[ijusluvit]

Originally Posted by PaPaLarry

Can you put in St Augustine in the hard to grow areas that have bad zoysia??

I wouldn't do it. First, the texture of each is so different that I think they would look really weird next to each other. Second, St. Augustine sends out shoots which would soon invade and destroy the zoysia around it. '

You need to decide first if that's what you want.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

As far as I know, Zoysia is the only grass that stays green year round down here. Bermuda, St Augustines, Bahia and all the rest go dormant in the winter time. Zoysia also needs much less water and less fertilizer. It grows slower vertically so it does not need to be cut as often.
Like someone else said, up north we call St Augustines, crabgrass.

[mrsyarbie]

Originally Posted by ijusluvit

It all depends on your perspective.

If you came from up north, St. Augustine is nothing but ugly crabgrass, which you spent time and money trying to get rid of. It's not comfortable to walk on with bare feet. Down here it grows reasonably well if kept watered, but it is often attacked by cinch bugs, which can destroy large patches or whole lawns. When that occurs, you must remove all of the affected areas and re sod them. That's expensive. To me, zoysia grass is easier to grow and maintain, soft and beautiful.

We came from Tampa, and my husband grew up in JAX. In tampa, I loved walking through the thick St.Augustine, there is just no camparison.. What part of Florida are you from?

[ijusluvit]

Originally Posted by mrsyarbie

We came from Tampa, and my husband grew up in JAX. In tampa, I loved walking through the thick St.Augustine, there is just no camparison.. What part of Florida are you from?

I'm a northerner. Your feet must be tough as shoe leather!

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

As far as I know, Zoysia is the only grass that stays green year round down here. Bermuda, St Augustines, Bahia and all the rest go dormant in the winter time. Zoysia also needs much less water and less fertilizer. It grows slower vertically so it does not need to be cut as often.
Like someone else said, up north we call St Augustines, crabgrass.

Zoysia also turns brown in the winter. And it also turns brown from lack of water. However, when given water (rain or heavy irrigation) it will respond quickly to green.

[Shimpy]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

Like someone else said, up north we call St Augustines, crabgrass.

You're not talking about the same grass. St. Augustine Floratam grass as we have here was developed at the U. of Florida for Florida lawns. We had crab grass in Pa in the 40's, many decades before this grass was developed.
I've had St. Augustine grass nearly all my life in Florida and now Zoysia. I'll take St. Augustine anytime. All winter long in my neighborhood the lawns all look like Yucca Flats. North of 466 they are all green.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

It sounds like the problem you have is with your soil and not with the grass itself. Even though all the advertisements for Zoysia say that it performs well in sandy soil, I've that to be not true. I have a few problem areas and I decided to try some Zoysia plugs. Most of them are doing very well, but in one area not so well. I noticed that the soil in that area is more sandy then the rest of the lawn.
Like you, I've been adding some topsoil. I've also started putting some topsoil in the holes before I put in the plugs. That seems to help a lot.
The problem with a lot of sand is not only does it not contain a lot of nutrients, but water goes straight through it so the plat doesn't get enough water. The topsoil will hold the water longer.

I agree that the soil Beneath the zoysia makes a difference how the zoysia looks and grows. We moved from a Designer in Hadley to Sanibel. Our yard in Hadley only took a few months to become "lush and green.". Our yard in Sanibel has been a real battle and still does not look good. I have come to the conclusion the difference is in the soil. Sometimes you get decent topsoil and sometimes not.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by justjim

I agree that the soil Beneath the zoysia makes a difference how the zoysia looks and grows. We moved from a Designer in Hadley to Sanibel. Our yard in Hadley only took a few months to become "lush and green.". Our yard in Sanibel has been a real battle and still does not look good. I have come to the conclusion the difference is in the soil. Sometimes you get decent topsoil and sometimes not.

I live in Sanibel as well. From what I observed no topsoil was applied before the sod was put down.