[kyle19125]

I have a south facing front yard that has never supported healthy turf (St Augustine) from when I moved in last year and while my parents built/owned the house (1979-2010). The side and back sections are very healthy, green and lush. I resodded in the spring of 2011 and much of that has died despite a three time per year spray program with our condo association lawn service and adequate watering. I was wondering if anyone has resorted to Xeriscaping here since I am tired of pumping money into turf options that don't work. I hear rock looks terrible after awhile (lawn debris/dirt gets trapped in it) although I heard larger stones can be swept out with a blower. Mulch is out of the question as I find it harbors bugs and moles, as does pine straw which was already recommended. Is a hard surface advisable (pavers) or is that prohibitively expensive? I'd love to hear of any solutions those on the forum might have come up with. Thanks!

[jambo101]

My Mom and Dad had the same problem and wanted to solve it the same way but being a deed restricted community they were not allowed to make the conversion and instead had to spend much money trying to maintain a golf course quality lawn..
They finally moved out of that little nanny state never again to live in a community with an HOA, they now have a virtually maintenance free crushed rock front yard which a lawn care outfit vacuums once a month while they are there to mow the rest of the property.

[gypsychic]

A cactus garden is an option, mixed with crushed shell or rock. I have seen that in my neighborhood. Some have done brick or other pavers, but that is prohibitively expensive. There are also wonderful ground covers that really take off after a year or two - I planted the mini mimosa ground cover - it needs NO care, and a few plants will cover a huge area. Maybe you can do a combination of the above.

[HarryWho?]

Usually the problem is the soil preparation. Sod won't thrive in poor soil conditions.

[kyle19125]

Thanks for the replies! My soil is fine as other plants/trees are thriving. I like the crushed shell option as it appears economical versus rock. Apparently weed barrier is the key and will make sure that goes down first. I love the idea of groundcover but hate the idea of introducing an environment for bugs to habitate which is what the current cypress mulch is encouraging in my planting beds and is being removed when I have the crushed shell brought in!

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Thanks for the replies! My soil is fine as other plants/trees are thriving. I like the crushed shell option as it appears economical versus rock. Apparently weed barrier is the key and will make sure that goes down first. I love the idea of groundcover but hate the idea of introducing an environment for bugs to habitate which is what the current cypress mulch is encouraging in my planting beds and is being removed when I have the crushed shell brought in!

I hate to be argumentative, but, if the soil is good because the trees are thriving, why isn't the grass? Lawns are not natural. They require preparation and maintenance. The better the preparation, the less maintenance.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by HarryWho?

I hate to be argumentative, but, if the soil is good because the trees are thriving, why isn't the grass? Lawns are not natural. They require preparation and maintenance. The better the preparation, the less maintenance.

When I re-sodded last year I had topsoil brought in and the ground was auto-tilled prior to having the soil and turf put down. This area isn't prone to sandy soil and the areas just past the front along the sides are thriving quite well, as is the back yard. I highly doubt soil quality varies that considerably from the front to sides or back.

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

When I re-sodded last year I had topsoil brought in and the ground was auto-tilled prior to having the soil and turf put down. This area isn't prone to sandy soil and the areas just past the front along the sides are thriving quite well, as is the back yard. I highly doubt soil quality varies that considerably from the front to sides or back.

Then how about irrigation? And drainage? Shade or full sun? Type of sod?It doesn't make sense that you'd have the "perfect" environment but such poor results. I ask because I had extensive xeriscaping when I lived in NJ. I was really tired of it. The one little patch of grass I had was my favorite part of my yard.

[doggiebus]

Kyle - If I took a picture of my lawn on the south side of my house you would see that's its thick, lush and green. I'm actually planning to put a vegie garden in this area in the next few months. We re soded this area 10 or 12 years ago. We do fertilize, weed kill and water this area more so than other areas. Half of this area gets shade in the morning and then after about 2:00 the whole area gets sun until about 7:00 or 8:00.

I will say this, when the original yard guys were cutting it they were scalping it, which was making it worse. When we spoke to a few people with beautiful high thick yards they said they had the deck on the mowers all the way up. We switched yard guys three years ago and told them to raise the deck all the way up on the mower and about a year later the grass looks beautiful. They have the deck on the mower as high as it can go, which means in the summer I have to have the yard mowed more, but I figure it evens out when I don't mow it for two months in the winter.

I do have other spots in my yard where the grass doesn't get enough sun, so I started to use a different type of St. Augustine (there are different varieties of St. Augustine grass fyi) in that area that needs less sun (they seem to be taking, just put them in a month ago). I have also planted shade plants in some corners that don't get enough sun.

So don't give up on the grass, just yet if you haven't tried a few of the things I've suggested. Raise the deck, Weed and Feed and water. If you see the grass is starting to look crispy you need to get out there and water it. Make sure you have the correct St. Augustine for that spot, meaning does it get enough sun (most St. Augustine needs at least 5-6 hours of sun) or shade. Depending on whats going on, sanding the St. Augustine might also help. We did this for the west facing grass, a few years ago to help it fill in spots that we weed killed.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by HarryWho?

Then how about irrigation? And drainage? Shade or full sun? Type of sod?It doesn't make sense that you'd have the "perfect" environment but such poor results. I ask because I had extensive xeriscaping when I lived in NJ. I was really tired of it. The one little patch of grass I had was my favorite part of my yard.

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Kyle - If I took a picture of my lawn on the south side of my house you would see that's its thick, lush and green. I'm actually planning to put a vegie garden in this area in the next few months. We re soded this area 10 or 12 years ago. We do fertilize, weed kill and water this area more so than other areas. Half of this area gets shade in the morning and then after about 2:00 the whole area gets sun until about 7:00 or 8:00.

I will say this, when the original yard guys were cutting it they were scalping it, which was making it worse. When we spoke to a few people with beautiful high thick yards they said they had the deck on the mowers all the way up. We switched yard guys three years ago and told them to raise the deck all the way up on the mower and about a year later the grass looks beautiful. They have the deck on the mower as high as it can go, which means in the summer I have to have the yard mowed more, but I figure it evens out when I don't mow it for two months in the winter.

I do have other spots in my yard where the grass doesn't get enough sun, so I started to use a different type of St. Augustine (there are different varieties of St. Augustine grass fyi) in that area that needs less sun (they seem to be taking, just put them in a month a go). I have also planted plants in some corners that don't get enough sun.

So don't give up on the grass, just yet if you haven't tried a few of the things I've suggested. Raise the deck, Weed and Feed and water. Make sure you have the correct St. Augustine for that spot, meaning does it get enough sun (most St. Augustine needs at least 5-6 hours of sun) or shade. Depending on whats going on, sanding the St. Augustine might also help. We did this for the west facing grass, a few years ago.

The patch of grass I'm referring to receives full sun from around 9am until 7pm. I have a fully functional irrigation system (I checked for coverage area) that I run three times per week with 30 minutes per zone in 15 minute increments. My side and back yard has the same type of sod and is picture perfect thanks to partial shade during the day. Other neighbors with similar conditions share the same type sun conditions plus similar front yards (no shade, southern exposure) with the same St Augustine grass. We have a chemical company that sprays all of the yards in the neighborhood for pests and fertilizes three times a year. Given that data I'm convinced this type of St Augustine grass isn't well-suited for full sun and rather than have mix/match turf with another varietal the xeriscaping does seem like the best alternative. The area is rather small as I have a smaller front area and much larger backyard (we're talking about 20' x 30' for the front), so not a huge piece of land.