[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I gave up on lawns, what a waste of time and money. My parent's house has a lawn and I installed a fully automatic sprinkler system with drip irrigation in the front yard so it can be watered anytime, regardless of "water restrictions". The lawn is Bermudagrass and Zoysia. Bahiagrass is for the side of the road, not a lawn. St Augustine is ugly - looks like crabgrass but grows fast, is green and easy to care for, just water. Grubs often attract birds that rip out the lawn to get them. Best contol is the fungus that kills them. Also I mixed used cat litter in the soil in the worst area- the grubs never returned. Also treated the whole lawn with rust, no bugs have come back since.

I use 5 bags of fertilizer once a year, at $20 a bag that runs $100. Add to that gas for the mower, probably $75 over the season. So $175 for the year to take care of my lawn, not alot of money and with the riding mower it doesn't take long at all to get it cut. Maybe a waste of time and money for some but not for me. I have a bahiagrass lawn and it looks great.
I am curious how you could set up a drip irrigation for a lawn.

[Suncoaster]

I'm so glad to see this topic! I had a St. Augustine lawn which died during the drought. St. Augustine is very thirsty! Bahia is drought tolerant due to its deep roots, but I don't care for its looks. I am going to try Empire Zoysia. It was highly recommended by a rep. from SWIFTMUD (water authority) as being good for our area.

Tallrick, how do you like your Zoysia? Are you satisfied with it?

[FLPL75]

kelly3120
Each lawn has different needs.
I would highly recommend calling you local extension office. There are folks there for the purpose to awnser your lawn questions. We love getting these calls.
But here is some information.
Bahiagrass showed be mowed during the active growing season to 3-4 ", Higher mowing heights promotes a deeper more extensive root system and help to increase the tolerance to heat and drought.
During extended drought periods bahia grass may go dormant if left without irrigation however it will revive and resume growth once regular watering has resumed.also bahia is generally less troubled by insects & diseasesthan other Fla lawngrasses.

St augustine grass
Height should be mowed to 3.5 to 4"
The major pest to St Aug is the chinch bug, Mole crickets can also cause issues as well as the small animals that will dig causing tunnels or small mounds as they go after the mole crickets.
Thatch is caused by over fertilization,over watering and improper mowing. Leaving the lawn clippings will not cause thatch and will actually result in 1 extra nitrogen application by leaving the clippings on the lawn.
Never remove more than a third of the blade at one time.
How often to water will depend on the water restrictions in your areas.
We have a twice a week restriction. You need to apply anywhere form 1/2" to 3/4" per application. Frequent light watering will encourage shallow roots.
Watering at night can help encourge fungus because the blades do not have time to dry. We recommend watering in the early morning 5 am or so.
To determine how much water your putting down take 3 tuna fish or cat food cans place them 2' 4' 6' form the sprinkle heads, run your system for 15 mins and measure the water in each can.
You can adjust the time till you achieve the desirded amount.

Now one thing you didn't ask about but espically for those "paying" for their water.
Established woody ornamentals do not need watering unless we go 10 day to 2 weeks without rain. So go ahead and turn off the irrigation head to these. If we go without rain for that long you can either hand water or turn the heads back on for 1 or 2 applications.

Your brown spots can be caused by many things unless we can see them it is hard to guess, any way you can take a picture and post it ?

Hope this helps
Karla

[tallrick]

I like the look of Zoysia, it has the beauty of Bermudagrass without the hassles. Zoysia grows slowly so there's less mowing. It roots deeper so there's less watering. Grubs and sod webworms are the biggest problem, but all in all I am satisfied with Zoysia, although I am using old Florida style Zoysia Japonica.

The drip irrigation is just 1" PVC pipes with holes drilled in them with pourous hoses attatched every 2 feet. It seems to work well. Zoysia can be cut as low as 2 inches which gives a beautiful "golf course" like lawn.

[Prichard]

Basically, Bahaia is a weed. If you're going to seed your lawn just to grow something green, why not use crabgrass - its drought resistant, nothing eats it, it grows horizontal rather than vertical and its free.

[Suncoaster]

Originally Posted by myfask

Now one thing you didn't ask about but espically for those "paying" for their water.
Established woody ornamentals do not need watering unless we go 10 day to 2 weeks without rain..... Hope this helps
Karla

This is exactly why I'm replacing a lot of my "lawn" with drought-resistant ornamentals. I don't have a sprinkler system and don't plan on getting one. In the areas where I may plant Zoysia, I'll hand-water until established, then maybe once a week.

Tallrick, thanks for the info on the Zoysia. I don't know anything about Japonica - I've only heard some of the claims about Empire. I know we have grubs, but very few - let's hope it stays that way. (They never caused much damage to our St. Augustine. It was drought that killed it.)

[tallrick]

Honestly, I would never plant a lawn without an irrigation system, In Key Largo there is no ground water except useless salt water. I decided to go natural, with trees and mulch but I do have a patch of grass on my roof, it's zoysia and watered much of the year. I use mostly shower and sink water, and cistern water. The Empire zoysia has me intrigued, I am thinking of planting it at my parent's home. St augustine grass dries in 1-2 weeks without rain, but zoysia can stay green a month if established. There was an empty lot at the end of my street and it has zoysia, it was green almost year round. Too bad it was bulldozed for a home a few years back. That's where I got my roof grass from.

[ddlove01]

Is Zoysia a type of Carpetgrass? I have never heard of this before...

[riveree]

When my cheap builder sod died, I replaced it with a Dwarf St. Augustine sod.

There are different types of St. Augustine grass and some are better than others, different price points too.

Not only do I get to mow less often , but I find the dwarf to have better color (deeper darker green), finer texture, and so far (3 years), no real pest issues.

Something to consider if you plan to resod.

[SRQ single]

When the weather is dry like now St. augustine can get chinch bug...In the fall it gets army worms...You'll see lil moths in early am and webbing in morning dew on grass... Part the grass near brown edges and look close for lil brown looking chinch bugs...
Never water St aug at night you'll get fungus amongus! Water early am 1X per week for 20 minutes...And pray for rain!
Bahia is great in dry weather because once it rains it greens up and grows like crazy and it loves full sun...Look online for grass tips in s fl...Hope this helps!