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Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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Posted by enigma7 se PA (My Page) on Wed, Oct 28, 09 at 8:04
| I have been trying to read up on KGB seed and it's growth/life cycle and realize now how similar it is to crabgrass. Crabgrass typically goes to seed when not terribly tall and I'm wondering if since my KGB lawn is new it would be beneficial to let it go to seed next fall to help thicken it up?
It would be great to naturally go this route rather than reseeding.. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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As seen in this URL http://www.ntep.org/data/kb05/kb05_09-10/kb0509t34.txt
today's elite KBG cultivars are bred for reduced seed head formation, hence the higher price when purchasing the seeds. When allowed to grow 2 to 3 feet tall, KBG will produce seed heads, some more than others. KBG produces a purplish/blue seed head and that's where the name 'bluegrass' comes from. When we see seed heads in our home owner KBG lawns - that's poa annua more often than not. |
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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| OK, thanks for the reply. Some of the pictures I googled showed the seed formation at heights much lower than 2-3feet. Some looked barely a foot and while not that great to look at, I'd be willing to let my lawn get that tall once or twice, but 2-3' not a chance, not to mention as you said the 3D-sod blend I have probably has been engineered to not produce seed in the same manner. |
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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| Plus when you finally cut your lawn after letting it go to seed it will look terrible and you might lose a lot of it by putting too much stress on it since you will be cutting stem not blade. Save yourself a lot of trouble and overseed it, that will definitely thicken it. |
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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| Tiemco, I completely understand. The picture I saw on the net showed relatively short grass (under a foot) that sent up central seed shoots (similar to how crab grass does). Those pictures leant me to believe that the grass wouldn't be damaged too much since the seed shoots rose up above and I could then do several cuttings to avoid stressing the lawn too much. As it is, I'll just do the overseeding and hope for the best. I'm still fighting over the idea of overseeding in the spring. I have a relatively barren yard right now and don't know how well it will thicken up by spring, but do not want to imagine the weed issues if I'm constantly watering to keep the seeds moist come spring. |
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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| I understand the weed issue. So I guess you have to decide which option is the best for your. Early spring seeding, weeds come up, use weed be gone after three or four mowings and hope it makes it through the summer. Or live with a barren lawn for most of the year, killing the weeds in the spring, early summer, and doing a late summer renovation. Or you could do both, which would probably give you the best results, but twice the work. Well you have a few months to think about it. |
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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| I would like to clarify something. My friend GaryC said, "When we see seed heads in our home owner KBG lawns - that's poa annua more often than not". This is absolutely false. Poa annua seedheads are always white. In your lawn you'll notice a lot of blue/purple color seedheads. This IS kbg. The difference between poa annua and kbg is that the poa annua seeds are "viable" at any height. You need to let KBG reach 1-2 feet before the seeds become "viable". |
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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| Good point formicburn and thanks for the clarification! |
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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| Yikes, I didn't know the seeds were viable pretty much from the get-go. I have always thought if you cut them at the height of the regular grass everything would be fine. I mulch mow and didn't realize I was seeding my lawn with poa...... |
RE: Letting KGB go to seed to thicken lawn?
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| Yeah, that's why poa is such a huge problem. Whether it's cut at 5/8" or 3" it thrives. The best solution is to put down a pre-emergent around labor day. This should help keep the poa population down the following year. |
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