Tungsten33333 – posted 20 June 2005 20:40
Hey guys,
I’d like what your thoughts are about Empire and SA Palmetto, how they’re doing at this time of the year. Also when did they start to green up and when did they have full green coverage? How long did they last into the winter? I’m trying to decide which Empire or Palmetto I want to plant for the bare backyard. Thanks.
mwhite125 – posted 21 June 2005 07:41
I live in the dallas area and went with Empire, it’s looking real good right now, it didnt green up totally till around May, havent had it thru the winter yet. THe 450 sq. ft. pallets I got from A-1 Sod in Plano,tx were 137.50 each plus $40 shipping, they cut it the night or morning before delivery. IMO its a good choice.
Tungsten33333 – posted 21 June 2005 08:42
Thanks. I know of A-1 in Cedar Hill (the closest place to Midlthian which is right down on 67 highway). That’s the price quote they gave me. I have to admit it, i was suprised to see that low considering other varieties are at least 20-30 dollars more a pallet. Palmetto is 130 dollars a pallet from A-1. Not much difference there.
AledoTexasGrassGuy – posted 30 June 2005 12:26
I put down El Toro Zoyisa sod this spring in the back and so far have been pretty disappointed. It was advertisted as being drought tolerant and will cover like a carpet. Well so far, it needs tons more water than my St Augustine and it grows so slow that it will take a year or two before it starts covering dead areas and weeds.
If you are weighing St Augustine vs Zoyisa, at this point I would recommend St Aug. Less water needed and it springs back quicker after you water. Zoyisa suffers from severe dry out if you miss watering by a day or two and does not recover like St Aug.
terrilou – posted 05 July 2005 14:35
I’m also in DFW, in fact I’m right around the corner from the A-1 Sand Grass & Stone. As far as the ideal thick, gorgeous lawn that grows in sun or shade – definitely SA is the way to go. However, if you are on a budget like me , $30 for a 1 lb bag of Zoysia seed that covers about 1000 sq ft will work if you have sunny conditions. Fortunately, the site I just prepared for a new lawn is full sun. I planted the seed 2 wks ago with a sprinkling of fertilizer and within a week and a half, had green fuzz all over. In the past several days since, it’s continued growing nicely. I installed a do-it-yourself sprinkler system that is comprised of $3 oscilating sprinkler heads, cut-off sections of hose with end adapters, and a good $40 timer. And as you know, DFW is going through a pretty dry season right now. If you have the $$ for several pallets – I envy you and applaud the choice of SA. But if you need to watch your pennies, Zoysia is a good choice. My co-worker has about 1/4 acre of Zoysia, and with moderate watering, it’s been thick and beautiful for years.
Tungsten3333 – posted 05 July 2005 16:45
I thought about seeding with Zoysia but unfortunately, I have sloped backyard so if I get caught during severe rain storm, the topsoil will run off! That has happened a few times at my new house already during construction. All you see on the lot are limestone rocks everywhere! You can see that’s why sods are much better option (with a few inches of topsoil on exposed limestone rocks) for me. Oh well.