you definitely want to seed in the fall, assuming fescue. Seeding in the early fall will ensure it'll mature enough by winter to survive and then get good root growth all spring. It's on the later side of fall seeding, but still worth doing if you haven't.

seeding in the spring is generally an exercise in burning money, but without any fire. the grass doesn't mature enough between the spring and the heat of summer, and most of it will be dead by june unless you water every day it doesn't rain, and even then you end up having shallow root growth.

disregard all of that for warm season grasses like bermuda.

10/6/2015 4:20:25 PM

^

10/7/2015 1:32:19 PM

Anyone able to guess at this bermuda variety? I'm assuming bermuda, though a GIS shows that Zoysia looks very similar and many people confuse the two... I haven't done a ton of work/research into the intricacies of warm season grasses... but the NCSU turffiles site looks like bermuda or st. augustine, not zoysia. Certainly nothing I've seeded and the areas of this grass aren't connected to my neighbors, so I'm guessing it's seed that was blown/dropped by birds/wildlife. It's thick and plush... I love it and want more. I know neighbors have seeded with bermuda (don't know variety). I doubt anyone has seeded st. augustine, but I haven't asked that question.





[Edited on October 7, 2015 at 9:17 PM. Reason : pic]

[Edited on October 7, 2015 at 9:28 PM. Reason : .]

10/7/2015 9:17:18 PM

welp, a crop science guy says it looks like carpetgrass and/or st. augustinegrass... going to take some samples in.

10/8/2015 8:43:54 AM

Blades look too thick to be Bermuda...but I don't really know anything...so whatever.

10/8/2015 8:57:01 AM

I think it's likely a bermuda cultivar, definitely not one that's desirable.

http://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/bermuda-grass-pictures.html

pictures in the above link look very similar.


or could it be torpedograss? i have a hard time distinguishing it from bermuda, though it's considered much more invasive and difficult to get rid of.

10/8/2015 12:31:17 PM

want to expand on that not desirable part?

10/8/2015 1:53:18 PM

yeah i probably shouldn't have used the word definitely, but what i meant is that it doesn't look like the type of bermuda that you'd plant intentionally, as it has large, coarse blades.

Most bermuda that i've seen used in landscaping has really fine, soft blades.

10/8/2015 5:04:28 PM

looks like st. augustine to me

10/8/2015 9:38:51 PM

Took a sample by ncsu crop science and the professor said it was centipede grass, though a darker green than he would expect.

10/10/2015 12:02:53 AM

Yeah, looks like centipede to me as well.

Easy to grow, doesn't grow to fast ... I prefer it to any other grass I have ever had. I currently have about 3 acres of it.

10/13/2015 2:36:59 PM

I'm hoping it takes over. The more I look, the more I find.

10/13/2015 4:40:53 PM

That's centipede. Not this time of year, but when it's hot (like May-August), you can pull those runners growing where you do want them and replant them around in new spots where you do want them. I've got St. Aug's and it has a left and right leaf at each node along the stem, that looks like it alternates (centipede). Beats the pants off of trying to keep fescue going. Took about four years to transition my lawn from fescue and weeds and bahia.

There's a place at the Farmer's Market called Supersod where you can buy a few rolls of sod and cut it up into plugs and plug around.

10/13/2015 9:43:06 PM

how'd you get/keep the bahia out of the centipede?

10/13/2015 9:46:32 PM

Good question.

10/14/2015 8:33:15 AM

It was like 90% Bahia when we moved in summer of 2007, just awful. I sprayed roundup and sprayed again, seeded fescue that fall, then sprigged St. augs the spring of 08, but only in two spots in my yard (grocery bagful I took from my in-law's house down east). Got those two bases of operation going and then it was elbow grease and replanting sprigs for a few years. I tore out a little crap tree and sodded over that spot with zoysia rolls from Supersod in like year 2. Then I sprigged with centipede out of my dad's lawn in some other spots where the st aug's wasn't thick in 3 and 4.

Now that it's mostly warm season turf that I desire, I'm just going Thunderdome with it and whichever wins, wins.

10/14/2015 9:03:18 PM

any thoughts on mowing before or after a hard freeze? I'd love to get one more mowing in before it's completely dormant

11/14/2015 5:16:01 PM

mow as required to maintain the recommended height for you turf. I mean, I wouldn't do it right before or during.

[Edited on November 16, 2015 at 9:13 AM. Reason : .]

11/16/2015 9:12:40 AM

Anyone have recommendations for stores/projects for landscape borders? I prefer a natural/natural looking block or stone, capable of curves and stacking for elevated beds.

3/9/2016 1:18:22 PM

I think Raleigh has a General Shale location. They usually have a huge selection. Go there and check them out.

