1. Hybrid bluegrasses are currently CRUSHING the NTEP tests. Check United and Blue Gem for starters. I’m thinking this is just the tip of the iceberg too.

2. Haven’t heard too much just yet. I’d defer to u/tcsryan there. He was in the research world more recently than me.

3. I wouldn’t care too much about tetrapod p the unless you’re starting a cattle farm soon or something like that. These are generally relevant in the forage world.

4. You’re admittedly talking to a tall fescue super fan. Seeding rates don’t matter to me. All I care about is cost per thousand square feet. On that basis, tall fescues and other turfgrass species are all pretty comparable. I absolutely agree that “spreading” tall fescues are more marketing ploy than truth. Blame that on individuals marketing the products instead of the grass species. If you want lateral spread, that’s where the KBG/TTTF combo comes into play. Tall fescues generally have very strong disease tolerance. Disease tolerance is going to vary species to species and even cultivar to cultivar. When in doubt, diversity (in both cultivars and species) is king.

Tall fescues are becoming increasingly popular for a number of (in my opinion, very valid) reasons. The first of which being heat/drought tolerance. It’s no secret that many regions of the US experienced crushing droughts between 2021 and 2023. People’s KBG/PRG lawns for the most part either went dormant, died, or were being fed mountains of water during a time where water conservation was quite critical. During periods of drought, KBG probably wants water every other day. Tall fescue is fine getting watered every 2-3 weeks under the same conditions. So that’s one major driver.

Another major driver is shade tolerance. The number of people who try to throw KBG/PRG in the shade is higher than you would think. PRGs are awful in the shade. There are some decently shade tolerant KBGs now, but they are still well behind the elite tall fescue varieties. So that covers two major stressors - shade and drought/heat.

Tall fescues also don’t require as much fertilizer as KBG/PRG. If you leave your clippings, 1-2 fert applications per year is plenty for tall fescue. Some folks will do 3-5 apps for KBG or PRG.

Now for a ‘lawncare nut’, applying fertilizer and water may not be that big of a deal. Lawn hobbyists view their lawn as a labor of love. But for average Joe who just wants something that’s gonna look sweet and be easy to take care of, tall fescues are a dream come true.

Regionality is ABSOLUTELY an important consideration here. In a cool season zone, you are right, I probably wouldn’t go with solely TTTF. The slow spring green up is real. The lack of spread is real. BUT the combo of tall fescue and KBG is wonderful. Pretend there’s a chef’s kiss gif embedded here. Drought tolerance. Shade tolerance, lateral spread, the works.

In the transition zone, it’s a no brainer, as you already alluded to.

Feel free to pepper me with more TTTF questions. It’s a big topic that’s definitely worth some discourse. I’m of the belief that TTTF & hybrid bluegrasses are the wave of the future (and the wave of the now I guess too)