Zenith Zoysa or Tiffgrand Bermuda

chuckwhite8 – posted 14 July 2010 22:21

Hello — we are about to start a backyard leveling project in Roswell, GA. It currently has Fescue which is very patchy and will be replaced/gone after the leveling.

* primary purpose is to have a level yard so that the kids can play outside* the yard gets direct sunlight for about 50% of the time* would be nice to be able to mow every other week rather than every week* front yard has Bermuda

Based on the information that I found inhttp://www.supersod.com/sod-zoysia-zenith.htmlhttp://www.supersod.com/sod-bermuda-tifgrand.htmlit seems Zenith Zoysa (ZZ) and Tiffgrand Bermuda (TB) are good to consider. ZZ seems to have lower maintenance requirements. Questions:

1. TB seems to be new in the market…any experience with that?2. can TB get by with much more shade than ZZ?3. are the water requirements similar?

Thanks.

ken4255 – posted 15 July 2010 09:13

It’s hard to believe that any kind of Bermuda would require less sunlight than zoysia.

Why not El Toro zoysia or Jamur zoysia? My neighbor in Marietta recently installed 18 pallets of Jamur from NGTurf, price was $140 per pallet, but I think they timed that just right to get such a good price.

I think:

Bermuda needs more sun, more fertilizer, and more water.Bermuda doesn’t choke out the weeds as well.Bermuda is more wear tolerant and recovers more quickly from damage.

turfgrass – posted 16 July 2010 16:49

just go with zenith.

tried and true.

chuckwhite8 – posted 16 July 2010 21:19

Thank you both for your response. We are starting the project on Monday with Zenith Zoysia from Super Sod Farms.

ken4255 – posted 20 July 2010 09:18

El Toro zoysia was patented in 1986. I don’t know why you would say zenith is the “tried and true” variety. El Toro’s been available in Georgia for years. Jamur is pretty new, I agree.

Both of these varieties have been ranked in the NTEP study. The newer varieties tend to be better, otherwise, what would be the point of developing them.

The first zoysia turf I went with was Meyer zoysia, which is probably one of the earliest types. The problem I have had is its slow recovery from damage. The OP expressed some in a grass that can tolerate wear. El Toro and Jamur spread faster.

turfgrass – posted 20 July 2010 17:48

I call it “tried and true” b/c I grow about 500 acres of it.

turfgrass – posted 20 July 2010 18:30

Another reason I said it’s “tried and true” is b/c compared to TifGrand, it is….”tried and true”.

The “OP” asked a question about two different grasses for his/her lawn…and I gave a professional opinion.