What can I do?
I’m thinking of buying some appropriate grass seed and overseeding, hoping that some of the good stuff emerges with the rye on my already-established lawn.
Marguerite, e-mail
A. Marguerite, first off, I would never use those lawn boys again. If they can’t follow directions and/or know the difference between fescue and winter rye, they are not the people for the job. Plus, I would ask for a refund on at least part of your bill since they blantantly made a mistake. I hope you put your request in writing or they wrote up an estimate so you have a paper trail and can substantiate their mistake.
Anyway, to the crux of the matter. Unfortunately, winter rye comes up very quickly and will compete and outgrow any fescue you put down. For gardeners who are not knowledgeable about winter rye, it’s an annual grass seed that’s great for overseeding on Bermuda to give it a green look in the winter (Bermuda goes dormant and brown in winter because it’s a warm-season grass). Winter rye is also ideal for quick coverage in bare spots to prevent erosion, but understand the grass dies out when heat arrives in May and does not return, hence its category as an “annual.”
Marguerite, if you want to attempt to get some fescue to establish, I would buy the inexpensive Kentucky 31, which is an aggressive perennial fescue. The downside is it’s not a fine-blade fescue like some of the higher-priced grass seeds. Some say Kentucky 31 is a weed, but I don’t agree with that. It’s the forerunner to fescue grass seeds as we know them now.
Good luck and hire a different company next year! Kathy
