Birmingham Lawn and Turf
Lawn is the carpet of the landscape. Lawn can be used to define areas and walkways, but should not be ubiquitous. Lawns should have clean defined edges and generally should be free of obstructions and other plant material. In Alabama we have a number of choices for great lawns. Lawn selection should be made based upon light conditions, maintenance practices, use and texture. Here in Birmingham, the best grasses for shade are fescues and St Augustine. Fescue is very inexpensive and evergreen, but must be over-seeded at least once a year, does poorly in hot southern droughts and cannot take chemical treatments. St. Augustine is deciduous and aggressive, takes drought and shade well, but is susceptible to grubs and is chemically sensitive. Care must be taken when hiring a lawn service or applying one’s own treatments. For Sun, Bermuda is very inexpensive and can be started from seed or sod. It is aggressive and very hardy, but cannot stand any shade. Additionally, Bermuda tends to be thin and requires professional chemical treatments to keep it looking good and weed free. Centipede is a decent lawn grass for full sun. It can stand some shade, chokes out weeds fairly well and is very low maintenance. It does have some drawbacks however, centipede is expensive, does not take a lot of abuse (as in play lawn) and is very sensitive to chemicals. The best lawn grass for light shade to full sun in Alabama is definitely Zoyzia. Zoyzia is very tough, chokes weeds out extremely well, can take a great amount of abuse, and responds favorably to chemical treatments. Zoyzia is not for shade and is one of the more expensive choices for lawn.