Lawn type for middle TN?

[VolHog219]

I am facing a serious lawn repair job in the Nashville area. My subdivision's developer used crappy contractors when installing the lawns. Factor in that the previous homeowner didn't like caring for the lawn, and I'm left with a mess to begin fixing...

My question is this - Has anyone in the upper part of the mid-state area had much success with a blend of fescue and bluegrass? My house faces NW, and due to the peaks of my roof and my neighbors', parts of my lawn get less than 6 hours of direct sun.

Thoughts or suggestions?

 

[vol_in_ar]

what is it now....

 

[VolHog219]

The areas of the lawn that receive most sunlight (about 30% of the lawn) have the original bermuda that was laid about 4.5 years ago. The remaining 70% (4+ hours of shade per day) is mostly bare.

The bermuda is doing reasonably well, but in those sunny spots only. Had some winter kill here due to the last 2 winters - severe freezes in the second half of last 2 winters.

 

[Obsessed]

Common fescue. Just be prepared to kill it out every 5 years.

Other option: zoysia. Expensive but......

 

[jp1]

Common fescue. Just be prepared to kill it out every 5 years.

Other option: zoysia. Expensive but......

Agree with this on the zoysia since you currently have bermuda. Since it has at least 6 hours of sun you should be good. Just make sure you get the right variety for shade tolerance. I think Emerald is the best with Toro also doing well. You have an awesome sod farm (Palmers) there closeby.

 

[Coug]

I'd do Fescue, especially since you stated 70% of the lawn doesn't see much sun and is bare. Most lawns in east Knoxville are predominantly Fescue where some people choose to use southern grasses. Based on my personal observations those are few and far between.

Common fescue. Just be prepared to kill it out every 5 years.

Other option: zoysia. Expensive but......

Never had to do this before. I do get it aerated and seeded on occasion though if it starts developing spots but I've certainly never had to kill the whole lawn. Where are you going with that?

 

[Obsessed]

I'd do Fescue, especially since you stated 70% of the lawn doesn't see much sun and is bare. Most lawns in east Knoxville are predominantly Fescue where some people choose to use southern grasses. Based on my personal observations those are few and far between.



Never had to do this before. I do get it aerated and seeded on occasion though if it starts developing spots but I've certainly never had to kill the whole lawn. Where are you going with that?

20 years in the business. Most fescue grasses run on 5-7 year cycles. It will start to clump. If one pays attention to their lawn and catches these clumps, they can round up them, aerate and reseed. If not, the lawn will become a mess and have bare spots and clumps. Fescue is not like Bermuda or Zoysia, it has a life cycle. Generally, it's 5 years.

 

[jp1]

Fescue looks the best imo, but unless you have an irrigation system, a desire to overseed all the time, and like to wage war with weeds constantly then fescue probably isnt a good choice. Couple that with the fact he has bermuda currently ( a ***** to get rid of) I think the southern grass (Zoysia) is his best option.

 

[Gramps]

Zoysia if you want a nice yard and willing to spend the extra money. It is like a plush carpet with less mowing than other grasses.

 

[Coug]

20 years in the business. Most fescue grasses run on 5-7 year cycles. It will start to clump. If one pays attention to their lawn and catches these clumps, they can round up them, aerate and reseed. If not, the lawn will become a mess and have bare spots and clumps. Fescue is not like Bermuda or Zoysia, it has a life cycle. Generally, it's 5 years.

Ahh ok, yes the neighbors that just mow their lawns and don't really care about it. They never feed it, treat it, or aerate and overseed it. That would be my next door neighbor. He insists on letting it grow to 12 inches and then mows it leaving giant clumps everywhere. It makes me cringe when I hear him mowing it.

 

[VolHog219]

I considered zoysia sod, but not sure I can convince the wife/CFO to approve funding. Emerald zoysia looks amazing, but it might take more work than fescue? I don't mind an annual aeration and overseed program, but it looks like the emerald might need to be dethatched a few times a year based on what I read. Palmer's Sod Farm sells El Toro zoysia. That looks promising.

 

[VolHog219]

20 years in the business. Most fescue grasses run on 5-7 year cycles. It will start to clump. If one pays attention to their lawn and catches these clumps, they can round up them, aerate and reseed. If not, the lawn will become a mess and have bare spots and clumps. Fescue is not like Bermuda or Zoysia, it has a life cycle. Generally, it's 5 years.

If I were to aerate and seed every fall, would that prevent the clumping that you mentioned?

Approximately how many cores/sq ft would you suggest to properly aerate and reseed a fescue/bluegrass blended lawn?

 

[Obsessed]

If I were to aerate and seed every fall, would that prevent the clumping that you mentioned?

Approximately how many cores/sq ft would you suggest to properly aerate and reseed a fescue/bluegrass blended lawn?

It will not prevent it, but you will not notice it as quickly. Fescue has a life cycle. There's no way around it. I love a fescue lawn, but most people don't want them due to the work it takes to keep them up.

As to the reseeding question, it kind of depends on the lawn but I usually put down between 3-4 pounds per 1,000 sq feet. (Please note my location is different from yours)

 

[jp1]

I considered zoysia sod, but not sure I can convince the wife/CFO to approve funding. Emerald zoysia looks amazing, but it might take more work than fescue? I don't mind an annual aeration and overseed program, but it looks like the emerald might need to be dethatched a few times a year based on what I read. Palmer's Sod Farm sells El Toro zoysia. That looks promising.

Its worth the money imo. I had a beautiful fescue lawn that I worked on constantly. I then had kids and couldnt keep it up like I wanted plus the summer heat and lack of rain for a few years took its toll. I switched over to zoysia and havent regretted it once.

