Grass… no not THAT grass… front yard type

BigClay

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
I am sick of fooling with my front yard grass and/or paying someone to do it. My front yard is full sun all day and no matter what it dies in the summer and I start the whole process over in the fall of plugging and seeding fescue.

So, anyone have any experience with other types of grass that can handle full sun? I am thinking Bermuda, or Zozia, or Centipede. Anyone have any thoughts?
 
My FIL finally gave up trying to grow tall fescue in his front yard after massive die off every year and switched to Zoysia about 5-8 yrs ago. It looks great in the summer, but of course turns to a completely off white color (no green at all) during the winter. It cost him a lot of money to get it established. I've struggled to keep grass alive in my front yard too despite installing a sprinkler system, and have considered switching it to Zoysia.
 
Bermuda is what gives my fescue a run for its money. When the fescue goes dormant (scorched since I don’t irrigate) the Bermuda thrives. It’s very heat tolerant. If you don’t mind a dormant winter yard, it’s nice. I’m still in the stubborn fescue never ending fight but I gots dem skripes!
 
In NC, unless you’re in higher elevations you aren’t getting TTTF to live in the summer without daily irrigation. Look into Compadre Zoysia. It looks a lot like fescue and can be grown from seed. It was cultivated to be able to be overseeded with TTTF in the winter which other Zoysia doesn’t like. It likes to be mown at 3”+ regardless of what you read about Zoysia in general liking to be cut at 1-1.5”.

Research it well on the starting process and irrigation requirements to germinate or you’ll be wasting $35/lb seed.

I did it at our old house about 5 years ago. Once it germinated it was awesome and very low maintenance. It shrugs off 24D like dew so keeping weeds at bay is easy in the spring and it grows thick and lush.

It can need weekly deep watering if we’re in a particularly hot/dry spell but will survive if not thrive regardless.


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ponykilr said:
In NC, unless you’re in higher elevations you aren’t getting TTTF to live in the summer without daily irrigation. Look into Compadre Zoysia. It looks a lot like fescue and can be grown from seed. It was cultivated to be able to be overseeded with TTTF in the winter which other Zoysia doesn’t like. It likes to be mown at 3”+ regardless of what you read about Zoysia in general liking to be cut at 1-1.5”.

Research it well on the starting process and irrigation requirements to germinate or you’ll be wasting $35/lb seed.

I did it at our old house about 5 years ago. Once it germinated it was awesome and very low maintenance. It shrugs off 24D like dew so keeping weeds at bay is easy in the spring and it grows thick and lush.

It can need weekly deep watering if we’re in a particularly hot/dry spell but will survive if not thrive regardless.


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That's purdy!
 
Lost me halfway through the title.
 
I went with Bermuda because my yard is full sun and high traffic. My yard is just over an acre so zoysia was out of the question $$$. I planted it last summer and it germinated well despite my lack luster watering and sparse rainfall. I put out a pre emergent and fertilizer in late winter and that made a big difference. It's no golf course, but it looks pretty good for as little effort as I put into the past year.
 
ponykilr said:
In NC, unless you’re in higher elevations you aren’t getting TTTF to live in the summer without daily irrigation. Look into Compadre Zoysia. It looks a lot like fescue and can be grown from seed. It was cultivated to be able to be overseeded with TTTF in the winter which other Zoysia doesn’t like. It likes to be mown at 3”+ regardless of what you read about Zoysia in general liking to be cut at 1-1.5”.

Research it well on the starting process and irrigation requirements to germinate or you’ll be wasting $35/lb seed.

I did it at our old house about 5 years ago. Once it germinated it was awesome and very low maintenance. It shrugs off 24D like dew so keeping weeds at bay is easy in the spring and it grows thick and lush.

It can need weekly deep watering if we’re in a particularly hot/dry spell but will survive if not thrive regardless.


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Did you seed it in the fall or in the spring? It looks shaded in that picture, but how did it like shade? Does it spread and grow like traditional Zoysia?

Ive got an shaded area that I need to do something with. Fescue is thriving there, but it isnt completely dying every summer.

I personally hate fighting the bermuda and it trying to take over everything... but know that it would grow well if i planted it.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Did you seed it in the fall or in the spring? It looks shaded in that picture, but how did it like shade? Does it spread and grow like traditional Zoysia?

