBG between the walkway and the street. I have been able to grow it (well sod actually) on a North facing lawn with a large locust tree on the West side of the lawn and a large dogwood on the East. The area between the walk and the home (where your dogwood is) may be more of a challenge. KBG may grow there or possibly FF, but you may want to consider making that area into a flower bed.
    Personally, I don't think trees and lawns are very compatable. Not just because of the shade, but because trees are "lawn bullies". They suck water and nutrients like pigs. There is a place near you that sells elite seeds, fertilizer and sod. Look for BestTurf in Hartville/Uniontown that you may find very friendly and helpful.

  • blaher
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the help. I wasn't aware of any good quality seed places in my area. So, that's a big help. I'll give BesTurf a call, and see what they advice for that shaddy spot.

    I'm too much of a lover for trees, so I'll have to just do my best with watering and nutrients. I've been thinking about install a water sprinkler system, but Lowes and Home Depot were not much help in that department.