large lawn options

Question

I have six acres in middle Tennessee. Pretty typical mix of weeds and grass. I was ready to plant zoysia grass, at least up near the house, to crowd out some of the weeds and maybe have a decent looking lawn. I read your article on how invasive zoysia is and wondered about alternatives. I didn’t know if the zoysia would kill any hostas, peonies, hydrangeas, etc. that I have planted randomly in the yard. I have a small area that I have planted with different kinds of ground covers (lemon thyme and such) that is doing well. Suggestions? Don’t mind mowing and am open to anything.

Answer 1

Zoysia is invasive but in a yard like yours it would be a good option. It won’t kill plants larger than itself, so plants like hostas and the like will be fine. It does like to get into flower beds and ground covers, so you would need to make sure you had borders around those places and edge them yearly to keep it from getting in.

Really, any grass that is good for large areas because it spreads well has this same issue. They spread well and stay lush because they are aggressive plants. Bermuda grass is another good option.