Ive got an shaded area that I need to do something with. Fescue is thriving there, but it isnt completely dying every summer.

I personally hate fighting the bermuda and it trying to take over everything... but know that it would grow well if i planted it.
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So far knock on wood I haven't had much problem with the Bermuda trying to take over. I am a big fan of chemical agriculture, aka roundup. I make a 12" wide pass around the flower beds and driveway about once a month and it catches any tentacles trying to invade. I also bordered the beds with railroad ties so there is a 8" tall barrier the grass has to get over to get in.
 
awheelterd said:
So far knock on wood I haven't had much problem with the Bermuda trying to take over. I am a big fan of chemical agriculture, aka roundup. I make a 12" wide pass around the flower beds and driveway about once a month and it catches any tentacles trying to invade. I also bordered the beds with railroad ties so there is a 8" tall barrier the grass has to get over to get in.
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Most of my issues come from naturally occurring Bermuda trying to take over my garden. I even have some that figured out how to germinate up through 2ft of dirt in a raised bed.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Most of my issues come from naturally occurring Bermuda trying to take over my garden. I even have some that figured out how to germinate up through 2ft of dirt in a raised bed.
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Mine will run 3ft across a sidewalk if we are out of town for a weekend. I hate the stuff, but it's the only thing that is green in my yard in the summer.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Most of my issues come from naturally occurring Bermuda trying to take over my garden. I even have some that figured out how to germinate up through 2ft of dirt in a raised bed.
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Anything that pops up in the flower bed gets roundup too. I'll cut the top of a 20 oz drink bottle and tape it over the end of the sprayer like a little hood. I can put it right over the weed and give it a shot. No over spray on any of the Mrs' plants.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Did you seed it in the fall or in the spring? It looks shaded in that picture, but how did it like shade? Does it spread and grow like traditional Zoysia?

Ive got an shaded area that I need to do something with. Fescue is thriving there, but it isnt completely dying every summer.

I personally hate fighting the bermuda and it trying to take over everything... but know that it would grow well if i planted it.
Click to expand...
All warm season grasses (Bermuda, Centipede, Zoysia, St. Augustine) have to be seeded in the spring/summer. Cool season grasses (TTT Fescue, Bluegrass, Rye) are seeded in the fall.

Yes it spreads like other Zoysia but is not nearly as aggressive as Bermuda. A simple weekly “edging” with my trimmer kept it out of our extensive ornamental beds. Glyphosate will easily kill any sprigs that pop up in a bed and doesn’t seem to run back for feet like it will with Centipede and to a lesser extent Bermuda. I actually had such thick ornamental plantings I used a small paint brush to hit any sprigs that popped up in mulch to avoid inadvertently harming a plant. It was rare to need to do this though.

It will tolerate some shade but I had an area across my driveway where the only sun was first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening and it was growing but not ideal. I used Creeping Red Fescue to blend with it and keep it looking nice. Creeping Red is the only grass I’ve ever gotten to grow well in such conditions. If you’re getting a few hours of sun, the Compadre will grow but will spread slowly and need more nitrogen than that in the sunnier areas.

I don’t personally like Bermuda. No cultivar is “pretty” as it has such fine leaves and is always brown underneath the very top of the turf. It is hard to mow without exposing brown in places if you’re wanting “pretty”. It is hardy but thirsty, needing more water than either Centipede or Zoysia and more nitrogen too. The biggest issue for us is in keeping it out of ornamental beds, it is nigh impossible without wide Glyphosate desert strips between the lawn and bed. In a lawn with simple landscaping this is much less of a problem.

Southern Seed in Middlesex NC is a great place to get any seeds and chemicals you need and they are free with great information.
 
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justjeepin86 said:
Do you overseed your zoisia for the winter?
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No I never did but that cultivar was designed so it could be. It looks similar enough to TTTF that commingled later in the spring it wouldn’t look ragged. Normal Zoysia or other warm season grasses look very ragged as the Fescue fades and the warm season grass comes on strong because they are so different looking.

Rye, according to everything I’ve read, is a no-no for overseeding Compadre due to incompatibility due to nitrogen fixing. Fescue is supposed to work well but will slightly delay the Zoysia in greening up in the spring. I’d imagine keeping it cut a touch shorter in the spring would help mitigate that.
 
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