3/9/2016 5:14:22 PM

Any chance 3-4 year old kentucky blue grass seed will germinate, or should I just compost it?

3/9/2016 7:01:18 PM

it certainly won't hurt anything to throw it down and see

3/9/2016 8:29:40 PM

Yah if nothing else is will break down into nutrients

3/9/2016 11:25:33 PM

When should i throw out some scotts weed and feed? I have centipede in the front yard..its still pretty much dorm right now. Usually starts to turns green on the first 90 degree day.

3/10/2016 8:07:14 AM

4^ some of it will; some won't... but now isn't the time to do so... unless you just really want to waste it.

3/10/2016 8:18:33 AM

^ right I was considering saving it for the fall

3/10/2016 8:23:45 AM

3^ Don't fertilize centipede in winter/spring; only summer/fall. I would do pre-emergent ASAP.

3/10/2016 8:56:33 AM

I forgot to fertilize my fescue in the winter...just put some down. Anything I should look out for?

[Edited on March 10, 2016 at 11:03 AM. Reason : http://www2.turffiles.ncsu.edu/Articles/TF000017.aspx]

3/10/2016 10:43:17 AM

Nah, you're good.

3/10/2016 1:03:19 PM

My family moved to the greater Miami area in June, and the St. Augustine grass looked okay. A few months later, and it started dying, even with the sprinkler system.

A few problems with the sprinkler system, but I fixed it for a while, and the grass continued to deteriorate, along with showing signs of sod soil erosion.

What I gather is this: The previous owners threw the sod down about a month before they put it on the market, and the tenants never watered the grass. I came down, saw the house, bought the house (in the heat of the summer), and the lack of early watering on a new lawn killed it from the bottom up. And the rain that the region gets just washed away the soil (the dirt the sod comes with).

Now my sprinkler system is fuuked (tree root damage, a busted distro head I've replaced twice, etc.), and I've got a "courtesy notice" from the HOA saying I have two weeks to fix it.

My wife and I have seriously considered tilling everything and re-sodding (where it's bad), and she's rogered up to going out and watering (or buying a hose-sprinkler).

I'm looking at aeration as a way to help the lawn, but I wanted to get all your awesome advice before I do anything.

And other people can talk about their lawns here, too!

3/23/2017 6:35:01 PM

Okay...I think I've found my solution.

My core aerator is getting here today, so I can aerate the places where grass does grow.

I'm going to buy some St Augustine sod (about 160 sqft). I watered, tilled, and fertilized yesterday. The stupid tree roots are still there causing problems, but I've clipped them where they stick out of the ground.

On top of that, I'm going to buy Bermuda seed and mix the two to get a green lawn.

Interestingly enough, my HOA Rules and Regs don't even mention anything about the lawn, so it's annoying that they gave me a courtesy notice that the lawn is crap (which it is). But they don't say anything about how the lawn should look. It just goes on about trees (City of Miramar require three shade trees per yard).

So, to sum it up, my lawn will be a hybrid of St. Augustine and Bermuda.

Suck it, HOA!

3/25/2017 8:38:12 AM

Yeh, the sod was probably never [properly, if ever] watered.

St. A. will spread fairly rapidly, above and below ground, so add some sod in dead areas, but don't feel that you need to completely sod these areas since it will spread. I recommend laying the sod so that the top of the dirt in the sod is flush with the top of the surrounding ground so that you don't end up with lumps / high spots.

I would not mix St. A and bermuda. Both are aggressive grasses with different maintenance needs. I wouldn't want the competition between the two. Not to mention, in your climate, I've got the feeling that the St. A will overtake the Bermuda in the long run, provided it remains healthy and properly watered, so the bermuda may be a waste of money.

[Edited on March 26, 2017 at 10:14 AM. Reason : .]

3/26/2017 10:11:26 AM

bermuda isn't going to do well under trees so save your $$ unless the trees are gone

3/26/2017 8:27:43 PM

and a note on miami- i have a guy on my staff that was from there are evidently its pretty common place to till and resod lawns pretty regularly down there so you might consider it.

3/26/2017 8:29:11 PM

Treat for Chinch bugs. They destroyed part of my lawn because our renters didn't alert us to any issues (plus they weren't watering properly, which makes chinch bugs worse since they lover drier grass).

3/27/2017 10:08:20 AM

changing from granular treatments to liquid. i used to just do Bonus S a couple times a year and i was good to go. i've already sprayed 2,4-D amine this year. what do y'all do for liquid fertilizer? yard is majority centipede and slowly approaching complete centipede.

4/1/2017 2:27:46 PM

guess you're not supposed to use 2,4-D on centipede. label didn't mention centipede and a friend recommended it. i think it was early enough that the centipede wasn't really actively growing anyway and it doesn't show signs of being hurt. guess i'll just have to wait and see. guess i'll go with a 3-way like Trimec next time.

