New /Old Yard

jb1020 – posted 25 March 2009 06:41

i moved into my house here in central mississippi this time last year. the house sat vacant for about 4 years, the yard was a mess. anyways i put in an automatic sprinkler in the front and out of one little patch of st. augustine was about to baby the yard back to health. looks great now.

time for the back…..i didnt spend much time at all in the back last year. i just tried to keep it cut short. it was over run by poison ivy and poison oak. i have been spraying roundup to get the ivy, just completed another auto sprinkler for the back, and will till it all up and try and get most of the weeds and roots and vines out of there.

question is what should i go with. i love the way zoyzia looks. my dad has it in his yard. but ive read conflicting reports about it. ive seen some say it does great in shade, some says it doesn’t. i have a very very shady back yard. ive also seen people say you have to have an excellent draining yard, which i dont. it doesnt take much rain at all for me to have standing water all over my yard.

would i be tempting fate if i got about $1000 in zoysia? or should i just stick with what i know will do great (st. augustine).

thanks, ill hang up and listen.

Dixie – posted 25 March 2009 12:57

I don’t think the water is as much of a problem as the very, very shady. Zoysia is not the best is shade but Jamur or Zeon are probably the best. If you have St Aug in the front, then Jamur would look very similar. I am assuming your front yard is not as shady as your back yard. Therefore the St. Aug may or may not do as well in the back yard either. I think the Jamur would do equally as well as the St. Aug. This is just my opinion. Good Luck

jb1020 – posted 25 March 2009 13:35

thanks for the reply. i had not heard of jamur yet. hopefully i can find someone locally. it reminds me of bluegrass….which was my old yard in utah.

how quick does the jamur spread? i have a set budget, obviously so i would have to do a little plugging along the way.

jb1020 – posted 26 March 2009 09:44

i was just told meyer and aztec were the only zoysia sold around here. anyone think htose would do in a shady yard?

how does it compare to Jamur?

saltcedar – posted 01 April 2009 05:52

If shade is your main concern I wouldn’t use any Zoysia. St. Augustine is the shade grass for the South. If you insist on Zoysia get the broadest leafed variety you can find.

Alex_in_FL – posted 17 April 2009 20:52

My experience suggests that zoysia survives in shade but will not really spread. So you will have to sod it not sprig it.

Most grasses like a good bit of sun.

[This message has been edited by Alex_in_FL (edited 10 May 2009).]

mrmumbels – posted 22 April 2009 16:01

i second that alex, my zoysia does not spread well or stay real thick in the shaded areas.