turfgrass

Northern Grass In the South??

Northern Grass In the South??

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

maine2texas – posted 30 March 2004 19:25

Is it possible?

We just bought a 10 year old house in Texas with a yard that had about 5 different variaties of grass in varying stages of death along with about 20 different variaties of weeds in varying stages of life!

I just used RoundUp on the whole yard last week and am quite satisfied I have killed everything… I now need to till it all under and I am looking at seeding, hydroseeding, or sodding the 7,500 sq. ft. of yard and installing a sprinkler system as well.

My dilemma is that my wife an I are so used to the the fine bladed, soft, almost carpet like grass that we had in Maine and everything that we’ve seen down here is broad, and not as pleasant looking or feeling.

Is there any nice grass to be had in Texas that is fun for the whole family to walk barefoot on, and yet still be hardy enough to make it through the harsh summer heat of Texas? I’m looking for help so any and all recommendations are appreciated…

Thanks!

Bob

ted – posted 30 March 2004 20:10

where in texas? makes a big difference. you could go with bermuda or zoysia. i think you would like them both, but realize they’re not bluegrass or rye. remember, you can always overseed in the fall with your northern grasses you like. you’ll probably like the weather better then, too. i’ve seen zoysia in austin, san antonio, and houston. 7500 sq. ft. not an unmanagable size of lawn.

maine2texas – posted 30 March 2004 21:09

I live in Dallas… I thought Bermuda was rough… maybe I’m thinking of something else.

As far as overseeding the rye or bluegrass how will that work?

My wife and I stopped in a Model Home today simply to ask what kind of grass they had in the front yard… it looked very lush and green. They stated it was Bermuda Sod seeded with Rye.

Like I said… it looked great now, but my father-in-law (native Texan) said the rye will die off in the summer. So when you say to overseed with the northern grasses in the fall, are you saying that it is something that will have to be done every year to get that look and feel?

Thanks for responding!

Bob

redbird – posted 31 March 2004 06:17

FYI – you are probably thinking of St. Augustine (re: roughness) which cannot be seeded, by the way. Bermuda is fine-bladed and soft. It can create an absolutely gorgeous lawn – if you are one of those people who loves a lawn and sees it as a kind of “hobby” (read that to mean that it requires fairly high maintenance). But – on the positive side, it is virtually unkillable and over-runs almost every other grass (make sure that you really want it!) and will aggressively fill in every area if mowed frequently (as often as twice a week during peak growing season) to promote horizontal growth. With frequent mowing and fertilization, it will create a low, spongy, thick mat of turf. It is more of a gray-blue-green color than the dark green you are used to, and the blade tips will invariably brown after each mowing if you don’t have a reel mower. I used a rotary mower w/common (seeded) bermuda in the Dallas area and was very satisfied with it – but it was a lot of work.

I am in my second season with emire zoysia (only available via sod – FORGET THE PLUGS!!!!) and I am happy with it in hot, humid, SE Georgia. Overall lawn quality is very similar in all respects to bermuda – thick, soft, very hardy, (leaf blades are wide and soft – not fine and soft) but – requires less fertizer, WAY less water, grows slower (positive=less mowing, negative= MUCH slower recovery from damage, much slower spread). It has a darker green color, can be cut with a rotary mower. The only variety available for hydro-seeding (which worked like a dream for me w/bermuda, by the way) is zenith zoysia. Check w/local landscapers to see if it performs well in your area. By the way, zoysia is also difficult to eradicate once established. like bermuda, it just keeps coming back. It just comes back, grows and spreads at a much slower rate. But – it is much more effective than bermuda at choking out weeds. Another negative is the fact that you can’t usually overseed zoysia w/annual ryegrass during the winter (I never bothered with this anyway, during the winter I want to QUIT mowing!) – it’s just too thick, resulting in a patchy overseed job.

Final advice – wait till all the lawns green up (I know, patience is hard), look around to see the lawns you really like, knock on the door and talk to the owner. And again – talk to local lawn service guys, ESPECIALLY those who deal with a wide variety of lawns. Make your informed decision after weighing everybody’s “two-cents.”

Good luck.Mike

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 04 April 2004 12:26

Find a real seed company in Dallas and ask them if they have any of the bermuda hybrid seeds. If they do not, ask them to contact Douglas King Seeds in San Antonio. They have some bermuda seed that looks like the Tiff type of bermuda when grown (fine blades). When bermuda is grown tall and is mowed, it is very uncomfortable under foot. It feels spiky to walk on and stabs your feet. However, when you mow it very low (under an inch) it takes on a horizontal growth habit that is very soft underfoot. It is also very dense and provides good shade for the soil to prevent weed seeds from sprouting.

I used to think Bermuda could not be killed, too, until I saw a neighbor kill theirs with compost. He basically smothered it with about an inch of compost. Eighteen months later the new owners finally ripped out the weedy mess and replaced it with St Augustine. So if you were thinking bermuda was a permanent thing, it doesn’t have to be.

Leave a Reply

Skip to toolbar