Hints for switching from fescue to something else?

16 years ago

Late next spring I am thinking of switching from fescue to some kind of hot season grass. I am in the Raleigh area so which do you think I should use: bermuda, zoysia or centipede? I can't afford to re-sod so I am planning on getting a few pieces of sod and break into smaller chunks to plant in areas where I do not have any grass. Then in areas where there is some fescue I was thinking of cutting it short and then broadcast some say centipede seeds (if that is what I go with).

Does anyone out there in the central part of the state have experience switching from fescue to something else?

Thanks

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Comments (8)

Iris GW
16 years ago
Over here in Georgia, bermuda is OUT! It will take over your garden so as a gardener, you don't want it.

We installed zoysia (using sod) in 2004 and it has been very nice. Didn't have to water it this year at all. Don't mow it much. It does creep out of bounds a bit, but is easy to control with a sharp shovel (nothing like the aggressive nature of bermuda). I even used some of the trimmings to fix two area that were killed by ice in early 2005 (when it was still new). The areas are completely fixed now.

The grass before was a mixture of fescue, patchy bermuda (not deliberately planted) and weeds. I sprayed it all with weed killer over a period of several months. The installer used a bobcat type thing to smooth out all the lumps and prepare the area.

So, I'm not in your area, but I hope that helps!
dottie_in_charlotte
16 years ago
I don't know about centipede but planting a small spot of zoysia will give you that annoying 'dead-looking' patch when the rest of the fescue is still mostly green. We had zoysia up Nawth and I just hated it. Not soft underfoot and it grows so thick it's often hard to mow. Maybe it grows better down South.
Bermuda, the grass that gardeners detest, also goes dormant and if you have kids/pets using the lawn you'll get muddy patches. I still prefer fescue.
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While it is still too early for Brown Patch in San Fran, a related disease, Yellow Patch (aka cool season brown patch) is more common in late summer/spring, especially in cool, wet weather. Most of the conditions for yellow patch are similar: wet turf, over application of nitrogen fertilizers, reduced air movement, etc. Mowing tall fescue to 3.75 inches means that it will probably be 5 or more inches when cut. This will greatly increase the chance of developing yellow patch, especially in a typically cool and wet environment like San Fran in the spring. The link I attached showed that mowing tall fescue lower is a valid cultural practice that will product better turf, that is less likely to be affected by certain diseases. In fact it makes more sense to mow lower in a climate like San Fran anyway where there is less summer stress. To the OP, it's your lawn, you can mow at any height you want, but I personally do not subscribe to the advice of "Mow as high as possible, or on the highest setting." First of all it lacks an actual unit of length. Second, what if my mower goes to 5 inches, should I mow it then? Third, I mow in the range that is recommended by the seed producer, as well as most universities.
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Iris GW
16 years ago
They do have newer zoysia cultivars now, so not sure if what is being used in the South is the same as what Dottie had. Not sure what we have, but there are fine bladed selections now. We don't fertilize ours, so it is certainly not overly thick and seems quite soft when barefoot. Most people think our grass is fescue until it goes dormant. I love not having to mow in the winter and early spring and also not having to overseed.

I agree with Dottie that you would need to be prepared to tolerate a patchwork appearance of dormant grass and green fescue in the winter if you go with the plug approach.
irislover_nc
16 years ago
We bought a house with a weird patchwork lawn. Someone had brought in bits of zoysia, it was originally fescue and had nasty bermuda invading. I don't know the rationale behind these choices since we inherited it but I can tell you that as a parent and gardener, I love the zoysia. It is so tough; I think it feels great under bare feet. We are treating the lawn as if it is all warm-season grass. The zoysia will beat out the weak fescue eventually and the bermuda is no match for it either. But, at the same time, I agree that it is fairly well behaved, as any bit that makes its way into a bed is much easier to permanently move than bermuda.

My hubby "invented" a great plug maker. He uses an old piece of down spout and pushes it into bare spots to remove a core of soil. He dumps that out and pushes the same piece down into the middle of a patch of zoysia. He then has a perfectly-fit piece to drop in the original spot. He heels it in and off it goes.

I will agree that it look weird in the winter right now, but I don't have the bucks to rip out the fescue and lay more zoysia sod nor do I want the water bill associated with all fescue. So, we are slowly but surely letting the thick zoysia crowd out everything else.

Meredith
dottie_in_charlotte
16 years ago
Is sod webworm a problem here in the South? Up North, that was a real problem with our zoysia.
laurabs
16 years ago
My neighbor's zoysia is gorgeous. Cost him an arm and a leg, and supply was low, so he had a bare patch for a while, but it was worth it. Gorgeous.
alex_7b
16 years ago
"Over here in Georgia, bermuda is OUT!" Since when?

I recomment overseeding Centipede a couple of times through 2008. It is a wide blade turf just like your Fescue. It runs less than Bermuda but more than Zoysia.
Iris GW
16 years ago
"out" is in not chosen by people that get a choice, I hope! Sure plenty of builders still sod in bermuda on new homes, but that doesn't mean homeowners LIKE it. You have only to live with bermuda once to know it is not a good choice, especially if you don't have a small team at your disposal to keep it in bounds.

Dottie, I looked up sod webworms and UGA does have an article on them being in Georgia. But I personally have not heard of them being a problem around here and we didn't have any.

Hints for switching from fescue to something else?

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Iris GW

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