Zorro Zoysia over Austin clay

charlesm1950 – posted 22 December 2007 12:25

I bought a house just south of the river in Austin TX and have finished remodeling it. The backyard is just dirt now. Its a black clay that is found in the Zilker Park area. Can I lay Zorro Zoysia sod right over it? Or, should I do something to prepare it? The front yard is St. Augustine. Eventually, I’d like Zoysia there too. There is a big oak tree on one side of the yard with some shade. Will the Zoysia grow in the partial shade? How do I get rid of the St. Augustine?Thanks,Charles

MightyKC – posted 29 December 2007 22:46

I live in Southwest Austin (adjacent to Circle C golf course to be exact), and have Zorro Zoysia. I had my homebuilder lay down my front yard, but did my backyard myself last spring. Because of a delay/shortage on getting the grass delivered for my backyard, and because rains had washed some of the top soil on the high parts of my backyard away, the high points were little more than clay. I still layed the grass down, and that portion literally may have grown 1/8 of an inch in nearly a year, while the lower spots that still had a lot of good topsoil grew very well. I’m no expert, but based on my experience, I would bring in several inches of good topsoil before putting the sod down.

[This message has been edited by MightyKC (edited 29 December 2007).]

Alex_in_FL – posted 06 April 2008 04:02

I would do some prepwork. Bring in some sand or topsoil – its fairly cheap compared to buying sod and paying huge water bills.

Round up will easily kill St Augustine. Small amounts that grow back can be killed with most zoysia weed killers.

Good luck!