Grass color question

[Tinkerbell]

I have this problem with my front yard and have NO idea what to do about it. When the house was built, we sowed grass seed in the front to about 30' out - to make the inspectors happy. Later (the following spring), we sowed the rest of the front property (about 1.5 more acres). The grass planted first by the house is a darker green than the grass planted later. I have a line in my yard where you can see the color difference! Right along the front! It's driving me crazy! I thought time would help, maybe they would grow/blend over the years. It's been three years. Nope. still have a line. It is all Kentucky Blue grass - why is it so different?

I have:

reseeded ALL of it at the same time a couple of times to try and get it to blend.
Fertilized over and over and over again.
Aerated the lawn - repeatedly.
Yelled at it.
Threatened it.

nothing works. HELP!

 

[pixiegirl]

I have this problem with my front yard and have NO idea what to do about it. When the house was built, we sowed grass seed in the front to about 30' out - to make the inspectors happy. Later (the following spring), we sowed the rest of the front property (about 1.5 more acres). The grass planted first by the house is a darker green than the grass planted later. I have a line in my yard where you can see the color difference! Right along the front! It's driving me crazy! I thought time would help, maybe they would grow/blend over the years. It's been three years. Nope. still have a line. It is all Kentucky Blue grass - why is it so different?

I have:

reseeded ALL of it at the same time a couple of times to try and get it to blend.
Fertilized over and over and over again.
Aerated the lawn - repeatedly.
Yelled at it.
Threatened it.

nothing works. HELP!

It could be worse... I have no front lawn just a tiny horseshoe area that had grass and weeds. I was on Topamax which made me apathetic and retarded... My mother threw down tons and I mean tons of wildflower seed... There's so many freaking weeks, so much junk in there I don't know what to do! We are livin' ghetto fabulous.

 

[Tinkerbell]

It could be worse... I have no front lawn just a tiny horseshoe area that had grass and weeds. I was on Topamax which made me apathetic and retarded... My mother threw down tons and I mean tons of wildflower seed... There's so many freaking weeks, so much junk in there I don't know what to do! We are livin' ghetto fabulous.

I've got an old truck you could put out front with cinder blocks! My husband won't let me. I told him I was going for the ghetto fabulous look. He looked at me like I had grown a third boob. I thought it could hide part of my stripe!

He's no fun.

 

[Celts]

I have this problem with my front yard and have NO idea what to do about it. When the house was built, we sowed grass seed in the front to about 30' out - to make the inspectors happy. Later (the following spring), we sowed the rest of the front property (about 1.5 more acres). The grass planted first by the house is a darker green than the grass planted later. I have a line in my yard where you can see the color difference! Right along the front! It's driving me crazy! I thought time would help, maybe they would grow/blend over the years. It's been three years. Nope. still have a line. It is all Kentucky Blue grass - why is it so different?

I have:

reseeded ALL of it at the same time a couple of times to try and get it to blend.
Fertilized over and over and over again.
Aerated the lawn - repeatedly.
Yelled at it.
Threatened it.

nothing works. HELP!

Is there a difference in the soil...like good topsoil and then just clay stuff?

 

[pixiegirl]

Is there a difference in the soil...like good topsoil and then just clay stuff?

Good one! This person was actual helpful unlike me!

 

[Tinkerbell]

Is there a difference in the soil...like good topsoil and then just clay stuff?

Our soil is topsoil with MUCH clay underneath. The first part planted was where the dirt was disburbed by constuction, so even though is was graded back over with topsoil, it possibly has a thinner layer of topsoil than the rest and may have some clay mixed in due to the grading.

 

[Celts]

Good one! This person was actual helpful unlike me!

But you did help...you were medicated and you live with your ma..that in itself is a help.

 

[pixiegirl]

But you did help...you were medicated and you live with your ma..that in itself is a help.

I was medicated and living on my own, raising two children of my own. My mother came to visit and graced my yard with wildflower seed.
I've been out of my mother's house minus a couple months since I was 18.

 

[Celts]

I was medicated and living on my own, raising two children of my own. My mother came to visit and graced my yard with wildflower seed.
I've been out of my mother's house minus a couple months since I was 18.

Sorry..got it wrong..my meds are slow to work..sorry...

 

[Celts]

Our soil is topsoil with MUCH clay underneath. The first part planted was where the dirt was disburbed by constuction, so even though is was graded back over with topsoil, it possibly has a thinner layer of topsoil than the rest and may have some clay mixed in due to the grading.

Maybe the roots are healthier on first part of lawn and go to clay on other part?
Only thing I can thnk of..sounds like ya did all the right stuff to get grass healthy.

 

[Tinkerbell]

I think I'm stuck with a two toned yard.

I'm going to go with it and cultivate it and it'll be the next hot fad in yards. Everyone will want to know how I did it.

 

[Celts]

I think I'm stuck with a two toned yard.

