Lawn / Grass Advice for South Carolina - Zone 8a

8 years ago

Brief background of our plot before I ask my question: moved into 15yo house (on about .75 acre) in development. All houses originally had sod (we dig up the plastic grid from it often when planting), now most "lawns" are just weeds.

We did a lot of work first year - tilled (clay) soil, added top soil, compost, etc. planted Bermuda, but were really unhappy with how it turned out: very spotty. We've planted rye the past two winters and it does BEAUTIFULLY then come spring/summertime we can't top it.

We're open to trying a new seed and wondering what people recommend for our area - both front and back get about 4-6 hours of full sun. (I've Googled and read a bit, but prefer a forum where I can hear from people IRL:) We'd love low maintenance (mow once a week?), soft to the barefoot touch (I really like soft thin blades), and while we have irrigation lines set up we don't want a crazy expensive water bill come July/Aug (as our region near Columbia, S.C., is called "famously hot").

Any fans of centipede? Zoysia? Fescue? And which is most cost-effective? We have both Home Depot and Lowe's by us. Thank you for your time!!

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Comments (2)

reeljake
8 years ago
Bermuda sod? Bermuda seed isn't a great choice, but the sod will be happy to take all that heat & come back begging for more!
dchall_san_antonio
8 years ago
The problem is the shade. 4-6 hours is not enough to get a dense bermuda turf. Centipede needs full sun, zoysia may or may not depending on the variety, and fescue will tolerate the shade (but not the heat). Look around your area for someone selling Sapphire St Augustine. It is the only fine bladed variety of St Aug. That should thrive in your shade. Contrary to what everyone says, St Aug does not need any more water than any other grass if you are trying to keep it green. They all need 1 inch per week in the hottest heat of summer. Much less water needed this time of year, and with shade it needs considerably less. A couple years ago we had water restrictions from the drought/heat that only allowed watering once every 2 weeks. Our St Aug, in the shade of a tree, came through it fine. I have a friend in Phoenix who I finally (after 2 years) talked into putting in St Aug. Here's what it looks like...
You can see the shade he's dealing with. That pic was taken about 10am. The heavy shade moves over the lawn all day.

St Augustine can be mowed once every 2 weeks. It should always be mowed at the mower's highest setting. So it is fairly low maintenance.

St Aug only comes as a sod and costs about $100 or more per pallet. If you are a little patient, you can put down half the sod you really need and let it grow together. When the temps are in the 70s, St Aug will spread about 2 inches per week. That translates to about 10-15 feet per year as it spreads in both spring and fall. I bought an old house in 2014 that had about 30 square feet of surviving St Aug. It's up to about 300 square feet as it comes out of dormancy this spring. As it spreads, the square foot coverage and density really leaps out at you.

St Aug needs to be fertilized 3x per year. Bermuda needs it every month.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.
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Comments (2)

reeljake

dchall_san_antonio

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