Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are in a transition zone so bermuda, fescu, zoysia all have their pluses and minuses here. No sinlge one is the "best" for the area. Ultimatley it comes down to your lot. If it gets a lot of sun bermuda/zoysia may be the best choice, but if you have a lot of shade fescue would work better. So it isn't so much the region but more the situation in your yard that may make one choice better than the other.
I would ignore the blanket statement that Fescue just goes dormant and then will come back in the fall. I depends on many variables. For many people, the Fescue will die off completely in patches. It simply cannot withstand the heat and drought we get in this area, if it is in full sun and does not get drenched with irrigation. This is why so many people have to aerate and over seed every single fall. It's big business around here.
If you have moderate to heavy shade, Fescues may be your best overall choice. However, if you have mostly sun then Bermuda may be your best choice. The way I look at it is I would rather have to control too much grass than have to keep dealing with dead spots and over seeding.
Assuming you have enough sun, here are the benefits of Bermuda:
Once established, you do not HAVE to water it. Bermuda will live through just about anything. It is true the more water and nitrogen it gets, the better it looks. However, you have the choice to just leave it be and it won't all die off. It responds VERY quickly to nitrogen and water, so you can zap it back to deep green in no time.
Bermuda likes our acidic soil, so there is no need to lime.....EVER.
Once established, you will not need to aerate very often at all. Because Bermuda grows on top of and under ground, it fills in easily.
I have an edger attachment on my trimmer and I simply buzz around my border once every 3 or 4 weeks to keep it trimmed. Takes me about 15 minutes to do it all.
There are several seeded varieties of Bermuda now that equal or surpass the quality of sodded varieties.
Bermuda germinates very quickly from seed.
The brown look in winter dormancy does not have to be a bad thing. When the yard is landscaped properly, the even and full brown look of the grass sets off other features in the landscape.
Also thatch is a big deal with Bermuda, and detaching is expensive.
These two varieties are excellent choices:
Princess 77
Yukon
I used the inexpensive Sahara brand as a test and mine is still growing, while most of my neighbors sod is already brown.
Regarding the dethatching, it is not expensive at all. I don't know where you got that from. Also, properly maintained Bermuda will not have much of a thatch issue. Using organic type fertilizers are the best.....for ANY lawn. If you use only Scott's type high nitrogen fertilizer a lot, then there will be more of an issue. I tend to spread a lot of compost, which I always did with Fescue and with everything else I grow. Compost is gold. Synthetic fertilizers are bad.
The problem with P-77 is the cold heartiness. It is extremely sensitive to cold weather and ranks near the bottom in winter survivability - an issue here as temps get in the single digits and teens.
P-77 and Yukon have to be cut very low to look good, there is a lot of work involved in those cultivars.
I saw Sahara at HD/Lowes, any chance you could take a picture of it? How is the color? Blade quality? Density? I can't find any "homeowner" pictures online.
I use soybean meal for fertilizer, it's high in nutrient content and cheap @ $15 for 50#.
I saw Sahara at HD/Lowes, any chance you could take a picture of it? How is the color? Blade quality? Density? I can't find any "homeowner" pictures online.
I got my Sahara at the new Walmart in Morrisville. They had a bigger bag at a better price. I got a very late start on it and just broadcast it on top of the ground, with zero prep work. I just need to get something growing and it was available. It ranks pretty low on quality from everything I have read. However, it took right off and to my amazement is still growing. Next year I will properly aerate and overseed. Now I am torn between overseeding with the Sahara as it is working for me or overseeding with a better quality seed. Yukon in particular. It is the best cold hardy seeded variety on the market.
The seed germinated very quickly. About a week or so. In about a month I had coverage everywhere. Not dense, but coverage. Areas that have little sun were very thin. I figured I would have to do something else there. But for some reason when it got cooler, the grass started filling in better even there. I keep my grass cut at 2.25 inches and it looks very good where it has filled in more densely. There is no need to cut it short short when used for lawns. I figure if it looks this successful with my lack of care this year, it would look great next year when done properly and possibly with a better seed. The color has been from medium green to darkish green, depending on how much I fertilize it. No pics at this time, but once I have everything where I want it I will see if I can learn how to get some pics on here.
Last edited by ApexIntruder; 11-01-2009 at 10:19 AM..
Reason: forgot to say how mine developed
I have had both. 4 1/2 years with Bermuda and just finishing up 2 with Fescue.
I don't like the look of Bermuda when it goes dormant, and I REALLY didn't like the little bits of dried grass that the dog tracked into the house. I have to say, though, that I had a rockin' lawn-the envy of the neighborhood. I dethatched myself once per year in late April, cut it real low right after, and fertilized monthly with a small amount of 34-0-0 (basically pure nitrogen that I bought from Family Home and Garden for $9.99 per 50 lbs). Our house was on a corner near the entrance to our very big (750+ homes)neighborhood and people used to ring the doorbell and ask what I was doing.
Now I have fescue and it is a real pain in the neck. My front lawn gets full morning sun and my backyard is kind of shaded-the backyard doesn't need much attention but the front gets real patchy every summer. Aerating and overseeding helps some but I feel like I am fighting a losing battle.
At some point I will either need to install irrigation in the front yard or convert to a warm season grass. The greener thing to do would be to save water but I can't say right now that we'll do that, although it looks like next year could be pretty drought-y based on this year's lack of rainfall.
Would you mind sharing where you purchase this? Do you use other orgnaic fertilizers like alfalfa pellets or corn gluten meal?
I buy mine at Southern States in Louisburg. SS is a SE coop mostly for farmers. Call around to your local one, I don't think they all carry it.
I also use Cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal tends to be expensive. But soybean meal is probably the best source of cheap natural fertilizer.
Corn gluten meal has come up in price with the governments great idea of using corn for fuel. It is an anti-germination fertilizer so it's best used in the spring and summer. However it's expensive. It used to be around $10 for a 50# bag, now you are looking at $40-$50 for that same 50# bag. If someone has found it for a better price let me know!
Now I am torn between overseeding with the Sahara as it is working for me or overseeding with a better quality seed. Yukon in particular. It is the best cold hardy seeded variety on the market.
Yukon is tough to get and from the boards I've been reading has been unavailable the last few years.
Here is a picture of yukon, to me if this is the best bermuda has to offer I'm not very thrilled.
There's a reason why fescue/bluegrass is the dominant grass here.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
