Help with a new lawn seed selection. Please.

[Big7]

Help with a new lawn seed selection. Please.

Ok.. Got the http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=899769&highlight= fixed thanks to knowledgeable
GON members.

Had massive trees cut back Friday, pile of money!
Good contractor that are Certified Arborists.
Money well spent.

I can do the rest with my chain saw, new pole saw
for the remaining drip lines, etc..

Planning on renting a Toro Dingo and pulverize attachment
to bust up the yard real good.

Sun and shade at various times of the day, even with the
tree canopy opened WAY up about 50 feet.

So the question is:

What seed would you put out? Or mixture of what?

I know I need a soil test, etc, and have limed the crap
out of the moss to kill it..

The dirt is red and fertile, hard as a rock. Just couldn't get my Dad to sign
off on enough money to do it right.
(this was before his passing in January, going back about 10 years when I made my suggestions)
Even though he had sod put out 3-4 times over
the 17 years my parents have lived there.

He would not come off the money to take the trees way up. (thousands of $ of sod, no problem)

The back is Soysia, good stand there. Just need to get rid of a few drip lines.

Any help or tips greatly appreciated.

Foot note:

Mama is getting to a gated community for seniors
when the one she wants becomes available.

She wants the "big house" to look good when
it goes on the market.

 

[Jim Baker]

Round up it. Till it up get PH and fertilization right. Buy a pallet of centipede for the sunny areas a pallet of St. Augustine for the shade. Hire a couple of guys to cut the sod and sprig it in as necessary. keep wet and fertilized. Cheapest way.

Centi and st augustine will run into each other and marry up. This how I did my lawn 35 years ago.

 

[Bob Shaw]

If it were me, and I wanted to seed, I'd put down either Zenith or Compadre Zoysia seed. or even Imperial if you can get it. You may even want to mix the Zoysia seed with some Carpet Grass Seed to get a quicker lawn. But when the Zoysia takes hold, it will choke everything else out. I had an area that was under trees and where I couldn't keep grass growing, that is now sunny. I sodded it with some Ja Mur Zoysia, but, Zoysia sod is not cheap.

 

[GA native]

Were it my yard, I would wait till fall and seed with fescue. With the partial shade you described, fescue would do best.

 

[DannyW]

My yard is Bermuda in the front, which gets full sun, and Emerald Zoysia in the back, which gets limited sunlight. It's been a struggle keeping a good stand in the backyard.

If I understand your situation, you are looking at having a new yard pretty quickly. And you are just wanting to make it look nice for a sale of the home. You specifically mentioned you are looking for seed reccomendations, I can tell you from personal experience that centipede seed is as expensive as gold dust, and will take 2-3 years to fully grow in. Bermuda seed is a little less costly, and faster, but still takes a year or two to produce a good stand from seed. Never tried Zoysia seed, so can't comment on it. But all creeping grasses will take time to grow in if you plant by seed or sprigging.

IMO a good healthy stand of fescue is one of the nicest looking grasses. Fescue is also one of the more shade tolerant grasses. It has the added benefit of being relatively cheap...fescue seed won't cost anywhere near as much as any kind of sod, or any of the creeping grass seeds. And if you prepare the ground properly, fertilize, lime and water it, you will have a nice stand in just 6-8 weeks.

So in your case, fescue would be my choice. Although right now is not a great time to plant it...fall or spring is better.

 

[NCHillbilly]

My yard is Bermuda in the front, which gets full sun, and Emerald Zoysia in the back, which gets limited sunlight. It's been a struggle keeping a good stand in the backyard.

If I understand your situation, you are looking at having a new yard pretty quickly. And you are just wanting to make it look nice for a sale of the home. You specifically mentioned you are looking for seed reccomendations, I can tell you from personal experience that centipede seed is as expensive as gold dust, and will take 2-3 years to fully grow in. Bermuda seed is a little less costly, and faster, but still takes a year or two to produce a good stand from seed. Never tried Zoysia seed, so can't comment on it. But all creeping grasses will take time to grow in if you plant by seed or sprigging.

IMO a good healthy stand of fescue is one of the nicest looking grasses. Fescue is also one of the more shade tolerant grasses. It has the added benefit of being relatively cheap...fescue seed won't cost anywhere near as much as any kind of sod, or any of the creeping grass seeds. And if you prepare the ground properly, fertilize, lime and water it, you will have a nice stand in just 6-8 weeks.

So in your case, fescue would be my choice. Although right now is not a great time to plant it...fall or spring is better.

Depends on the fescue. Most turf-type fescues will wither in shade, but creeping red fescue is a great workhorse in dry, shady areas.

From the looks of the moss growing, you need a bunch of lime before you plant anything.

 

[DannyW]

Yeah, I agree...no grass, including fescue, will do well unless they get at least 3-4 hours of sunlight daily. Hopefully the tree trimming opened up the canopy enough to allow any type of grass to thrive.

My personal preference is centipede and then Zoysia and Bermuda, in that order. I suggested fescue only because he wants a full stand of thick, pretty, grass, within what sounds like a 6-12 month window. And from seed. Given those criteria, I think his only option is fescue.