Sod in Shady Texas Yard

Texas – posted 25 May 2007 10:06

Greetings,

I’m a newbie on the forum, a new home owner in Central Texas, and first-time sodder! So I am soliciting for advice.

We are putting down a small patch, about 300sqft, of St. Augustine in our back yard. We have been investigating different types of SA, and would like something that is low maintenance, hardy, and well shade tolerant. I have a few questions:

1. From my research, Floratam is a good option because of its resistance to SAD, chinch and brown patch. But Palmetto might be better for shade. What are your thoughts on comparing the two?

2. We will put down chocolate loam dirt for leveling and preparation for the sod. Should we add anything to the dirt for preparation?

3. I’ve read quite a bit about cutting too short and over watering. What is recommended for St. Augustine grasses in Central Texas?

Thanks very much in advance for any help you can offer.

hankhill – posted 25 May 2007 22:42

I’d guess Central Texas is too far north for Floratam. It’s reallyonly for coastal areas like Houston. You need a variant with morecold tolerance like Raleigh. Palmetto would probably work, butsomewhere I heard it had higher disease incidence.

I always cut mine a 3″ which I’ve heard is best for SA. As with anygrass, water deeply and infrequently, if possible.

[This message has been edited by hankhill (edited 25 May 2007).]

Texas – posted 28 May 2007 10:11

Hi hankhill,

Thanks very much! We have prepared the yard with chocolate loam and are getting ready to purchase the sod. I will ask the grower what their experience is with Raleigh and Palmetto.

Palmetto sounds like the best shade tolerant variety, but I’m concerned about disease and bugs. I’ll see what the locals say.

Thanks again.

wrivers – posted 29 May 2007 06:38

quote:Originally posted by Texas:Greetings,

I’m a newbie on the forum, a new home owner in Central Texas, and first-time sodder! So I am soliciting for advice.

We are putting down a small patch, about 300sqft, of St. Augustine in our back yard. We have been investigating different types of SA, and would like something that is low maintenance, hardy, and well shade tolerant. I have a few questions:

1. From my research, Floratam is a good option because of its resistance to SAD, chinch and brown patch. But Palmetto might be better for shade. What are your thoughts on comparing the two?

2. We will put down chocolate loam dirt for leveling and preparation for the sod. Should we add anything to the dirt for preparation?

3. I’ve read quite a bit about cutting too short and over watering. What is recommended for St. Augustine grasses in Central Texas?

Thanks very much in advance for any help you can offer.

Hi there,

I have quite a bit of experience with sodding St. Augustine and I have some advice to offer.

First off, how heavy is your shade? Is it under a live oak or something, or just the north side of the house? Most people assume the roots are responsible for growing the top portion of the grass, when in fact, it’s quite the opposite. So, when you lay down sod (which was grown in full sun and has lost 80% of it’s roots) in the shade, it has a hard time establishing itself. If the shade is heavy, you’re better off going with plugs because they have an intact root system.

Also, don’t mow short in the shade. The grass will need all the leaf area it can get to keep itself vigorous. Mowing it low will stress it out and cause it to thin. The sandy loam is a good idea. It will give the sod a good rooting medium for establishment. I would recommend about 1/2 inch of sandy loam, with a balanced fertilizer at a rate of about 1/2 lb nitrogen per 1000 sqft. If you add too much nitrogen to new sod, especially with the mild wet weather we’re having in Texas, brown patch will result.

As far as which variety, I have read about Palmetto getting St. Augustine decline virus, and Floratam is intolerant to most herbicides and has lost it’s chinch bug resistance in Florida. Texas likely isn’t going to be too far behind. I like Raleigh. It’s a great cultivar, very cold tolerant compared to the others. Wes

Texas – posted 30 May 2007 13:50

Hi Wes,

Thanks for your reply!

“First off, how heavy is your shade? Is it under a live oak or something, or just the north side of the house?”

The shade is under pecans is east of the house. So the portion of the yard that is being sodded gets patchy sun from sunrise to about 5pm when the sun goes over the house. We’ll make sure not to mow to short – thanks for the tip!

“I would recommend about 1/2 inch of sandy loam, with a balanced fertilizer at a rate of about 1/2 lb nitrogen per 1000 sqft.”

