Centipede, fescue, St. Augustine for South Texas?

[hobbyfarm]

What really bugs me about the St. Augustine grass is it almost will not grow under the heavy shade of a live oak. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Kyle another alternative [I don't know how much patience you have to do this] but get a pallet of sod and sprig plant your yard. I did that and covered my acre in a year and a half with just two pallets of sod. About $120.00 We have flood irrigation (limited to 3 times a year since the drought) and once in a while put some ammonia into the irrigation water. Cheapest, quickest fertilizer I know of.

 

[hobbyfarm]

Arent' they all aggies ?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Arent' they all aggies ? )</font>

I think Florida has an A&M too.

 

[MarkV]

Kyle, the best money you can spend right now is to have a soil test done by the county extension service. They will also be able to give you good advice on the kinds of grass that work best in your area. Pay attention to the recommendations for lime and fertilizer it makes all the difference when starting a yard.

Grass is normally classified as Cool season or Warm season. Here in Georgia Fescue is about the only cool season grass we can use and then it does best in mixed shade or with irrigation. It does not like temps over 80 very much unless it can be watered. Its advantages are that it will grow in shade better than most, it is green year around and it is easy to start from seed when planted in the Fall. Soil prep is everything with Fescue. A deep tilled soil base will allow the Fescue roots to get down deep where they can survive the summer dry season. They will not penetrate hard clay by themselves and with out deep roots the grass can not make it through the summer in the south.

The warm season grasses used here include mostly Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede and St. Augustine. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Zoysia, St. Augustine and hybrid Bermuda are normally sodded or sprigged. Common Bermuda starts from seed and Centipede is seeded or laid as sod. Centipede is considered to have the lowest maintenance of these grasses. It requires little lime or fertilizer and does not require as much mowing as the others. It is slow to establish from seed. The warm season grasses are normally started in Spring when the soil temps get above 50 degrees. With sod they can be put in at different times of the year though. Warm season grasses also go dormant in the winter and turn brown or light green in the case of St. Augustine.

Grass is a very regional thing with special seed mixes for each area. The extension service is going to have the best information for your conditions.

Good luck,
MarkV

 

[Charlie_in_TX]

For a list of grasses and apps in the Houston area go to http://www.murffturf.com/index.html. Giddings is close enough but a little colder in winter and dryer in summer.

PS St. Augustine can be made farly drought tollerent. Simply mow at the highest setting on the mower. The leaves shade the ground and the roots will go much deeper. Most people mow SA at about 2 in and it will suck water and need mowing twice a week. At 4 in it will need much less water and mowing once a week.