Question: I am not happy with the color of my lawn. The grass I have is winter rye intermingled with fescue. The rye is brownish, while the fescue is not. Can I, or should I, fertilize now, and with what?
This most likely has to do with the type of winter rye that was used. If the grower used annual ryegrass as the winter rye, then it will die and there is nothing you can do. All you can do at this point is to watch the rye and see if it is dying and plan on replacing it with tall fescue by overseeding your lawn in the fall.
There are some great ryes for winter overseeding that are very green; Palmer and Prelude have been used on golf courses here for more than 20 years.
There is no problem applying a fertilizer this time of year, as long as you use light applications. Pick a good turfgrass fertilizer that contains some iron, apply it at half rates and make sure it is watered in thoroughly after the application. I would do this during the early morning hours.
If the winter rye has failed this summer, I would overseed your turf area with a good blend of tall fescues.
Bob Morris is an associate professor with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. He can be reached at morrisr@UNCE.unr.edu.
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