Only three forage-type Kentucky bluegrass varieties, 'Park', 'Troy', and 'Ginger', have been released in the past 45 years. Very few fields in the Northeast are sown with Kentucky bluegrass seed. However, Kentucky bluegrass generally appears in these fields, coming from seed or rhizomes in the soil, particularly if the field was previously a pasture. If Kentucky bluegrass is to be planted, it should be done at 10 to 14 pounds per acre in late summer or early fall when temperatures begin to moderate and rains are more frequent. Higher seeding rates ensure quicker ground cover.
Kentucky bluegrass is slightly slower to establish than many other cool-season grasses.
However, once established it spreads quickly via its extensive rhizome production. Kentucky bluegrass's nitrogen requirements and low summer production make it ideal for seeding with a legume such as white clover at 4 pounds per acre, red clover at 6 pounds per acre, or birdsfoot trefoil at 8 pounds per acre. Legumes in mixture with Kentucky bluegrass also improves the nutritional value of the pasture compared with pure grass pastures. Tall-growing grasses such as orchardgrass, timothy, smooth bromegrass, or tall fescue may also be included in a pasture seeding mixture with Kentucky bluegrass where hay or silage harvests will be made each year before grazing begins. The tall-growing grasses typically thin over time and require reseeding while the Kentucky bluegrass will persist indefinitely.