OT: Types of sod? Bermuda, Fescue, something else?

[sdsurfer]

Hello all,

Any recommendations on which type of sod I should get for my home in Encinitas? I’ve heard that tall fescue is the way to go for minimal maintenance and because I have a bit of shade on one side of the yard from a big ol Canary palm.

Bermuda looks great, but I’ve heard it’s a pain because you have to buy a special mower and stuff and that it might not do too well with the shade aspect.

The wife wants real grass so artificial is not an option.

Anyone have some insight to share?

Much appreciated!

[zk]

If water usage is important to you, check out UC Verde Buffalo Grass. Not sure how it does in shade, but it uses less than half the water that fescue uses.

The main drawback is you can’t sod it. You have to use plugs. Space them every foot and wait for it to spread.

[desmond]

First of all fescue is not for any shade. It will get thin and look horible. For fescue to be healthy it needs lots of sun and lots of water and absolutely no dogs, they will burn it with a drop of piss and it will not grow back. It does not wear well either with a lot of use. Bermuda sucks, to hard to maintain. Look how much work goes into a golf green to make that look good. You can look at bermuda grass the wrong way and it will die. I would recommend St. Agustine (Buffalo Grass), tough, does not need constant fertilzer like fescue to stay green. All grass types take work, lots of work to make them look good and to keep healthy. I loved working with my grass when I was a homeowner (renting now), had both fescue and St. Aug,but I will never own a home with grass again.

[sdsurfer]

Thanks for sharing. I’ll look into the St. Augustine/ Buffalo varieties.

It sounds like I’ll get sick of whatever grass I plant eventually from the comments above:)

Thanks!

[ocrenter]

[quote=sdsurfer]Thanks for sharing. I’ll look into the St. Augustine/ Buffalo varieties.

It sounds like I’ll get sick of whatever grass I plant eventually from the comments above:)

Thanks![/quote]

if at all possible get your wife to reconsider on the artificial grass. return on investment is only 5 years (counting water and gardener). just make sure you get the good stuff, the difference is quite significant.

[sdsurfer]

Yeah….I’m getting better at “picking my battles” these days….I already lost that one.

Thanks though.

[El Jefe]

A friend of mine decided on artificial grass during his remodel after a long, involved process of pushing beans around in little piles, calculating theoretical savings based on reduced water usage, reduced gardening cost, opportunity cost of reclaimed time spent watering and gardening… etc.

Now for the reality… his lawnmower was only worth $20 on craigslist, his fake lawn uses more water than his real lawn as his kids spray it down to cool it down 10 times a day during the summer to play on it, and all that time savings is now spent walking the dumb dog around the neighborhood to get it to poop in other peoples grass as it won’t set foot on the plastigrass.

Sometimes I wonder if the people pushing the plastigrass have ever actually used plastigrass.

[ocrenter]

[quote=El Jefe]A friend of mine decided on artificial grass during his remodel after a long, involved process of pushing beans around in little piles, calculating theoretical savings based on reduced water usage, reduced gardening cost, opportunity cost of reclaimed time spent watering and gardening… etc.

Now for the reality… his lawnmower was only worth $20 on craigslist, his fake lawn uses more water than his real lawn as his kids spray it down to cool it down 10 times a day during the summer to play on it, and all that time savings is now spent walking the dumb dog around the neighborhood to get it to poop in other peoples grass as it won’t set foot on the plastigrass.

Sometimes I wonder if the people pushing the plastigrass have ever actually used plastigrass.[/quote]

What’s wrong with walking the dog around the neighborhood, you make it sound like its a bad thing.

And do you realize how much water you really need to keep the lawn green with the heat wave we just had?

[Coronita]

Bermuda sucks… Speaking from experience. It’s a real PITA to upkeep imho.

1.Minor Problem: You need to get a reel-type mower and not use the traditional blade. Because the grass using a traditional mower, you’ll either end up scalping the grass or not cutting it low enough.

2.Big Problem: Bermuda grass depends on the sun…Lots of sun…
Translation: Bermuda grass looks great in summer..But looks like crap in the winter or periods where there is no sun. If it does not have a lot of sun (like during part of the season), it will turn brown/dry… It will be a problem if your lawn has any shaded areas (shaded from a trees)…
In some climates where I lived, people with bermuda grass ended up having to spray seeds during the winter to keep the green look during winter… In San Diego, maybe it’s not as big of a problem.

