In Illinois, rye for green grass in winter?

colleen – posted 18 August 2002 09:19

I live in Champaign, IL which is 150 miles south of Chicago. My lawn is Kentucky Bluegrass. Last year, I threw some seed in one area of my lawn that stayed green throughout the winter. Would it have been rye? I want to top seed my entire lawn this winter. That green patch looked so nice through our often dreary winter.

Please help. Thanks.

wdrake – posted 19 August 2002 16:42

As I suggested to Bill in Ohio—give it a try:”I understand the experts at Ohio State recommend winter rye as a winter foliage crop for cattle. I suppose you could over seed with it. I’m not sure it will live all winter. At least some of the winters I spent in Dayton would kill it. Seed is relatively cheap, but you have to sow at 8-10 pounds per 1000 square feet to get a good stand of grass. Give it a try and let us know next spring how it went! ”