Is there anything better than St Augustine grass? (Houston, Austin: renting, HOA)

[booknut]

Originally Posted by Schumacher713

My Zoysia has held up very well.

I'm also considering Zoysia for the shade tolerance.

[JasonAndJulie]

We like Bermuda. My only gripe is that you have to be very careful what weed killer you put on it. Even still, it is the easiest in my opinion and stands up best to our summers. It is easy to plant a winter rye over if you are so inclined. We have horses so our needs are slightly different but I would recommened Bermuda long before SA.

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by Seoid

We had St. Augustine for years until my parents Xeriscaped.

I admit to not knowing much about grass. Are their any common sods that are native to this area/climate? I don't care about aesthetics so much as low maintenance and watering needs.

[vwgto]

Shade and surface roots are going to make it difficult to grow any grass. I had to continue to shrink by Zoysia area as trees matured. It is a trade-off.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by booknut

I'm also considering Zoysia for the shade tolerance.

I was listening to Randy Lemon the other day, and he said a couple of times that Zoysia was the 'grass of the future'. There are a couple of varieties there, do your research. My brother in law got some for his lawn, but his was the wide blade variety. Still looks great, but it does not look like a Bermuda lawn.

[LifeExtended]

Has anyone used Fescue grass in their lawn? Also, where can one buy Emerald Zoysia grass? It looks like there is only Zenith Zoysia seeds available online- perhaps the same?

[seabeewife24]

I had another grass that had been planted instead of Floratam in both my front and back yard when we purchased our house. When we paid someone to come and take care of it, it looked great. Once we started doing it, the weeds took over. Sand burrs came up so bad and took over the yards.

I had the front tore out and only replaced a putt putt golf size out front with Floratam. No sand burrs. I guess if you don't have to worry about those pesky things, and they hurt like heck when you step on them, then you might try another grass. My experience, at least with grass on sand, is to stick with some type of Saint Augustine; however, with that said, my husband hates the stuff. It is not comfortable to walk on barefoot but still better than stepping on a burr.

We will be putting a small putt putt size of grass in the back yard and around one side of my house with only six hours of direct light a day. We have decided to try again with a different finer blade of grass because the grandchildren need a place to play. Does anyone know of a type of grass that does well on sand other than a Saint Augustine variety?

It also needs to do well without lots of water and grow thick enough to prevent weeds, but mostly prevent sand burrs. Other weeds are easy to get rid of and don't hurt to step on.

[geolvl]

From my experience, a long time ago, I don't think that you can seed Zoysia. However, once you plant it the grass will take over St. Augustine, but it will take time. Buy squares of Zoysia where you can find it and put in in dry patches in your yard. Water with a soaker hose AM and PM and see what happens. It's a great grass. I would call the landscaping companies before you go, because they don't always have what you want when you want it. There's no point in driving blindly to pick something up that they may get next Tue. Also, if you're getting a lot, they'll deliver...

[DJboutit]

I hate St Augustine during may to first week of october I have to move the yard once a week it gets to many weeks you get a decent size dirt spot it will take 2 yrs before the grass will cover the dirt spot. If there was a type of grass that kind looked like St Austine and did not grow as fast during the summer months I would rip up all the grass in my front and back yard 11,100 sqft lot and replace it with something else.

[Sapowell]

We closed on our house in August and we have a 19000 sqft lot. Builder only sprigs backyard so we will have a mess for awhile. I wondering how long it will take to have a whole yard full a grass. Look into a alternative but my wife said that she didn't want to spend the money on sodding that big of a backyard.