Kentucky 31 tall fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass are both well-known varieties of grass. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks which makes both types a wise choice depending on the results you want. Know your zone and determine your needs to choose the grass that will perform best for you.
Is Kentucky 31 fescue the same as Kentucky bluegrass?
Compared to these more modern turf-type and dwarf tall fescue varieties, KY-31 has a lighter green color, coarser texture and wider blades. Other KY-31 Characteristics to Consider As with other tall fescue varieties, Kentucky 31 germinates much more quickly than Kentucky bluegrass.
Is Kentucky 31 a cool season grass?
Kentucky 31 is a cool-season grass, meaning its most vigorous growth happens during cooler temperatures of fall and spring. Like other tall fescue varieties, KY-31 is best adapted to regions with moderate summers and cool winters.
Which germinates faster Kentucky 31 or Kentucky bluegrass?
As with other tall fescue varieties, Kentucky 31 germinates much more quickly than Kentucky bluegrass .
Why is Kentucky 31 so popular?
As Kentucky 31's popularity grew through the 1950s, its excellent disease resistance and resilience attracted attention. Among those keen on the grass' potential was Brooks Pennington, Jr., who was in the process of shifting Pennington Seed's focus from agricultural seed products to seeds for lawns and turf.
Is bluegrass the same as Kentucky bluegrass?
It's important to distinguish the two because Kentucky bluegrass is highly desirable in a lawn, but annual bluegrass is a weed. It is a weed because it is a winter annual or weak perennial and often dies during summer heat and drought leaving behind a lack-luster lawn.
What type of grass seed is Kentucky 31?
31 Tall Fescue Grass SeedPremium Oregon Grown Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue Grass Seed (5 LBS)
Is Kentucky 31 grass good for a yard?
1:519:41Kentucky 31 vs Turf Type Tall Fescue: What's The Difference & Which is ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThis grass the kentucky 31 is a lighter green color than the turf type tall fescue now both of theseMoreThis grass the kentucky 31 is a lighter green color than the turf type tall fescue now both of these are planted in the same growing medium it's good soil.
Is Kentucky tall fescue the same as bluegrass?
Both tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass have dark green blades but while tall fescue has thin, coarse, broad blades, the blades of Kentucky bluegrass are thin and relatively fine. Many people would describe the touch of a tall fescue lawn as “rough” or scratchy” while a Kentucky bluegrass lawn is undeniably soft.
Will Kentucky 31 spread on its own?
Unlike bunch-forming grasses, such as tall fescue and ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass is a self-spreading, sod-forming grass. Once established, it spreads readily via underground stems known as rhizomes to form a dense, thick turf.
Is Kentucky 31 Good for overseeding?
Do not use Kentucky 31 tall fescue or other coarse fescue blends for overseeding lawns. The coarse fescues are larger and taller growing plants that do not blend well in bermudagrass. Some varieties of warm season grasses can be established by seed. Soil preparation is the same for all grass seed.
Does Kentucky 31 stay green winter?
Kentucky 31 is a cool-season grass, meaning its most vigorous growth happens during cooler temperatures of fall and spring. Like other tall fescue varieties, KY-31 is best adapted to regions with moderate summers and cool winters.
Can you mix fescue and Kentucky bluegrass?
By mixing Kentucky Bluegrass with Tall Fescue, you get the benefits of both and reduce the negatives of each. Your lawn will thrive with moderate maintenance and watering, repair itself quickly, and remain attractive through summer heat and brisk fall temperatures.
What is the hardiest grass seed?
Perennial ryegrass thrives all over California and is also widely used all over the U.S. It germinates and establishes quickly with lush, long-lasting color, even in full or partial sun.
Do I have fescue or bluegrass?
The 2 biggest differences that you can see: 1) Bluegrass has a smooth boat shaped tip on the grass blade and Fescue has rough pointed tip on the grass blade. 2) If you pull the leaf off the stem of the grass you will see one of 2 shapes a triangular or round shape on the leaf.
What is the darkest green Kentucky bluegrass?
Midnight Kentucky bluegrassMidnight Kentucky bluegrass set the standard for dark color, beginning with the 1985 NTEP test (Morris, 1991). It con- tinued to be the darkest variety in national trials through the end of the 1995 test (Mor- ris, 1996; 2001).
Will Kentucky bluegrass choke out weeds?
It can't choke out weeds if the weeds are growing, but as a KBG lawn gets thicker and thicker, it makes it much harder for weeds and weed seeds to get a foothold.
Which is better, Kentucky bluegrass or fescue?
