[LovetheTide]

Newer homeowner here trying establish a Bermuda front lawn and zoysia in the back.

The zoysia was planted this spring and I've been maintaining it around 1.5", hoping to go sub 1" next year. The front yard is a disaster. I've been keeping it around 1" and mowing is as much as possible trying to get the Bermuda to spread. This fall I put down ARG and did not kill it off this spring like I should have, I did scalp it which seemed to kill a good amount of the rye.

Recently I put down 1.75/k of nitrogen and plan to do .5/weekly from this point forward while mowing it daily. Prodiamine went out this spring.

Couple pics of what I'm working with:











Any tips or pointers are greatly appreciated. I read so much on here it can be overwhelming at times.

 

[J_nick]

To get a good understanding of what your Bermuda needs read The Bermuda Bible. What kind of reel do you have? I'd say it doesn't look like you went low enough with the scalp on your Bermuda as I still see a lot brown mixed in with the green.

For the Zoysia sod in the back first rule is DO NOT SCALP thou Zoysia. I'll refer to @Spammage for what it needs

 

[Spammage]

Also in DFW, my bermuda just really took off this week with the warmer temps. I agree with @J_nick that it looks like you could scalp lower. My guess is that the bermuda has been maintained with a rotary and taller than ideal, which will cause it to get thin. It should thicken up with sun, water and fertilizer, but will take some time. Make sure you aren't maintaining it at the same height you scalped it.

I disagree with J_nick about scalping zoysia. I scalp mine every year as low as I can. Just like the bermuda, this will allow you to maintain it lower and it will get more dense. There are some here with Zeon who say it won't tolerate scalping, but I wouldn't tolerate a grass that couldn't take a Spring scalp. That being said, I wouldn't scalp it this year based on what I'm seeing. Work on getting it level and filled in, then plan to scalp it in the Spring with the bermuda.

 

[J_nick]

@Spammage the reason I said not to scalp the Zoysia was because the sod was recently laid. This season should be focused on getting it established and healthy with the least amount of stress

 

[LovetheTide]

To get a good understanding of what your Bermuda needs read The Bermuda Bible. What kind of reel do you have? I'd say it doesn't look like you went low enough with the scalp on your Bermuda as I still see a lot brown mixed in with the green.

For the Zoysia sod in the back first rule is DO NOT SCALP thou Zoysia. I'll refer to @Spammage for what it needs

Once I fix my Fiskars I'll be using that again, if I can't get it figured out quickly I'll be using a rotary for a few days. Is it too late to remove the dead grass? I had my landscape guy go by and with his supposed dethatcher and he said he wouldn't be able to get any of it out... I'll give scalping another go if it's not too late. Highs are in the mid 90s the next 7-10 days.

Also in DFW, my bermuda just really took off this week with the warmer temps. I agree with @J_nick that it looks like you could scalp lower. My guess is that the bermuda has been maintained with a rotary and taller than ideal, which will cause it to get thin. It should thicken up with sun, water and fertilizer, but will take some time. Make sure you aren't maintaining it at the same height you scalped it.

I disagree with J_nick about scalping zoysia. I scalp mine every year as low as I can. Just like the bermuda, this will allow you to maintain it lower and it will get more dense. There are some here with Zeon who say it won't tolerate scalping, but I wouldn't tolerate a grass that couldn't take a Spring scalp. That being said, I wouldn't scalp it this year based on what I'm seeing. Work on getting it level and filled in, then plan to scalp it in the Spring with the bermuda.

I bought the place last year and the yard was a complete wreck. I really wasn't sure if I had any grass at all in the front.

Lots of leveling planned for the sod. Got a few other things to tackle around the house and then I'll get to leveling.

 

[J_nick]

It would be better to scalp now than wait till later. I'd take it down as low as possible then you can come up a notch to start maintaining it. You could also throw some fertilizer on it to help it bounce back if you haven't applied anything yet.

 

[LovetheTide]

Little Tuesday update here.

"Scalped" the front. Set the rotary so it dragged the ground and still couldn't get much of a scalp. Raked some of the bad areas and then proceeded to cut again which helped some.

Here it is after initial scalp and then raking.




I've been going pretty heavy on fertilizer the past couple weeks. Going to continue with 1#/1k of 21-0-0 weekly for the remainder of the summer. Yard has really greened up and Bermuda is spreading already. Cutting this high is torture.

Little flower pot action.



Workers slacking...





Then this happened. I'm going to have a lot of dirt to move to get things smoothed out. Really not sure how to tackle this so any input is appreciated.

 

[Movingshrub]

What's the recommend amount of N for zoysia? I think one pound of N per thousand per week is way too much. I did that last year and turned mine highlighter yellow/green.

 

[Redland1]

It was coming along nicely till those A hole workers tore it up.Do they re sod the area they tore up?

 

[LovetheTide]

What's the recommend amount of N for zoysia? I think one pound of N per thousand per week is way too much. I did that last year and turned mine highlighter yellow/green.

Sorry, that wasn't very clear. Zoysia has gotten milo and that's it so far. Probly due for more now that I think about it.

Front is what I'm trying to rescue with heavy N.

It was coming along nicely till those A hole workers tore it up.Do they re sod the area they tore up?

Haven't even thought about it. Going to talk to the boss in the morning about some side work. I'll see what he has to say about it.

I really need to do a ton of leveling before then if they do put sod down.

 

[Spammage]

Another concern would be what type of sod they would be using.

 

[Greendoc]

What's the recommend amount of N for zoysia? I think one pound of N per thousand per week is way too much. I did that last year and turned mine highlighter yellow/green.

1 lb of N per month for grow in only. If pushing it during a grow in that could be split into 2-4 applications during the month. What kind of Zoysia did you turn yellow? I deal with a lot of Japonica, which reacts to high N very differently. Put more than 1 lb of N on it in a month and you will see grass that is trying to grow 6" tall in one week. I still remember a domination line gone wrong. "landscaper" working next door got in a snit because the grass on the other side was green from FEAture. He threw on about 2 lb of N as 24-2-10 50% slow release. That lawn grew 6" every week for the next 2 months. Looked scalped and butchered every time he mowed it.

 

[jayhawk]

once established....N can go pretty low - interesting read from USGA http://www.usga.org/content/usga/ho...version-from-bermudagrass-to-zoysiagrass.html

 

[LovetheTide]

Here is what they left me with. The worst spot is the corner of the new entry pad closest to the house. I've got maybe 8-10" of severe slope and who knows how much dirt to remove.

Really considering paying the guy running the bobcat to smooth things out. If I do that I'll bring in top soil. That's Probly the best option at this point.

Another concern would be what type of sod they would be using.

Appears to be zoysia. I'll snap some pictures of what they did a few blocks over.

If it is zoysia do I tell them to hold off on the sod? I bet I will have a 10-15' spot of bare dirt leading up to the curb if I have to level this out as much as I think.

once established....N can go pretty low - interesting read from USGA http://www.usga.org/content/usga/ho...version-from-bermudagrass-to-zoysiagrass.html

Good read. Thanks for the link.

 

[LovetheTide]

They aren't done yet. They said they will fix the grading but time will tell. Hopefully it turns out in good shape and I won't have to mess with it.