turf ideas

[myname79]

my buddy has a gated section on the side of his house that is all st augustine. he didnt water it after about a month and its been 2 months since it rained here. (excluding a 5 minute shower today.) so yeah its all dead. it was only 4 months old. anyways i live in a subtropical climate (central Fl) and was wondering will the st aug come bak or is it finished? how do i know? if i pull on it and it still has roots do you think it has a chance? is that a good way of knowing rather or not its completely dead? he has no irrigation at all so i told him dont do st augustine but he didnt care lol. ok so does anyone think i should try to bring it back? if so, how? mild fert after a few days of water?
so i say to him "if youre not going to put in sprinklers then get bahia." but he says oh itll look like **** and i want my yard to look good and i say then get irrigation! lol and back n forth we go like an old couple lol..

so im wondering if i seed bahia are there any tips for it? is there a better option for my particular climate? would it better to kill what grass/weeds he has out front now and start from scratch? i think it would be the best thing but it is alot more work vs. just throwing a bunch of seeds out there lol.
so please by all means ill take all opinions, facts, comments, on either one of my questions. whatever you got im listening.
thank a bunch!-

 

[Ric]

my buddy has a gated section on the side of his house that is all St Augustine. he didn't water it after about a month and its been 2 months since it rained here. (excluding a 5 minute shower today.) so yeah its all dead. it was only 4 months old. anyways i live in a subtropical climate (central Fl) and was wondering will the St Aug come back or is it finished? how do i know? if i pull on it and it still has roots do you think it has a chance? is that a good way of knowing rather or not its completely dead? he has no irrigation at all so i told him don't do st Augustine but he didn't care lol. ok so does anyone think i should try to bring it back? if so, how? mild fert after a few days of water?
so i say to him "if you're not going to put in sprinklers then get Bahia." but he says oh it'll look like **** and i want my yard to look good and i say then get irrigation! lol and back n forth we go like an old couple lol..

so im wondering if i seed Bahia are there any tips for it? is there a better option for my particular climate? would it better to kill what grass/weeds he has out front now and start from scratch? i think it would be the best thing but it is a lot more work vs. just throwing a bunch of seeds out there lol.
so please by all means ill take all opinions, facts, comments, on either one of my questions. whatever you got im listening.
thank a bunch!-

Sounds like your buddy needs a low maintenance grass and you are right with your suggestion about using Bahia. St Augustine Grass needs a lot of care to be a great looking lawn, you need to water weekly, Fertilizer twice a year at least, treated every two months for Chinch bugs and Mole crickets and mowed weekly at the right length. If he is not willing to do that it doesn't matter if the St Augustine will come back or not. What part of Central Florida are you in?

 

[myname79]

those are my thoughts too. he might want a nice looking yard but if youre not willing to put the effort into keeping up with it then whats the point? I live in Holiday, Pasco county. We need rain badly! Tampa has been getting a little rain lately but it seems to fizzle out before it crosses the bay.
I think bahia is the best solution for him also. i want him to sod but like i said, that means i have to do it. lol. as for seed, i dont know, ive never spread a yard with seed. im not sure what setting is too thick or thin, or how long it will take to sprout without irrigation, all the necessary prep work, stuff like that. I suppose i should take the time to get educated on it. Maybe an extension program or something. Guess now is as good as ever! thanks again for your input.

 

[jimrs]

His grass should come back if you water it then water it again. I lost about 1/2 of mine last year do to the drought. Most of it has come back. Where it did not I seeded with bermuda and it's now the St Augustine is spreading into the bermuda areas. St Augustine is a hard grass and will spread and cover his area but it takes work.

 

[myname79]

ok thank you for that. i will consider bermuda as a filler for the dead spots that dont return.
I've been reading alot about bahia and st augustine pro/cons. I have to say: "nice yard!"
I'll need to look into the watering needs of bermuda grass but since its raining everyday now I dont think it will be a problem. Thank you again!