Help selecting best turf variety

[Keith]

Anyone remember FX-10? The miracle St. Augustine. Resistant to chinch bugs, roots down about 4 feet. What a flop that was.

[ArTurf]

Just wondering why it seems most in the Florida forum talk about St Aug and do not mention bermuda or zoysia near as often? Wouldn't these varieties do well with less problems than St Aug.

[Florida Gardener]

Originally Posted by ArTurf

Just wondering why it seems most in the Florida forum talk about St Aug and do not mention bermuda or zoysia near as often? Wouldn't these varieties do well with less problems than St Aug.

I have one property with Empire Zoysia and I have come to the conclusion that it is better than St. Aug. You can kill any weed that pops up, no chinch problems, becomes very dense. The one thing you have to be on top of is fungus, but 2/3 non-issues is a winner in my book.

Bermuda is another story......(if being maintained at low heights and if using a hybrid variety, which is what it is on the estates around here).

[Florida Gardener]

Originally Posted by diamondlandscaping

I have one property with Empire Zoysia and I have come to the conclusion that it is better than St. Aug. You can kill any weed that pops up, no chinch problems, becomes very dense. The one thing you have to be on top of is fungus, but 2/3 non-issues is a winner in my book.

Bermuda is another story......(if being maintained at low heights and if using a hybrid variety, which is what it is on the estates around here).

I am actually starting to get sick of St. Aug. You can't kill CG and CG seems to pop up even if I am cutting high as heck. If you could kill CG in St. Aug, I prob wouldn't mind it as much, but that is a big drawback to me.

[unkownfl]

Zoysia grows kinda slow so it would kill our profits... Besides that it's only nice 8-10 months out of the year. Its a N hog and it gets fungus pretty easy. Hates shade and so does Bermuda. We have this stupid thing that almost every property has to have 3 shade trees on a 60x100 plot with a 3000sqft home, 400 sqft of beds, and a 2 car drive way with a side walk across the front. Not much turf that isn't shaded especially when the houses are 15-25ft apart and fenced in so there is all kinds of shade. If its new construction sure there is plenty of sun for a few years but then you have issues with it. Bermuda has most of the same issues as above unless its common and then the HOA consider it a weed. It gets everywhere when the lots are so small. The lots are uneven and then builders would have to pay extra to have the lawns top dressed and it takes time when they build a home in 40 days they cut every corner they can. Almost all of our St Augustine stays green all 12 months.

[Florida Gardener]

Originally Posted by unkownfl

Zoysia grows kinda slow so it would kill our profits... Besides that it's only nice 8-10 months out of the year. Its a N hog and it gets fungus pretty easy. Hates shade and so does Bermuda. We have this stupid thing that almost every property has to have 3 shade trees on a 60x100 plot with a 3000sqft home, 400 sqft of beds, and a 2 car drive way with a side walk across the front. Not much turf that isn't shaded especially when the houses are 15-25ft apart and fenced in so there is all kinds of shade. If its new construction sure there is plenty of sun for a few years but then you have issues with it. Bermuda has most of the same issues as above unless its common and then the HOA consider it a weed. It gets everywhere when the lots are so small. The lots are uneven and then builders would have to pay extra to have the lawns top dressed and it takes time when they build a home in 40 days they cut every corner they can. Almost all of our St Augustine stays green all 12 months.

You should be feeding Zoysia with low amounts of N. Any grass type hates shade. Yea, you can use Palmetto in shade, but it will never be full and thick as if it were in full sun.

I wouldn't agree that St. Aug stays green all 12 months, especially after the last 3 winters.

St. Aug is a cheaper sod to use. But, it has its downsides just like everything else.

[unkownfl]

Originally Posted by diamondlandscaping

You should be feeding Zoysia with low amounts of N. Any grass type hates shade. Yea, you can use Palmetto in shade, but it will never be full and thick as if it were in full sun.

I wouldn't agree that St. Aug stays green all 12 months, especially after the last 3 winters.

St. Aug is a cheaper sod to use. But, it has its downsides just like everything else.

I don't do any Fert but I have talked to people in the area and they said to please customers eyes they have to dump it on for it to be as green as st aug.
I use mostly bitter blue and it stayed green all winter last year especially the stuff in the neighbor hoods and under trees. The Floratam bit the dust for a month or so but I don't use that stuff often unless its a price thing. Another crappy thing is Zoysia is hard to get half the year it seems. If you can find it they want like $180-$200 a pallet

[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by diamondlandscaping

I am actually starting to get sick of St. Aug. You can't kill CG and CG seems to pop up even if I am cutting high as heck. If you could kill CG in St. Aug, I prob wouldn't mind it as much, but that is a big drawback to me.

Tell your spray guys to try sodium bicarbonate Diamond...there is a mixture sold somewhere as one of the companies here uses it and treats CG.....I have not heard much on the result but Celsius is labeled for large southern CG....so there are options out there if the company really wants to address it. The issue why I think most do not address it is that the HO's do not really care as long as it is green.....they will hate it if we get another freeze and the CG leaves big holes in their lawn...then they will all be talking about how the freeze killed their lawn again

[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by unkownfl

I don't do any Fert but I have talked to people in the area and they said to please customers eyes they have to dump it on for it to be as green as st aug.

Do these lawns experience brown patch significantly during the fall months more than say a zoysia lawn that does not have the N dumped on it?

I have seen companies or HO's doing the same thing with nailing it with fert here too....you drive by and it is a dark of green as the SA in the area. I am interested to see some and if they experience higher fungal issues.

[unkownfl]

Originally Posted by Michael Geist Yard Works

Do these lawns experience brown patch significantly during the fall months more than say a zoysia lawn that does not have the N dumped on it?

I have seen companies or HO's doing the same thing with nailing it with fert here too....you drive by and it is a dark of green as the SA in the area. I am interested to see some and if they experience higher fungal issues.

I haven't seen fungus really on any lawns I mow that massey dumps N on. Only problems I see now are shade issues causing really, really thinning of the zoysia. A few have Bermuda in spots but I doubt any customer would ever tell the difference between the two. Most think its the same grass as on the course, and they can't understand how the course stays green all year.... I bag most of my zoysia lawns by side discharging onto the side walk and driveway and then bag into plastic bags. Its hard to mulch in zoysia compared to the st aug. The back yard I discharge into a pile and pick up. I only do this when its raining a lot and I can't make it look good any other way.