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Currently have fescue. Stays green-ish in winter and looks great for part of the year but then goes to absolute garbage in late summer/early fall. Requires aeration and re-seeding every fall to look good. Requires a lot of watering. Weeds are always a problem.
Thinking about trying a new type of grass. I don't care if it turns yellow in the winter. I don't care if it spreads into mulch beds. I really want something that requires less watering and something that isn't as susceptible to weeds, that doesn't require constant supervision. I don't need it to look great -- I just want it to look decent with minimal effort on my behalf.
Is there an undisputed champion in this area for low maintenance grass? Or is it a "pick your poison" type of situation where every grass has its own unique maintenance challenges such that it is hard to declare one the clear low maintenance winner?
Zoysia. It’s a southern perennial grass that goes dormant and yellow in the winter. It’s thick and once established weeds have a hard time growing in it.
I switched from "builder grade" Bermuda to Zoysia a couple of years ago. This stuff is so think and lush that I rarely have any weeds, and even then, they are only near the perimeter at the edge of the flower beds. It does not spread into the beds as fast as Bermuda. This summer was a rarity with so much rain, but I did not water it at all. Still nice and green at the beginning of Oct, but that will change in the next few weeks as it gets colder. My front and back lawns have partial shade. Not enough sun for the Bermuda as it was all thin/dead in the shady spots, but the Zoysia is fine with it. I keep it trimmed to 3"-4". Biggest drawback is the price.
Zoysia grows fast and will need to be mowed often, and creates all sorts of issues with thatch because of that. It's also susceptible to cold snaps that can kill large portions of it.
Bermuda (tif 419 or similar) is a little better but gets completely thinned in shade and also grows fast.
Centipede grows slowly, looks decent, and creates no thatch problems. It's basically a crab apple color green (slightly lighter than fescue, but similar to zenith zoysia) but looks similar to fescue in blade width and density. The house next to mine has centipede, they've mowed three times this summer.
Zoysia grows fast and will need to be mowed often, and creates all sorts of issues with thatch because of that. It's also susceptible to cold snaps that can kill large portions of it.
Bermuda (tif 419 or similar) is a little better but gets completely thinned in shade and also grows fast.
Centipede grows slowly, looks decent, and creates no thatch problems. It's basically a crab apple color green (slightly lighter than fescue, but similar to zenith zoysia) but looks similar to fescue in blade width and density. The house next to mine has centipede, they've mowed three times this summer.
We have Centipede out front, south/southeast exposure. We NEVER water, in fact we had our irrigation dismantled a couple years ago so we don't have to do the backflow thing. We have it by default, since the lawn was a mess when we moved in and that was the dominant species...DH planted and sodded and babied the lawn and finally got it to grow. Next door neighbors have zoysia looks and feels great but not starting over. They don't water much if at all either, TBH.
We have Bermuda out back. It's been prone to do wonky things when the weather isn't perfect for the given season...which in NC is always...and died right off where it doesn't get enough sun (edges, so don't care). It's fine.
I don't put much work into my zoysia grass.
Fertilize a couple of times a year. Water if it starts to turn brown. Certainly haven't watered this year. Most years I only water once. It forgives me.
Mow weekly. Have never dethatched at all.
It seems happy to me, even though the guy I paid to do my yard did a real poor job of installation.
IF I had a yard that was totally full sun, I would go with Bermuda. It does require feeding to thrive, but it can be cut like a golf fairway, or even a green, if nurtured.
Either zoysia or bermuda is more forgiving of care lapses than fescue is, and both are very market-accepted lawn grasses.
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