I'm in NJ as well and when my house was completed my builder seeded grass with rye/fescue/kbg mix. It didnt fill in that well and I liked the way KBG looked so in the front of my house I kept reseeding with just KBG mixes and the back of my house with rye/fescue/kbg mix. So I think I was exactly in the same boat as you. My front looks great and it was a good thing that it was originally seeded with the mix because there is one area in the back that gets a lot of shade and KBG didnt take there but fescue did and it looks great. The rest where there is more sun fades from fescue to mostly KBG but the transformation from one to the other is unnoticable from the street. My neighbor across the street got his house built after mine and my front yard looks better then his $2000 sod. Now my backyard was originally seeded with rye/fescue/kbg mix and reseded with that as I'm still trying to get it as thick as my front yard. It looks fine but nowhere near as good as my front yard. It also doesnt require the amount of maintenance the front does and it seems to be more resistant to kid abuse. I guess what I'm trying to say its all relative to your situation and what you are trying to do. I wanted my front to be mostly KBG as it looks better but it took forever to establish and it takes more work to maintain. Not a problem for me as a like working on it. The existing mix that was seeded might not be a bad base as it will cover any places that are shaded where kbg wont grow (I dont know your yard so thats really up to you) but it wont be as uniform as the pictures posted by pure KBG owners. Tall fescue stands out in KBG and you will definitely notice it. Now my backyard didnt have to be nice but more drought and abuse resistant. Thats exactly what it is plus it doesnt require as much work. So it all worked out well for me and I got what I wanted. I have nice lawn in the front and decent but resistant and low maintenance lawn in the back. Everyones situation is different and you have to take it all with a grain of salt and decide on your own. I dont know what your lawn looks like now, how much time and money you want to spend and what kind of final quality are you looking for. Either way good luck and I hope it turns out good.

While this thread was pointlessly bumped, I wanted to thank Dean for sharing that study. I have 2 A. pindrow and they've been just fine here. Also showing enough root rot resistance _for northeastern Maryland_ (elsewhere, YMMV) A. recurvata A. alba (there's a huge one at Longwood Gardens, and a big one at National Arboretum) A. nordmanniana Failures: any western US fir on its own roots - I've tried several of them; although my house came with a Concolor fir that was 40-50' tall, it was in slow decline the whole time and died after one of the mega-wet spells we had in the early 2010s. If you had to chose one as slightly tolerant for the eastern US, it would be that one. And they are common landscaping material up north like the NYC and Boston suburbs. Abies delavayi on its own roots Btw to 'Cliff' ungrafted Noble Fir, Abies procera, is 100% no go for anywhere in the southern US other than the highest mountain towns like Boone, NC. Will probably die the first year of root rot, as did mine.

I went to college in New Orleans. It was a horribly long, depressing, and expensive experience. There were many times when I was at the end of my rope. Honestly, I don't think I would still be alive, if the sight and fragrance of Crape Myrtles hadn't occasionally reassured me. So yeah, I can see why you want one. I have my desk positioned so that I can look out at my own beautiful CM. It's at least forty years old, and twenty feet tall, with a beautiful, unmolested, mature shape: very much a tree from the Jungles of India. The blooms are a rich orchid/violet color, and are at their peak right now. And yes, the tree continually tells me that everything will be all right. To grow one in New Hampshire, you will need: .A hardy variety .A sun trap (preferably a SE exposure beside your house) .Seriously deep mulch in winter Or: a miniature variety in a pot

While on Vacation is South Carolina two years ago I gathered acorns from this beautiful tree. I live in coastal San Diego County. I planted them in pots for their first year and transplanted one year ago. My 3 acre property has plenty of room and I wanted a faster growing oak than Argrifolia which grows native here. I also read that Argrifolia can not take irrigation (turns out to be completely false) and I wanted something to grow in an irrigated landscape area. They are growing very well with constant beautiful reddish new leaves. You can almost see them grow. I feed the trees with Chicken manure, ash from the fireplace and bone meal. At 50 I do not know how big and majestic the tree will be before I die, but who cares. When asked what he would do today if he knew the world ended tomorrow, Walt Whitman said he would plant an apple tree. You Go Walt!