If you plan to reseed your cool-season lawn this fall, you may be wondering which seed to choose. NCSU evaluates cultivars of tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass and publishes lists of recommendations for this area.

Tall Fescue recommendations: http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/NTEP/Default.aspx#AR005346

Kentucky Bluegrass recommendations: http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/NTEP/Default.aspx#AR005347

Per NCSU: Companies often blend multiple cultivars together for sale in the retail market but use a simple Name Brand to enhance brand recognition. The combination of grasses is often recommended since there is no one grass that will perform well under all conditions.  So when shopping for tall fescue seed, the name on the front of the bag may not represent or identify the cultivars that make up the product. To add to the confusion, the cultivars and/or the percentage of each cultivar within the bag of a Name Brand may change from year to year but the Name Brand often remains unchanged.  Again, this is done for brand recognition. Under close inspection, however, the bags are required to list the cultivar(s) and the percentage of each cultivar by weight within the bag. Customers often ask about matching our recommended cultivars to those listed on the bag seed label.  Unfortunately, it may not be easy to find a bag that contains only cultivars from our recommended lists. It is suggested, however, that at least 50% of the contents consist of NCSU’s recommended cultivars.  The higher the percentage, the greater the chances of obtaining a successful turf.

For more information, see http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu or contact Durham EMGVs at 919-560-0528