I am converting from fescue/common bermuda to Patriot bermuda this summer. The common is taking over my lawn and I want a nice bermuda if I am going to have it. A PhD turfgrass extension/research specialist did bring up a very important point to consider. He suggested that I till to a depth of 4' to 6' and here is why. He stated that RU will kill the top portion of the plant but not the rhizomes underneath the ground that are laying dormant. By tilling, it brings the rhizomes to the surface. Upon doing this he suggested to wait 2-3 weeks after tilling. When/if the rhizomes begin to generate new shoots hit it again with another blast of RU or equivalent. One thing he stressed, and others on this board have too. Hit the bermuda with a shot of nitrogen 2 weeks prior to applying RU to really get it growing. When you apply the RU hit it with Roundup Pro or generic equivalent and the full 4 quart per acre rate. He stated that if you merely make it sick it will not take in any more RU, unlike other herbicides. When the rhizomes begin to grow shoots hit it with the 3% solution of the 4 lb per gallon RU. He stated that he once was unable to till on his property due to erosion issues and fought killing the rhizomes with RU for a long time since he was unable to till. To be sure, I DO NOT want to till. But, given the tendencies I have experienced with my lawn, I am considering it. I once thought my neighbors bermuda was encroaching on my lawn, which it is in some areas. However, base on his information, I now think that some of the once-dormant rhizomes are a big reason why I now have widespread bermuda showing up and choking out my fescue. I have only lived here a year and can only speculate what the previous owner did. But, both of my neighbors have the same bermuda that I have and am left wondering if my lawn was at one time the same. I do not want to till for other reasons too. But, if I have a choice to till and fight leveling or not till and fight this darn common bermuda I think I would choose to deal with leveling. This is just my opinion but I really want to do all that I can to get minimize it. He did state that if the bermuda was not that widespread in my lawn then he would not see a need to till as he does recognize that there is a great deal of extra work involved. Given this, I guess each person has to make his own determination of what might be right given their own individual circumstances. That's what I am fighting with now.

Here is a pic of the zeon zoysia I put in mid-spring last year (april). It wasnt all the way green yet, but came out great. Also had a patio put in at the same time. Took about 3 weeks to completely root in, and by mid-May it was 100% green. I used landscape data for help. Here is a link that might be useful: sod in atlanta ga

Interesting article... about seed vs. sod. The Sod cost is about $800/1,000 sq ft installed with top soil. Not bad but not really in the budget... a near sure thing. For about 1/10 the cost, but more intensive management of seed germination, the seeds can be planted. The disruption due to rain I was not aware of or the fact about surface exposed seeds? These can be planted in the dry season, to avoid the seasonal torrential rains.

I have not sodded zoysia, but you should absolutely water it mid day. I suggest breakfast (before the heat begins and while there's still dew on it), lunch (to cool the sod for the afternoon), and dinner (while the sun's still up but not beating directly on it but still warm enough to evaporate water on the grass before sunset). New sod only needs enough moisture to wet the roots and the surface of the underlying soil. You do not need to make the soil soggy underneath. Typically 5-15 minutes is enough depending on how much water your system puts out. You should not need to hand water at all. If your sprinkler system leaves dry spots that need to be hand watered, you'll need to modify your system to get full coverage. Otherwise you'll be hand watering forever. Why did you pick zoysia?