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Alabama grass selection

#1

P

PIMking

I have a 22k sqft yard that I decided to kill off last year since the previous owners didn't care of. I put down some tall fescue as a test to see if I can keep it green all year and being on the edge of the transition zone it looked great for a while.

well I have spots that grew well and now have died, about 60% of the grass is still there but if you see where the sun shines on it through the trees that's where it's dead but the weird part is the stuff that is in direct sunlight isn't doing bad at all.

I have decided that I'm going to kill it off and bring in some dirt, well lots of it, and my issue is the grass type to put down. I would like Zoysia since it tends to have a decent shade tolerance and will kill the weeds. A lot of people have centipede grass and I don't like it. I don't want to be just like everyone else. Just to let you know where I am I'm in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

any help would be great


#2

jimrs

jimrs

What kina help are you asking for? I'm sorry but I can't drive to Ala. to help put in a new yard.


#3

Carscw

Carscw

PIMking said:
I have a 22k sqft yard that I decided to kill off last year since the previous owners didn't care of. I put down some tall fescue as a test to see if I can keep it green all year and being on the edge of the transition zone it looked great for a while.

well I have spots that grew well and now have died, about 60% of the grass is still there but if you see where the sun shines on it through the trees that's where it's dead but the weird part is the stuff that is in direct sunlight isn't doing bad at all.

I have decided that I'm going to kill it off and bring in some dirt, well lots of it, and my issue is the grass type to put down. I would like Zoysia since it tends to have a decent shade tolerance and will kill the weeds. A lot of people have centipede grass and I don't like it. I don't want to be just like everyone else. Just to let you know where I am I'm in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

any help would be great
Click to expand...

Go with Bermuda and over seed with rye for the winter. And make sure the soil you get has sand in it

(( racing is the only sport that you need two balls ))


#4

P

PIMking

Carscw said:
Go with Bermuda and over seed with rye for the winter. And make sure the soil you get has sand in it

(( racing is the only sport that you need two balls ))
Click to expand...

Do you think Zoysia would do well? I have some shaded area that will be interesting to keep grass growing..

Here are a few older pictures of the yard from last summer








This is all dead now










Was nice and thick and well not so much anymore







#5

P

PIMking

I will take some more photos here in the next day or two to give you an update.

We got a ton of rain all of a sudden a month and a half or so ago and that's when I started to see the problems.


#6

P

possum

Bermuda is out in that area. I have never seen Zoysia myself so have no thoughts on it. Any grass in that area is going to have a hard time. Those sapling sized trees need to go or the bigger ones so the smaller ones can do something. The whole area needs to be kept cleaner and from the looks of it that's going to be tough. All the branches from head high down need to go. Either clean it out pretty good of trees and limbs or just let it go and grow up more. Either one can be made to look nice but inbetween just is not going to cut it.


#7

Carscw

Carscw

I still say go with the Bermuda. Bermuda is really not a grass it is a weed that grows on a vine. It loves sand and full sun but will do good in part shade. If you kill Bermuda you really tried to kill it.

Here is a test you can do get one slab of Sod put it on your driveway and water it once a day for a month I bet it doubles in size and roots to the asphalt or Concret

(( cowboy up and get over it ))


#8

Carscw

Carscw

Zoysia grass comes in five types and none like the shade. Some say I have zoysia grass in the shade but what they have is called crab grass.
Easy way to tell if a yard has zoysia is there will be no weeds.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))


#9

P

PIMking

Carscw said:
Zoysia grass comes in five types and none like the shade. Some say I have zoysia grass in the shade but what they have is called crab grass.
Easy way to tell if a yard has zoysia is there will be no weeds.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))
Click to expand...

my neighbor has zoysia but it was sodded first, I kept an eye on it and it's coming in real good. He has just as much shade as I do too. A lot of people grow Centipede but I'm not too fond about it.


#10

Carscw

Carscw

PIMking said:
my neighbor has zoysia but it was sodded first, I kept an eye on it and it's coming in real good. He has just as much shade as I do too. A lot of people grow Centipede but I'm not too fond about it.
Click to expand...

I don't care to much for centipede has a funny color to it.

Ask the guy next door what type zoysia he has. If kept cut every few days its like waking on a nice carpet.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))


#11

P

PIMking

So I bought a small bag of Bermuda grass and did a couple test plots in the yard, one in one of the mostly shaded area, two in the little front yard that gets a good 6-8 hours of sunlight, three in another part that is 100% sunlight and a few more just over the yard.

I still think that Zoysia is the best choice, I've researched it and I found that if I were to buy the seed for the lawn it would be about $500-600 plus all the labor of putting down. If I went that route I was thinking of killing all the grass then bringing in truck loads of dirt in and spreading it then putting the seed down. otherwise I found that it would cost roughly another $200-300 more for sod.

I'm just torn on what to do, It was such a terrible looking lawn, then when I moved in I turned it around and managed to screw it up.


#12

E

edd

i cut in south alabama....centipede is the easiest cut but st augustine makes the prettiest yard


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