It grows in a carpet fashion which makes the Bluegrass have a better appearance than the Tall Fescue.
What are the disadvantages of growing bluegrass in Kentucky?
Disadvantages of growing Kentucky Bluegrass. It has a low tolerance for traffic. Turf diseases like summer patch and dollar spot can cause thinning during summer and spring. It requires regular irrigation when maintained with high nitrogen fertilizers. It can develop severe thatch build up.
What is tall fescue grass?
Kentucky tall fescue has a wide, light green colour leaf and is popularly used for lawns, fields and pasture grounds because of its high traffic tolerance and low maintenance. It has an impressive seeding rate of 6 pounds per 1000 square feet (pure live seed). The grass is considered to be bunch type and non-spreading due to its slow coverage rate.
Why does bluegrass go dormant?
It often goes dormant during drought or dry periods only to revive itself once favourable conditions are met. Bluegrass also requires double the amount of water for it to thrive and this amount increases during summer.
Is Kentucky bluegrass traffic tolerant?
Traffic tolerance. Kentucky bluegrass has a very low tolerance for traffic, both human and animal, and will do very poorly in areas with high traffic. Tall Fescue on the other hand, is more traffic tolerant and this makes it better suited for grounds and lawns that have heavy usage like pitches and other playing fields.
Is Kentucky Tall Fescue hard to grow?
Maintenance required. Kentucky Tall Fescue is tough and grows without much maintenance. It can grow in a wide variety of soils, ranging from thick clay to sandy soils and is drought tolerant due to its deep root system. Bluegrass is more delicate and requires regular fertilizer and watering.
Is Kentucky fescue or bluegrass better for cooler areas?
Tall fescue is more heat tolerant and requires less maintenance, while Bluegrass is best suited for cooler areas.
Does Kentucky 31 come back every year?
Because of the grass's bunch-forming growth, Kentucky 31 lawns develop very little thatch, but they typically benefit from regular lawn overseeding every one to three years.
Can I mix tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass?
Breeding has made many tall fescues competitive enough to mix with Kentucky bluegrass, which is particularly important in high-traffic situations where you need a speedy recovery from wear. Seed mixes consisting of 80 to 90 percent (by weight) tall fescue and 10 to 20 percent Kentucky bluegrass seem to work well.
How many acres does a 50 lb bag of grass seed cover?
For example, if the recommended seeding rate for a specific blend of grasses is 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet, multiply 6 by 43.56 to get 261.36. Thus you would need just over 261 pounds of seed for 1 acre.
How fast does Kentucky 31 grow?
Keep the soil moist to 4 inches until the seeds germinate, which takes one or two weeks depending on the temperature.
Is fescue or Kentucky bluegrass better?
Kentucky bluegrass seeds are slower to germinate than fescue seeds. Kentucky bluegrass spreads by underground stems called rhizomes, forming a tough, dense sod. Tall fescue does not require mowing less than 3 inches high, and uses about half as much water as Kentucky bluegrass.
What does Kentucky 31 look like?
Kentucky 31 tall fescue is broad leaved, coarse and light green in color. It is known as a bunch-type grass, growing in clusters, according to Ohio State University. Kentucky Bluegrass, which is actually native to Europe, is green although some varieties do have a slight bluish cast.
Does fescue come back every year?
Fescue is a cool-season grass; that means it grows best in the spring and fall when temperatures are cooler, and it struggles during the heat of summer. Under the right conditions, fescue is green year-round, but it can go dormant (brown) during severe heat and drought.
Where is Kentucky 31 grass grown?
Today Kentucky 31 tall fescue seed is produced in major U.S. grass-growing regions from Missouri to Oregon, as evidenced on ...
When does KY 31 grow?
As with all tall fescue grasses, KY-31 grows most vigorously during the cool seasons of fall and spring. By timing your major lawn care tasks to complement these peak times, you can maximize the benefits to your KY-31 lawn.
What is K 31?
Kentucky 31, known in the seed industry as KY-31 or K-31, helped tall fescue grasses transition from livestock pastures to lush, durable, manicured lawns. Lawn owners value its easy establishment, drought resistance and improved heat tolerance as well. If you're in the market for an economical, low-maintenance grass — with a bit ...
Is Kentucky 31 fescue good for the weather?
Where weather runs too hot for many cool-season grasses and too cold for most warm-season grasses, Kentucky 31 tall fescue shines. Tall fescues generally have greater heat tolerance than other cool-season grasses, but KY-31 offers better heat and drought tolerance than many tall fescue varieties. Its cold tolerance, which is greater than that ...