4/1/2017 9:14:54 PM

^

AFA liquid fertilizer, I haven't seen a lot locally (not that I tried all hard), but whatever TSC carries in bulk is what I normally purchase.


http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/gordons-triple-10-liquid-fertilizer-10-10-10-2-1-2-gal?cm_vc=-10005

[Edited on April 3, 2017 at 7:43 AM. Reason : Gordon's]

4/3/2017 7:42:26 AM

what have y'all successfully eradicated Voles with?

they're killing my shrubs.

4/4/2017 9:38:50 AM

is now a good time to aerate / seed / fertilize the lawn or should I wait till the fall again?

[Edited on April 4, 2017 at 4:44 PM. Reason : ^fire]

4/4/2017 4:43:52 PM

for what type of grass?


you said wait until fall, so I'm guessing fescue. In that case you are too late for pretty much everything. A light application of fertilizer probably won't hurt. You can try to put down some preemergent, but it's fairly late to catch much of anything. Best to spot spray weeds at this point.

[Edited on April 4, 2017 at 5:48 PM. Reason : .]

4/4/2017 5:44:13 PM

whiteflies can suck it

4/4/2017 9:53:56 PM

I know it sounds simple but really the only thing I have been doing with my yard is spending a few minutes every day just walking around and pulling any weeds I see up with my bare hands. Granted I dont have a huge yard or anything. I can cover the whole thing in like 20 minutes. I have Bermuda grass so its still mostly brown which makes spotting the weeds a lot easier currently. The mulched areas were a bigger pain last year but this year I am gonna get out ahead of it so I dont have to spend hours ripping out the runners and such.

4/5/2017 9:16:15 AM

This may be a good place to ask...I need to spread grass seed for a whole acre for pasture...i have a tractor spreader...would mixing dirt with that and spreading it be overkill?

4/5/2017 12:56:07 PM

what type of seed? and not dirt. sand, if needed.

4/5/2017 1:16:13 PM

Quote :

"what have y'all successfully eradicated Voles with?"

You can plant the shrubs in terra cotta pots, put out rat poison, or release snakes in your back yard [serious]. Each has its own risks.

4/5/2017 4:48:14 PM

^^^ Yes, sand is the way to go to dilute seed. That's how you plant zoysia, centipede, etc seed since its so damn expensive.

Quote :

"I know it sounds simple but really the only thing I have been doing with my yard is spending a few minutes every day just walking around and pulling any weeds I see up with my bare hands. Granted I dont have a huge yard or anything. I can cover the whole thing in like 20 minutes. I have Bermuda grass so its still mostly brown which makes spotting the weeds a lot easier currently. The mulched areas were a bigger pain last year but this year I am gonna get out ahead of it so I dont have to spend hours ripping out the runners and such."

When it goes dormant next winter, spray anything and everything green with glyphosate (round up).

I wouldn't try it after around February, though. That's also when many of the weeds you're probably pulling arrive, coincidentally. Put down pre-emergent next October-ish would likely help with late spring weeds unless they're grassy weeds (Of which you should round-up them in the winter)

Quote :

"guess you're not supposed to use 2,4-D on centipede. label didn't mention centipede and a friend recommended it. i think it was early enough that the centipede wasn't really actively growing anyway and it doesn't show signs of being hurt. guess i'll just have to wait and see. guess i'll go with a 3-way like Trimec next time."

Trimec's main ingredient is 2-4D (See ingredients: "2-4 dichloro!xyxyads*# acid"



[Edited on April 5, 2017 at 9:43 PM. Reason : ]

4/5/2017 9:37:59 PM

Quote :

"You can plant the shrubs in terra cotta pots, put out rat poison, or release snakes in your back yard [serious]. Each has its own risks."

I killed 3 copperheads in the front yard of my 0.62 acre lawn in Cary last summer.

My neighbor, who sets out traps, killed 23 of them a few Summers ago.

Dear lord, if you need copperheads, come hang out at my house!

I need a damn mongoose

[Edited on April 5, 2017 at 9:46 PM. Reason : ]

4/5/2017 9:45:32 PM

hah, yeah i've thought about trying to get some black snakes.

Terra cotta pots aren't going to be practical, i'm taking about a hedge of azaleas that are now dying.

A few other posts on the interwebs suggested these solar powered stakes that vibrate the ground and apparently scare them away.

i've put out the poison worm things, but they didn't seem to take the bait.

4/5/2017 10:26:51 PM

^^^yeah, but the difference is the other two chemicals keep you from having to spray it in concentrations high enough to kill centipede. Label for Southern Ag Lawn Weed Killer with Trimec says it's good to go on centipede as long as you get the rate correct.

4/6/2017 7:44:53 AM