He recommended we lay 4-6 inches of the chocolate loam, which we’ve done. He did not think any extra fertilizer was necessary to prepare the dirt we’ve laid. Do you think we should add some anyway?

“As far as which variety, I have read about Palmetto getting St. Augustine decline virus, and Floratam is intolerant to most herbicides and has lost it’s chinch bug resistance in Florida. Texas likely isn’t going to be too far behind. I like Raleigh. It’s a great cultivar, very cold tolerant compared to the others.”

He only sold Raleigh and Palmetto, and said he didn’t think from his experience that Palmetto was any more prone to SAD than Raliegh. He said Palmetto did much better in shady areas that Raliegh, though. He guarantees his grass will take or he will replace it. We went ahead and ordered Palmetto sod, based on his recommendation and guarantee, to be delivered as soon as they can cut it (grass is wet right now).

We went for a walk and I noticed that many people in our neighborhood have SA under pecans on the east side, and it is doing quite well. So I think ours shouldn’t be too different.

Thanks all for your help!!

TexanOne – posted 31 May 2007 00:09

Tex, I really recommend you go with Raleigh SA. Palmetto is susceptible to St Augustine Decline virus, and Floratam is not cold tolerant enough for Central Texas.

I bought several square yards of Palmetto 2 years ago and it is totally infected with the SAD virus. Floratam has SAD resistance, but is not recommended north or west of San Antonio because of its lack of cold tolerance. In addition, the Texas A&M Research Center in Williamson County just completed a turfgrass variety trial in which Floratam was one of the varieties tested. Floratam did very well and exhibited outstanding drought tolerance about equal with buffalograss – right up until it froze and killed it.

Go with Raleigh – it has performed very well in Texas for over 26 years and you won’t be disappointed.

wrivers – posted 01 June 2007 07:06

quote:Originally posted by Texas:Hi Wes,

Thanks for your reply!

“First off, how heavy is your shade? Is it under a live oak or something, or just the north side of the house?”

The shade is under pecans is east of the house. So the portion of the yard that is being sodded gets patchy sun from sunrise to about 5pm when the sun goes over the house. We’ll make sure not to mow to short – thanks for the tip!

“I would recommend about 1/2 inch of sandy loam, with a balanced fertilizer at a rate of about 1/2 lb nitrogen per 1000 sqft.”

He recommended we lay 4-6 inches of the chocolate loam, which we’ve done. He did not think any extra fertilizer was necessary to prepare the dirt we’ve laid. Do you think we should add some anyway?

“As far as which variety, I have read about Palmetto getting St. Augustine decline virus, and Floratam is intolerant to most herbicides and has lost it’s chinch bug resistance in Florida. Texas likely isn’t going to be too far behind. I like Raleigh. It’s a great cultivar, very cold tolerant compared to the others.”

He only sold Raleigh and Palmetto, and said he didn’t think from his experience that Palmetto was any more prone to SAD than Raliegh. He said Palmetto did much better in shady areas that Raliegh, though. He guarantees his grass will take or he will replace it. We went ahead and ordered Palmetto sod, based on his recommendation and guarantee, to be delivered as soon as they can cut it (grass is wet right now).

We went for a walk and I noticed that many people in our neighborhood have SA under pecans on the east side, and it is doing quite well. So I think ours shouldn’t be too different.

Thanks all for your help!!

IMO, 4-6 inches of soil seems quite excessive. I would worry very much about adding that much soil over the root zones of your pecans. It could spell trouble for them, so you might consult an arborist on that. There shouldn’t be any problem fertilizing before or after laying sod. Just don’t use too much nitrogen. Good luck, and don’t kill your trees! Wes

jr – posted 03 June 2007 19:22

Very correct, wrivers! I was about to post the same thing by the time I read down to yours. I am a certified arborist, and I always seem to be amazed at what people will do to their trees for the sake of a few feet of grass.To the original poster, if you put that amount of soil over the rootzone of your pecans, your shade problem will disappear by this time next year after they die and you have to get them removed. Just keep that soil, and the sod, away from the trunks of those trees. Give them a mulched bed with diameter equal to one foot per inch trunk diameter. This benefits the trees in numerous ways, but more importantly to you probably, you won’t be dealing with grass suffering under the trees due to lack of light and competition with the trees roots over water, space, and nutrients.