Need Grass Advice - St. Augustine

L

ldogg53

500+ Posts
so the house I'm remodeling has a pretty good sized yard front and back.... the previous owner didn't take good care of it, and the trees on the lot were never pruned back or anything... as a result the grass is a little thin in some spots and not all that healthy.... I have trimmed/pruned all of the trees and have removed several of them...

when should I fertilize and what should I use?? half of the backyard is a sort of sandy dirt as no grass could grow there previously because of the tree overgrowth... do I need to do anything to prep the soil in this area?

any other tips/suggestions?
 
Sounds like you could add a thin layer of topsoil/mulch to your yard, but if you keep the ground watered throughout the spring and summer, your lawn should flourish. FWIW, I fertilize my St. Augustine's with a Scott product (don't recall the mix) in April and September.
 
What city are you in? That will affect the fretilizer schedule. You need to fertilize and lay down pre-emergent several specific times a year, but healthy St. Augustine will take over the areas where it will grow. Ultimately, if you have braod trees like oaks, some of the ground is too shady, but you will just have to let it grow and see.
 
We live in Houston too. Our local Home Depot man said in February, spread Weed & Feed. And in April, spread the turf builder. We use Scott's. That should help!
 
Use sugar in your yard & the St. Augustine will spread like fire. It is also a good treatment for burn spots in the yard.
 
there's this natural gardening kick some are on where you use coke, beer, sugar, soap, hot pepper, lime juice, etc. for everything from fertilizer to pesticides.

There's a guy on the Austin PBS affiliate that teaches you how to do it. It's kind of interesting.
 
Tree overgrowth?
WTF....I get tired of people whacking trees just for some stupid grass, especially that H2O *****, St. Augustine.
If you overprune your trees, especially oaks, the sun may scald and damage the trunk.
Grass is a waste of water, and a chemical nightmare.
 
Easy there, big fella....no offense meant.
All those reasons are legitimate excuses to prune. I just get tired of people whacking trees just to get some faux putting green going.
There are so many bad arborist companies out there, and it really gets my blood boiling to see bad tree work done on beautiful trees.
 
My grass advice is to resod with Cavalier Zoysia. I did this 2 years ago, and if I ever move to another house the first thing I will do is tear out the yard and put in this grass.
 
Mr. Myke.... nothing personal there... I may have over reacted..


Big12...
what is this Cavalier stuff?? where does one buy it?? and is it truly suited for Houston's climate?
 
also, there are a couple of strains of St. Augustine -- Raleigh and Palmetto that have great shade tolerance. Palmetto is a new strain and not as well tested, but it looks very, very promising.
 
St. Aug. will grow better in Houston than it does further north. I am in Dallas and have a St. Aug yard. Love the grass - I bleieve I normally use Scotts 15-15-3 fertilizer. You might check in your area to see if that is what they recommend where you are.

I have many large trees front and back, crepe myrtles, mondo grass and other landscaping - fertilizer with weed killer (pre-emergence stuff) has not harmed any of them from what I can tell. if you use it, just be careful how you put it out and be sure to water it in good.
 
Oh yes I live in Houston and the stuff flourishes here. There is a farm out in Wimberly that has it pretty cheap. I believe the turf farm out there is called Whitten Turf Farms. They deliver, or you can go aand pick it up. I went through a couple of St. Augustine yards. I could never keep them up. I basically kill everything, but this Cavalier Zoysia seems happy with my limited turf care abilities. I easily have the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. All those other St. Augustine yahoos out there toiling over their yard. I just water mine twice a week if I remember to do it, mow it every other week and admire that I don't have to work at it.cavalier zoysia information
 
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