I'm going to go with it and cultivate it and it'll be the next hot fad in yards. Everyone will want to know how I did it.

Just tell folks it is where the longitude ( or latitude) line runs and show them a map!! haha
If the ask..say..it is all green to me! and wink...

 

[Tinkerbell]

Just tell folks it is where the longitude ( or latitude) line runs and show them a map!! haha
If the ask..say..it is all green to me! and wink...

I could see it now...

"I'm sorry, what color difference? I just don't see what you are talking about? Oh, that? That's just where the 38th parallel runs through. You mean you don't have one?"

 

[Cowgirl]

Hmm...are you sure one isn't Kentucky Bluegrass, and the other Kentuck 31 (tall fescue)? They look pretty different....one has thin, soft blades, and the other has thick, coarser blades. Do you just see a color difference, or are the blades different?

Maybe the topsoil was taken away when they graded your yard....but the rest of the area has topsoil, so the grass grows better?

 

[Celts]

I could see it now...

"I'm sorry, what color difference? I just don't see what you are talking about? Oh, that? That's just where the 38th parallel runs through. You mean you don't have one?"

Brilliant!!! You found the answer!!
How many other dudes have that 38th thru their yard??

 

[Ehesef]

Try spreading lime on the lighter part of the yard. We lime ours every year because it really "greens up" the grass.

 

[Dougstermd]

I could see it now...

"I'm sorry, what color difference? I just don't see what you are talking about? Oh, that? That's just where the 38th parallel runs through. You mean you don't have one?"

look at the advice here


also what are the sun shade conditions in the two different places?
Is there a chance that one location gets better watering from run off?(or one run off contains more nutrients?)

 

[Idiot]

Spread 30-10-10 (miracid) over the lighter green (it won't be cheap) and pelletized limestone (no fertilizer) over the darker green part twice a year (Spring and Fall). In a year or 2 it will blend.

If you normally use weed-n-feed try weed-b-gone in a sprayer to spot-kill the broadleaf.

Good luck.

 

[cdsulhoff]

I have this problem with my front yard and have NO idea what to do about it. When the house was built, we sowed grass seed in the front to about 30' out - to make the inspectors happy. Later (the following spring), we sowed the rest of the front property (about 1.5 more acres). The grass planted first by the house is a darker green than the grass planted later. I have a line in my yard where you can see the color difference! Right along the front! It's driving me crazy! I thought time would help, maybe they would grow/blend over the years. It's been three years. Nope. still have a line. It is all Kentucky Blue grass - why is it so different?

I have:

reseeded ALL of it at the same time a couple of times to try and get it to blend.
Fertilized over and over and over again.
Aerated the lawn - repeatedly.
Yelled at it.
Threatened it.

nothing works. HELP!

I need to try the yelling and threaten part for my lawn.Maybe it will start doing something.!!! LOL

 

[JustynSayneBand]

well, I may as well put in my 2 cents on this one, since it deals with one of my lifelong professions.

The contractor who seeded the backfill would have surely used a "contractors Mix" which consists of Annual Ryegrass and Perennial Ryegrass, the super most cheapest junk on the planet. The Annual will germinate in a bout 7 days and therefore gives the inspector proof that the seeds were sown. The perennial is simply an erosion control, not much better than the weed laden garbage called Kentucky 31, the Ryegrasses are lighter in shade, as they are not "Turf Type Fescues" they are simply field grasses, like K-31, but, K-31 is a clump grass and not very attractive in a front lawn, they should ban this junk named K-31. The Kentucky Bluegrass is a "turf type", but, it is a thin blade dark shade leaf. So, given these two factors, ( contractor grade grass and homeowner seeded ) there is a natural color difference by type / species of grass.

As for the shade difference after you sowed the lighter area with bluegrass, this based on the law of Color Pixilation, yep, just think printer ink, you can add a darker shade to another color (over-seeding), but, you'll still have the lighter shade blended in. This is what you see in the line across the yard. Recurring problem when you buy grass by price tag and not previous use.

The solution, spray the entire area with a grass killing herbicide, (DO NOT USE A "PRAMITOL" BASED WEED KILLER) wait a few weeks and till / drag / fertilize / lime the area and then heavily reseed the area with the K-Bluegrass, you'll see the results you're looking for the next year.

Debunking the backfill dirt myth. Most always the backfill dirt is the same as the rest of the dirt in the area, so, I would not expect that the soil is the issue, it's the difference in grass species. Contractors will sometimes throw in that backfill charge just a make a few thousand extra buck off of the homeowner, but, it's the dirt that was already there.

BTW: put down all the lime you want to, you can make it look like it snowed, you can't put down too much lime, be careful with the fertilizer though, and don't fertilize over new seed, it'll burn the seed and destroy it.

Any further questions, please ask.

Thanks, Dwight
Email: JustynSayne@somd.net