New lawn turf grass???? Help!!

[southernvaughan]

I need to get my grass going at my new house. Don't want sod. Was thinking about Kentucky blue grass. Will it grow good in sandy rankin county dirt? Is it fairly shade tolerant? I have a few trees scattered. Nothing really dense though.

[deltadukman]

I think it gets too hot here.

[landscaper]

I would be surprised if it survived a Mississippi summer. Starting any grass from seed is going to be tough unless you have enough shade for Fescue and even if you can grow Fescue you will likely have to overseed it in the spring and fall to keep it thick. Bermuda will be your next easiest option to start from seed. It will do fine in your moderately shaded areas for the first season but will start to thin out pretty quickly after that. Zoysia is a pretty good challenge to start from seed and is a sun loving grass but will do better in part shade and filtered light than bermuda. You just sort of have to pick your poison and make a commitment to it if you have a yard that is anything other than full sun in the south.

[southernvaughan]

Landscaper, what variety of Bermuda would you recommend? It's really sandy soil and I'm not wanting to spend a fortune. And I have an area that's fairly steep that I need grass on as well. It's new ground too that was cleared out in the woods.

[landscaper]

Wish I had a little more expertise in turf grass to answer you better. There are lots of new varieties of Bermuda. I was toying with the idea of seeding my yard this month with new one that is supposed to be supper dense like Zoysia but was like $300 for 25 lbs and the rate was something like 2 lbs per 1000 sq feet. You're talking about $1200/acre for seed alone! Other varieties are cheaper than that but for the money I would probably just use common hulled Bermuda. Just be sure to mix it with a dispersing agent (usually sand) so that you don't way overdo it and waste your seed and use a little straw on your banks. Water for 20 minutes or so three of four times a day and you should have germination in about 10 days. If you fertilize much your weeds will jump back up too but don't treat them this season. Wait till next year for that.

[southernvaughan]

Yeah just talked to a friend at UAP and he said they sell a lot of common Bermuda to people for yards and football fields. Said just off the fertilizer to it and seed it heavy. It's like 140 for a 50# bag.

[Deadeye]

Kinda in the same boat with a new yard. I seeded Kentucky 31 fescue about 5 weeks ago... then we got 4 inches of rain when the tornados came thrue.. washed most away. I just plan on overseeding in the spring and fall to get a thick stand.

I got to get a lot of sand to fill in the washes from the heavy rains this spring... I have a lot of yard work in front of me.

Dead

[cockandlock25]

It is too hot and humid for Kentucky bluegrass in MS. In fact, you're really stretching it if you plant even a turf-type tall fescue, unless you plan on really babying it. Common bermudagrass would probably be your best bet from a time and money standpoint.