I have grown a Hybrid Bluegrass Turf-Type Tall Fescue blend for years in PHOENIX! It grows well everywhere until July 4th. It then declines, especially in full sun. I then reseed in the last weekend of September or the 1st weekend of October. It does so well in shade that there are areas I don’t even need to seed at all in the fall!
I highly recommend over-seeding with Hybrid Bluegrass and/or Turf-Type Tall Fescue INSTEAD of Ryegrass in areas too shady for Bermuda. Hybrid Bluegrass and Turf-Type Tall Fescue are similar to Perennial Ryegrass as they are both cool-season grasses. However, they both have more heat tolerance than Ryegrass. Think of it as a ryegrass substitute that is green year-round in shady spots.
It takes 6-21 days to germinate. For best results, core aerate any hard, compacted soil, use starter fertilizer, and apply a thin layer of soil on top of the seed.
You MUST maintain the Hybrid Bluegrass and Fescue at 2.5” MINIMUM mowing height, preferably 3” or higher for better heat and drought tolerance. It will need MORE watering than Bermuda, but LESS than Ryegrass.
Alternative Options:
St. Augustine looks a little like crabgrass
Zoysia looks more like Bermuda, but it is really hard to find and grows really slowly.
St. Augustine and Zoysia grow well in the summer, but go dormant in the winter like Bermuda, and DON’T tolerate over-seeding.
It depends whether you use HE-VAN, VAN, U Series or Traditional MPR spray nozzles and the distance.
I use the HE-VANs that I installed last September.
I’ve noticed a large decrease in my water bill from switching to HE-VAN nozzles from the VAN nozzles and my October and November water bills were the lowest ever. I didn’t even get Rachio until early December 2020.
My nozzles are the HE-VAN 10, 12, and 15. The Precipitation rate is in 1.58"-2.24" on the extreme ends for my set up, with the vast majority within 1.72-1.99" per hour.
I have a turf-type tall fescue and hybrid bluegrass lawn.
I use Fixed Schedule for the lawn, as I change it a lot and know what it needs from previous years before Rachio. I need to dial in the Flex daily settings to match what I know my lawn wants.
My current schedule for June is 3-4 days a week 20-24 minutes per zone. I split it up into 8 minute cycle and soak for 52 minutes. You should be using less minutes per week than me with Bermuda than my cool season lawn.
I use Flex Daily for the my trees, shrubs and large flower pot zones. Flex Daily has saved so much water for the plants on drip.
I recommend the HE-VAN, U Series, R-VAN and MP rotators for pop up heads. I like the relatively high flow rates of the HE-VAN, U Series, and MP800s so all lawn and drip zones can run between 9pm and 7am minimizing evaporation.
I’ve read not to water the yard/grass at night because the dampness will lead to bad things (like fungus or something). Maybe that’s not true? Or maybe that’s not true for us because we live in a desert?