How does Kentucky 31 spread?
But Kentucky 31 spreads through vertical shoots known as "tillers," which grow from the plant's base.
When was tall fescue grass introduced to the agricultural market?
Seed was taken from those long-established Kentucky fields and research ensued. In 1942, the grass was introduced into the agricultural seed market as Kentucky 31 tall fescue, named for the state and year in which it was discovered.1 It quickly gained favor for use in agriculture, conservation and erosion control.
Is K-31 grass cold or warm?
Its cold tolerance, which is greater than that of perennial ryegrass, also provides an advantage over warm-season transition zone grasses. In the years since K-31 moved into the lawn and turf marketplace, many new tall fescue lawn grasses have been developed.
What grass is good for a lawn?
The Creeping Red Grass and the Kentucky 31 are excellent grasses for home lawns. They both prefer cold regions, but they are also resistant to harsh winters and drought conditions. Aside from this, these grass types are able to handle heavy traffic and repair fast. They both make for excellent environments on which to relax.
Is Kentucky 31 a fine grass?
The Kentucky-31 is a fine grass, but it has wider leaves than the Red Creeping Fescue. It has a tendency to grow vertically. This grass has a light shade of green, and some people have described it as being blue-green.
Is creeping red fescue grass good for cold?
The Creeping Red Fescue is largely a cool climate kind of grass. It has excellent resistance to harsh cold, and has the capacity to withstand winter. For this reason, it thrives quite well in regions that register lower temperatures. It reaches the peak of its growth in the cooler seasons.
Is this Kentucky 31 or something else?
Last fall I scalped and dethatched our lawn that was in bad shape due to neglect from the previous owner. It was a thin mess of what I think is Kentucky 31 tall fescue. I overseeded the yard pretty heavily with 100% KBG. I was hoping that this would have reduced the amount of this stuff and I'd end up with a mostly KBG lawn.
Re: Is this Kentucky 31 or something else?
Wide bladed fescue could be k31 or an older tall fescue variety. Hard to say for sure. K31 is noticeably lighter than improved varieties, even 20+ year ones, your pics look too dark to be k31. Any of the wide bladed fescues are going to really stick out against kbg or the newer tttf varieties. Color and growth rate are going to drive you mad.
Re: Is this Kentucky 31 or something else?
nclawnguy wrote: Wide bladed fescue could be k31 or an older tall fescue variety. Hard to say for sure. K31 is noticeably lighter than improved varieties, even 20+ year ones, your pics look too dark to be k31. Any of the wide bladed fescues are going to really stick out against kbg or the newer tttf varieties.
Re: Is this Kentucky 31 or something else?
nclawnguy wrote: Wide bladed fescue could be k31 or an older tall fescue variety. Hard to say for sure. K31 is noticeably lighter than improved varieties, even 20+ year ones, your pics look too dark to be k31. Any of the wide bladed fescues are going to really stick out against kbg or the newer tttf varieties.
When do bluegrass blades appear in Kentucky?
The leaf angle also differs by season, with new leaf blades appearing during spring and early summer being erect and those appearing from late summer and fall being decumbent. Kentucky bluegrass typically develops rhizomes that sprout up from the leaf axils, just above the ground surface.
How big are Kentucky bluegrass leaves?
Kentucky Bluegrass leaves are 6 to 12 inches long and boat-shaped at the tips. They appear to be smooth, soft, and about 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. The bluegrass video discusses the differences between bluegrass and perennial ryegrass since they are often mixed together and look similar.
How much nitrogen does a KBG need?
KBG requires 3 - 6 lbs. of nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft. Develops bunchy sods and is more traffic-resistant. Forms dense sods but does not tolerate traffic stress as well. Tall fescure requires only about 1 inch of water every week or 1.5 inches per week when grown in sandy soils.
What is the difference between tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass?
The difference between Kentucky bluegrass vs tall fescue is the cost factor and appearance.
How long does it take for bluegrass to grow?
Kentucky bluegrass – scientifically known as Poa pratensis – typically grows to a height of between 18-24 inches, with a canoe-shaped leaf tip. During spring, it develops new leaves every ten days, with the duration increased to about 22 days during summer and fall.
What is the pH of tall fescue grass?
Tall fescue is quite saline-tolerant and can do well in soils with pH levels of between 5.4- 6.2.
Does Kentucky bluegrass spread out by itself?
Additionally, Kentucky bluegrass forms dense sods that spread out by themselves to cover even bare patches. Tall fescue, on the other hand, develops bunchy sods that eventually require re-seeding to get rid of bare patches in the lawn.
