i like st augustine but i hear it requires to much maintenance

It isn't St. Augustine.

I heard that most of it got burned up at Willie's picnic....

native range grass!

St. Augustine doesn't really require much maintenance. What it needs is lots of water. With enough water, fertilizer in the fall, and proper mowing, it will do fine. It also does well in shade.

That said - I wouldn't plant it because of the water needs. I think it would be smart to consider alternatives like Zoysia Palisades. More drought resistant, looks beautiful, and can hold up in shade.

what about centipede?

Seriously, we've had St. Augustine for ten years, and it has done pretty well. We fertilize every spring with Lesco 15-5-10, and deep soak twice a week. Since we're up on a hilltop in Westlake, the summers, with the hair-dryer wind blowing constantly, are pretty tough. Overall, we've been pleased. Long periods of incredible heat, with no rain, have been the toughest.

We are also on a hilltop in the same area. I like to brag that we don't water or fertilize but, our St. Augustine is shaded in evaporation fields or heavily shaded on a hillside. The deer and the neighbor's dogs do more than enough additional fertilizing.

Oh, you can tell this isn't the GB... 7 responses and no one has mentioned anything about visiting's Willie's place for the best grass in the Hill Coountry...

Wadd, I'm gonna claim "Closest To The Pin" with my post, third from the top....

St. Augustine looks great, if it's taken care of. The problem around here, is that too many people cut it way too short, and dont water it enough, so it looks like crap.

If I could re-sod my lawn, I wouldnt consider anything other than Zoysia.

probably going with zoysia then.

what about trees? already got a couple of live oaks. what about maples/red oaks?

We have three red oaks that are doing rather well. Also, crape myrtles seem to do really fine in the area. The splash of colour in the spring and summer is nice, too.

Red Oaks are great, but highly susceptible to oak wilt. If there is any in your area, I would consider something else. I'm partial to drake elms and chinquapin (pin) oaks. For spring color, mexican plums are wonderful - wish I had more on my property. Of course, so are Texas mountain laurels. I agree with the crepe myrtle, too. You also might want to consider buffalo grass - beautiful, native, and extremely drought tolerant.

Class of '90
Gig 'em!

Bluegrass - Kentucky Bluegrass. Feather bed Bent. And Northern California Sensimilla. Good thing about this stuff is, you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take some home and get stoned to the Begezzus Belt.

Check out Celebration. It is a hybrid of burmuda that is drought tolereant, grows slow, and looks great. I just laid 44 pallets about a month ago and it looks great. Best comparison is the fringe on a golf course.

As far as trees, stay away from maples. They don't do well in our parts. Any oak tree should do well. I prefer red oaks and burr oaks. Only problem with burr oaks is they grow slow as molasses.

I have Celebration in my yard as well...it looks great; a deep green, tolerates the heat well and does not need too much water. Grows very dense and chokes out weeds.

quote:

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chokes out weeds.

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i think we have a winner. how expensive is it compared to the others?

It's about 130-150 a pallet. How much do you need? I got it for 135 a pallet. That included delivery and having it laid. I can get you my landscapers number if you want. A pallet covers about 400 sq. feet.

[This message has been edited by Maroonedinaustin (edited 8/13/2010 2:52p).]