can I still overseed in Atlanta?

[W.D.]

I successfully turned my weed-choked front lot into a healthy (though
temporary) lawn last Fall via RoundUp followed by seeding with a winter rye,
which took nicely. Knew the rye would die in the Atlanta summer heat so
overseeded at the end of April with Scott's new blend of tall fescue & heat
tolerant Kentucky Bluegrass. Unfortunately, I was traveling for most of May
so couldn't tend the lawn properly and, despite lots of rain, the
heat-resistent fescue never germinated properly.

Should I try to overseed one more time w/the heat resistant fescue/bluegrass
blend? Should I try something else (if so what)? Or should I wait until
September again and start over? I would prefer not to have to seed every
year so I'd like to get something down that stays and is well-suited to full
sun. Thanks for any suggestions!

W.D.

[Kyle Boatright]

"W.D." <wdanis at NO SPAM yahoo dot com> wrote in message
news:WKydnYnCHckVxTbfRVn-2g@comcast.com...
>I successfully turned my weed-choked front lot into a healthy (though
>temporary) lawn last Fall via RoundUp followed by seeding with a winter
>rye, which took nicely. Knew the rye would die in the Atlanta summer heat
>so overseeded at the end of April with Scott's new blend of tall fescue &
>heat tolerant Kentucky Bluegrass. Unfortunately, I was traveling for most
>of May so couldn't tend the lawn properly and, despite lots of rain, the
>heat-resistent fescue never germinated properly.
>
> Should I try to overseed one more time w/the heat resistant
> fescue/bluegrass blend? Should I try something else (if so what)? Or
> should I wait until September again and start over? I would prefer not to
> have to seed every year so I'd like to get something down that stays and
> is well-suited to full sun. Thanks for any suggestions!
>
> W.D.

I live in Atlanta and speak from experience. ;-) I've had Fescue, Bermuda
sod, Zoysia sod (El Toro and Emerald), and have just converted the back yard
at my new house from Fescue to Emerald. In shady locations, I'm a fan of
Fescue, and in the sun, I like Zoysia because it needs less frequent mowing
and isn't as invasive as Bermuda.

To answer your question, unless our current run of rainy weather continues
all summer, any Fescue you sew between now and about the middle of September
will germinate if you keep it moist, but will never survive to maturity.
It'll die one hot, dry day this summer.

If you want Fescue, aerate your soil in mid-September, overseed, and water
until the grass establishes. Unless you have excellent soil to promote deep
roots, Fescue will never be very summer-hardy, and you'll end up overseeding
almost every fall.

If you really want something that handles the sun, you could aerate then
seed with one of the improved Bermudas. With proper watering, it would
dominate your yard by the end of the Summer, although it probably wouldn't
choke out the Fescue for a couple of years. There are also some nice
Zoysia's that can be grown from seed, Zenith comes to mind. However, it is
a slow grower, and it would probably be 6-8 weeks of TLC to get the seeds to
sprout and become somewhat drought tolerant.

I'm sure you're aware that both Bermuda and Zoysia are dormant in the
Winter...