3.Sort-of-Inconvenience-Problem: Bermuda grass needs to be aerated properly.

4.Annoying-Problem: Fixing problem areas (spots or dead/dry grass) is a pain. It’s hard to match the grass and patch it up…

5.Big Problem: Getting rid of bermuda grass once it’s planted is difficult…Because of the nature of the root system of this type of grass, it’s really difficult to completely eliminate it once you put it in (even later if you change your mind and want something else). It can be very invasive.

[Coronita]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=El Jefe]A friend of mine decided on artificial grass during his remodel after a long, involved process of pushing beans around in little piles, calculating theoretical savings based on reduced water usage, reduced gardening cost, opportunity cost of reclaimed time spent watering and gardening… etc.

Now for the reality… his lawnmower was only worth $20 on craigslist, his fake lawn uses more water than his real lawn as his kids spray it down to cool it down 10 times a day during the summer to play on it, and all that time savings is now spent walking the dumb dog around the neighborhood to get it to poop in other peoples grass as it won’t set foot on the plastigrass.

Sometimes I wonder if the people pushing the plastigrass have ever actually used plastigrass.[/quote]

What’s wrong with walking the dog around the neighborhood, you make it sound like its a bad thing.

And do you realize how much water you really need to keep the lawn green with the heat wave we just had?[/quote]

Plastic grass isn’t exactly environmentally friendly either.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2008-05-07-artificial-turf-cover_N.htm

[desmond]

flu, so you’re telling me there’s a chance to plant bermuda!

[ocrenter]

[quote=flu][quote=ocrenter][quote=El Jefe]A friend of mine decided on artificial grass during his remodel after a long, involved process of pushing beans around in little piles, calculating theoretical savings based on reduced water usage, reduced gardening cost, opportunity cost of reclaimed time spent watering and gardening… etc.

Now for the reality… his lawnmower was only worth $20 on craigslist, his fake lawn uses more water than his real lawn as his kids spray it down to cool it down 10 times a day during the summer to play on it, and all that time savings is now spent walking the dumb dog around the neighborhood to get it to poop in other peoples grass as it won’t set foot on the plastigrass.

Sometimes I wonder if the people pushing the plastigrass have ever actually used plastigrass.[/quote]

What’s wrong with walking the dog around the neighborhood, you make it sound like its a bad thing.

And do you realize how much water you really need to keep the lawn green with the heat wave we just had?[/quote]

Plastic grass isn’t exactly environmentally friendly either.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2008-05-07-artificial-turf-cover_N.htm%5B/quote%5D

I dont like AstroTurf and the old crushed rubber infill either.

[Coronita]

[quote=desmond]flu, so you’re telling me there’s a chance to plant bermuda!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX5jNnDMfxA%5B/quote%5D

I just hated dealing with it…Someone one point told us, that it’s damn tough and can survive winters and winters…Yes, I agree it can…If you don’t mind it being brown all the time….It’s a perfect grass for a home that you plan on squatting with for an extended period of time. You can get 100% genuine look of being a abandoned/forclosed/squatted lawn look (*minus the attached squatter(s)* ) without actually killing the grass.

Maybe it’s the perfect grass for san diego after all.

Nevermind… I’ve seen abandoned brown grass homes that look better than bermuda…

[svelte]

Ya gotta remember there are huge swaths of the country that can’t have / don’t have green grass year round. Frost, cold, lack of irrigation, a variety of reasons.

But those are the places where bermuda does well. It’s impossible to kill and does just fine (even though it’s brown half the year) with frost, cold, lack of water, poor soil.

Fescue is very beautiful yet finnicky. There aren’t too many places in the US where it grows well.

I remember my parents moving from Calif to the midwest when I was in my teens. They were gonna show those midwesterners how it’s done in Californ-eye-aye, so they had fescue shipped in for their new yard. After about a year, they raised the white flag, went down to the local store and bought some bermuda.

[no_such_reality]

I’d lay Marathon sod.

The other stuff, well, just not grass. And if your wife wants real grass, she wants the stuff that will feel like real grass underfoot.

That’s fescue and I’d go with Marathon. Just had some installed when we updated landscaping in the front to round out some areas. Good feeling grass.

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