Winter Rye in FL

BareSpotsInFL – posted 09 December 2004 08:20

My house is going on the market Friday and there are some bare spots in the lawn. I was wondering if anyone in the southern half of the state has any experience with winter rye and if you think I can get the bare spots filled in pretty quickly with it or not. It’s 80-something outside, not exactly winter weather.

ted – posted 09 December 2004 09:25

what’s the other grass? i’m not sure it will blend in properly. need to know where you are, but i would imagine the best ( and most consistent) fix is to over seed the entire lawn. use perennial rye with a starter (18-24-12) type of fertilizer.

BareSpotsInFL – posted 09 December 2004 09:59

It’s bahiagrass. Any idea of how long it would take?

BareSpotsInFL – posted 09 December 2004 10:01

I am in port st. lucie by the way. It’s in between stuart and ft pierce.

ted – posted 09 December 2004 15:23

depending upon the weather it might not go dormant at all. as to the rye grass it’s going to stand out in a big way against the bahia. it will germinate in less than a week in your climate, but i would still overseed the lawn for a consistent look and curb appeal

BareSpotsInFL – posted 09 December 2004 16:32

Thanks for the info.

I will try it in a small area. I figured it might look inconsistent but I had put some sand down to level it out and it looks horrible.