How big of a lawn do you have?

 

[VolHog219]

I've got about 3,000 sq ft in the front. About 1,000 sq ft is in between my house and my neighbors' houses. It would take about 7 pallets of sod. I could seed it with Zenith Zoyisa for about $500 total. I'm leaning in favor of that, and then give it until late 2016 for it to fill in. If it's a failure, then maybe I'll go back with a fescue and bluegrass mix next fall. With so many other home renovations we're doing, I don't think sod can make it into the budget for a while...

On the bright side, the Bermuda in the back yard is mostly ok. It gets lots of sun. It needs some work, too, but it won't be too bad. It's only been active for about 6 weeks but I can already tell a difference. It's amazing what raking out dead grass and adding water and fertilzier can do in such a short time.

 

[Jxn Vol]

With Bermuda sand is your friend. I have it front and back and I will get the occasional hot spot or dead area. I fill in with sand and the runners will shoot right across and fill in the area.

 

[jp1]

I've got about 3,000 sq ft in the front. About 1,000 sq ft is in between my house and my neighbors' houses. It would take about 7 pallets of sod. I could seed it with Zenith Zoyisa for about $500 total. I'm leaning in favor of that, and then give it until late 2016 for it to fill in. If it's a failure, then maybe I'll go back with a fescue and bluegrass mix next fall. With so many other home renovations we're doing, I don't think sod can make it into the budget for a while...

On the bright side, the Bermuda in the back yard is mostly ok. It gets lots of sun. It needs some work, too, but it won't be too bad. It's only been active for about 6 weeks but I can already tell a difference. It's amazing what raking out dead grass and adding water and fertilzier can do in such a short time.

You could buy 2 pallets of sod and hit your bare spots with them and just slowly let the zoysia take over on its own. 2 pallets for $400 would cover about a 1/3 of your front yard. You could plug it from your own yard in a year. Your yard would be covered almost entirely in 4 years if not less. Im pretty sure the Zenith cultivar has poor shade tolerance. Ive never used zoysia seed so I dont have an opinion either way. Get Obsessed's opinion on the seed.

 

[governmentmule]

I do love the Zoysia,it is a grass carpet find somebody that has some and walk barefoot in it and it will choke out a lot of stuff

it is all according to how fast you want it to take over,the easy way is to sprig it out in little clumps,I like to make triangles with them and let it grow back in

pick a spot to start with,make sure you have enough sprigs in it,to take over in a year or two,then you can dig up strips to put in other places then( dig up strips and cut them into small sprigs),that is the cheap way,you would be surprised at what a few bucket fulls will do in a couple of years

water it well the first year

and dig the strips in parallel lines to your house windows,that way you don't have to look at the dirt strips,while it is filling back in

to keep it out of flower beds and such,just get some yard timbers,dig a trench and bury it to where you can drive your mower over the timbers,it is easier than it sounds,as long as your not on a rock garden

a friend of mine did that and it looks great

use periwinkle for some ground cover,it will cover banks and spots you don't want to mow,once it gets established,all you have to do is run a weed eater over it,once or twice a year,to cut down trees and keep the tall weeds from growing

oh and it works great up against a house foundation too,it stops a bunch of weed eating,which is good in my book lol all you have to do,is run a mower close to the edge of it,to keep it in check

just thought I would throw the periwinkle in there

here is a link to it

Growing Periwinkle: Information On Planting Periwinkle In The Garden

 

[Obsessed]

You could buy 2 pallets of sod and hit your bare spots with them and just slowly let the zoysia take over on its own. 2 pallets for $400 would cover about a 1/3 of your front yard. You could plug it from your own yard in a year. Your yard would be covered almost entirely in 4 years if not less. Im pretty sure the Zenith cultivar has poor shade tolerance. Ive never used zoysia seed so I dont have an opinion either way. Get Obsessed's opinion on the seed.

Good advice here.

I haven't had much luck with the seed When on a budget I stagger the sod squares so that the lawn fills in quickly. Two years it should be solid....

200 a pallet? Wow.

 

[jp1]

Good advice here.

I haven't had much luck with the seed When on a budget I stagger the sod squares so that the lawn fills in quickly. Two years it should be solid....

200 a pallet? Wow.

Pretty sure thats what I paid at Palmers. Or maybe it was $175. Either way it was close to that. I did exactly what you described 3 years ago because I wasnt sure it would work. Couldnt be happier. Are prices higher or lower in your area?

 

[vol_in_ar]

OP
find a way to go with the Zoysia, and don't look back

 

[Gramps]

OP
find a way to go with the Zoysia, and don't look back

Agree 100%.

 

[Obsessed]

Pretty sure thats what I paid at Palmers. Or maybe it was $175. Either way it was close to that. I did exactly what you described 3 years ago because I wasnt sure it would work. Couldnt be happier. Are prices higher or lower in your area?

125 a pallet. Before it was local is it was 175.00. It had to be hauled in from Tulsa.

 

[jp1]

125 a pallet. Before it was local is it was 175.00. It had to be hauled in from Tulsa.

Wow....that price I quoted was me picking it up prices. I think fescue runs $125-150/pallet here in East Tennessee.

 

[Roustabout]

Zoysia seed is extremely difficult to establish and doesnt have same appearance as sodded varieties. Further, Meyer, the prefferd seed, is hard to find and usually sells out.

I have tried Yukon Bermuda seed on an bank where I could get nothing to grow. It is now the thickest and most lush grass in yard. Yukon is dense, has a fullerr blade than many common varieties, and does not grow high. It aggressively fills in bare spots.

Anyone have thoughts on bluegrass in East Tennessee?