Well, our problem is twofold.
First, we just took out a 50-foot oak tree in our front yard. It shaded the house on the west from the sun as well as our front plant beds. Around and under it we had put in fescue, since it was full shade all day long. It developed canker and started dying and dropping big limbs on our house, so we just had it taken out a couple weeks ago - now all that fescue is going to die for sure in the sun. It will be full sun from late morning through sunset every day from now on.
Secondly, we've been having Lawn America come out for a couple of years to try to get our lawn looking better. When we moved in (6 years ago) it was the ugliest lawn on the block by a huge margin. It got a little better for a while, but this year, the front is absolutely horrible and it looks like a crack-house lawn again. It got overtaken by some kind of spreading weed that was all matted and thick ground-cover, Lawn America came out 3-4 extra times and has never been able to get it under control in the least. Now, with the tree gone, it's just that much more accentuated as there's nothing to really distract the eye from ground level. Interestingly, our side yard and back yard look the best they've ever been and are thick and lush, mostly Bermuda. We're very happy with those sections.
We've tried a couple of times to do zoysia patches and plugs in several areas, but it never took at all. So I'm considering next spring either hiring someone or renting a sodcutter and taking it all out, laying down some good topsoil mixed with fertilizer or manure, then laying full sod over the top - I'd like to do zoysia. It's thick, lush and very heat-resistant, right? I'm thinking golf course fairway-style grass. That would be awesome. This is just the front yard, not the side or back. If I do so, I've thought that would be the most obvious time to cut some trenches and put in a sprinkler system. I'd obviously buy a controller that could handle multiple other zones so we could expand it to the side and back later if we wanted to.
Any of you guys ever done your own sod and/or sprinkler systems? Any ideas? Is my reasoning sound, or am I way off base and need to do something totally different?
The two guys across the street have lawns to be proud of - but they're both retired, cut about 1/4-1/2" weekly and are out there on their hands and knees pulling weeds that you can't even see from their lawns. I don't think we have that kind of dedication or time to mess with it.
Suggestions?
First, we just took out a 50-foot oak tree in our front yard. It shaded the house on the west from the sun as well as our front plant beds. Around and under it we had put in fescue, since it was full shade all day long. It developed canker and started dying and dropping big limbs on our house, so we just had it taken out a couple weeks ago - now all that fescue is going to die for sure in the sun. It will be full sun from late morning through sunset every day from now on.
Secondly, we've been having Lawn America come out for a couple of years to try to get our lawn looking better. When we moved in (6 years ago) it was the ugliest lawn on the block by a huge margin. It got a little better for a while, but this year, the front is absolutely horrible and it looks like a crack-house lawn again. It got overtaken by some kind of spreading weed that was all matted and thick ground-cover, Lawn America came out 3-4 extra times and has never been able to get it under control in the least. Now, with the tree gone, it's just that much more accentuated as there's nothing to really distract the eye from ground level. Interestingly, our side yard and back yard look the best they've ever been and are thick and lush, mostly Bermuda. We're very happy with those sections.
We've tried a couple of times to do zoysia patches and plugs in several areas, but it never took at all. So I'm considering next spring either hiring someone or renting a sodcutter and taking it all out, laying down some good topsoil mixed with fertilizer or manure, then laying full sod over the top - I'd like to do zoysia. It's thick, lush and very heat-resistant, right? I'm thinking golf course fairway-style grass. That would be awesome. This is just the front yard, not the side or back. If I do so, I've thought that would be the most obvious time to cut some trenches and put in a sprinkler system. I'd obviously buy a controller that could handle multiple other zones so we could expand it to the side and back later if we wanted to.
Any of you guys ever done your own sod and/or sprinkler systems? Any ideas? Is my reasoning sound, or am I way off base and need to do something totally different?
The two guys across the street have lawns to be proud of - but they're both retired, cut about 1/4-1/2" weekly and are out there on their hands and knees pulling weeds that you can't even see from their lawns. I don't think we have that kind of dedication or time to mess with it.
Suggestions?