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hope for lawn – posted 15 April 2008 14:31

Dear forum members. Would you please give your professional advise on what to do with my lawn problem.i bought a house & had leaves all over the place in the yard & they were not removed for about last 10 years. We cleaned our yard, got rid of the all the ivy, had some grass during summer, but then it dissapeared (for the winter) & all we have now is a “dirt yard”. We live in Pennsylvania on the border with Delaware. The soil is clay with a lot of stones. Really hard to dig. We also have a dog who loves to play soccer outside. I am planning on puting new lawn this spring. I’m not sure whether I should get a truck of topsoil delivered & then plant the grass. Also, don’t know what kind of grass is better for this area. My major concern is the winter months. I need grass during the winter, at least yellow one, as long as it does not dissapear complilety. I went to Home Depot & they recommended Vigoro. I also asked them is there such a thing as “summer” & “winter” grass and they said no. I also read about Zoisiya grass plugs & maybe it’s the best choice for me? Could you please tell me what do you think that I should do. Any advice is appreciated.

[This message has been edited by hope for lawn (edited 15 April 2008).]

Alex_in_FL – posted 19 April 2008 13:35

Hopefully one of our northern members will add to this. If not here is my suggestion (keep in mind that I live in Florida).

Check yellow pages and see what sods are available (look under sod). Zoysia, Bluegrass, and Fescues should all work.

Zoysia: weed and drought tolerant, slower growing (but variety dependent), usually available as plug/sod but Zenith comes in seed, and it turns golden brown with the first frost.

Wintergrass: In Alabama we used rye grass for green winter lawns and it dies out in the heat.

Yes! Improve the root-home (soil) before you install the lawn. Incorporate compost and topsoil into the lawn (6-18 inches with deeper being better!). Manure, stable bedding or hay is fine also (and even sand is better than nothing).

Hope this helps!

Alex