Seed/Sod Recommendations for West Los Angeles
Michael J
3 years ago
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Comments (9)
amystroud
3 years agoRelated Discussions
rtf sod, kbg sod, or seed
Comments (3)If the sunny area is the front lawn and the shady area is the back, I might do both, but if one yard has both sun and shade, I'm not sure how you'd lay the sod to get it to look nice. I tried some RTF several years ago (probably when it first came out) and was disappointed with the results. It was mostly my fault, though. I didn't start over or even do anything to prepare the soil, and I didn't water it several times a day until it got started. I just threw the seed down and hoped for the best. I also contacted the folks who make it, and did some more research, but ultimately decided I wanted a lawn that uses even less water than the RTF does, so I switched to native grasses. From what I learned, the key to being satisfied with RTF is to set realistic expectations. The marketing materials are truthful, but it's easy to read more into them than what they really say, so people tend to get their hopes up pretty high. RTF spreads, but it does so more slowly than KBG, so it won't fill in as fast as KBG, but it will fill in. Also, many people bought WaterSaver RTF seeds thinking all of the seeds were RTF, but the RTF actually made up less than a third of the total seed. I think that if you go in with the right expectations, you'll be happier with the final results....See MoreNeed new lawn in Los Angeles
Comments (30)Ky31 doesn't spread by rhizomes or stolons, but it does spread by tillars. The tillars will eventually become independent of the main grass plant and then produce tillars of their own. I just think of tillars as short rhizomes. Again, KY31 will handle your dogs abuse. My female dog does urinate in the grass and it does damage it as expected, but it recovers quite well. in fact, it's proving almost impossible for me to kill. When I first planted KY31, I didn't know anything about lawn care. It was my first home and when I moved in, the back yard was basically all mud. I picked Ky31 because it was the cheapest. After having such great success, and learning more about lawn care and turf, I've become somewhat of a lawn care nut. I renovated my front lawn (that was mostly ryegrass and weeds) with Kentucky Bluegrass and Turf Type Tall Fescue. That looks amazing in comparison to my backyard KY31. Late summer and early fall, I tried torturing the KY31 backyard. Repeated scalping during the heat, not watering in the heat of summer, rough rough raking with a detaching rake and shovel, etc. this was in preparation to overseed Titan RX, an improved variety of tall fescue. after the overseeding on top of the overly abused KY31... The KY31 has survived. Hardly any of the Titan RX is present in the lawn. the seedlings were all choked out of existence. im serious, I think KY31 will survive a nuclear apocalypse....See MoreBest grass for Los Angeles?
Comments (91)Adrienne in Thousand Oaks: Regarding UC Verde Buffalo Grass, we installed it June 2021 so can attest to how it took watering twice a day to establish, then less frequently until we were watering twice a week with good results; I live in Thousand Oaks and were restricted to watering once a week for 15 minutes which was a good soak and it survived the limited watering last summer. When first planted as plugs we had a lot of weeds but it eventually filled in and is very thick. What we don't like is that is it dormant and brown in color from November to March; it has been slowly turning green in the last few weeks now that it is spring. It requires very little mowing, about once a month at most from spring to fall. The only way to buy it in Southern California is from FloraSource Ltd. They ship it as plugs in flats so it is labor intensive to have it installed; cost is twice that of sod....See MoreWhich hummingbird plant to grow from seed in coastal Los Angeles?
Comments (7)Are you planning to go the seed route to save money? There are other things you might want to take into consideration. As the seeds are germinating and taking hold, so will weeds. You won't be able to mechanically control the weeds, without also doing in the desired plants. Are you willing to identify the various seedlings and take the time to manually pull out only the weeds until the desired plants are well established? (Prompted by been there/done that gardening experiences. lol) It is difficult to recommend specific plants without the bed size and setting information. If you have a lot of room, you can also consider growing shrubs that are hummingbird favorites from seed. For example, I get replacement seedlings of Leonotis menthifolia and Russelia from seed that drop to the ground and germinate. There are also plants that can be easily propagated by division, which makes them easier, and often quicker, to establish in a bed....See MoreMichael J
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agodchall_san_antonio
3 years agoMichael J
3 years agodchall_san_antonio
3 years agoMichael J
3 years agodchall_san_antonio
3 years agorureadyinla
3 years ago
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