Bad time to roll out sod?

[SoonerDave]

Question for the lawn experts out there.....

There's a strip on the east side of my house that needs to be resodded; I neglected the grass on that side, and it needed a bit of extra attention/watering/feeding as it doesn't get quite as much sunlight as the rest of my yard. Its down to bare dirt and scrubby weeds, especially close to the base of the house. So I wanted the sod for ground protection as much or more than just appearance.

I was planning to just drop some nice topsoil on the area and roll out some new Bermuda sod, perhaps as early as tomorrow, and start watering as the dates allow (or leveraging some timely rain this weekend if Venture79 can be trusted )

Friend of mine overheard my plans and thought I was nuts to roll out any sod this time of year, because the roots will barely take if at all and will only be shallow at best. I need to get this side remedied, but now my enthusiasm has waned.

Is it a bad idea? Hate to just let the area continue to just look like a mini wasteland.

[Achilleslastand]

I had about 900 square of Bermuda installed almost a month ago and with the rain we got plus watering it in everyday for the first 2 weeks really helped the roots take and it has a wonderful green color. This might be a good time to lay it down since its looking like were gonna get some rain here soon. And also before you lay the sod down you might wanna water the soil pretty good before doing so as this will help with the rooting. I also laid down some light fertilizer on the sod 10-10-10 about 10 days after installation.
Why is the area barren? Drought? Grub worms?
Also Bermuda isn't the best grass for shade fyi.

[kevinpate]

Are there other low light necessary alternatives that might work as well?
Decorative rock garden or a raised plant/flower bed perhaps?

[SoonerDave]

I had about 900 square of Bermuda installed almost a month ago and with the rain we got plus watering it in everyday for the first 2 weeks really helped the roots take and it has a wonderful green color. This might be a good time to lay it down since its looking like were gonna get some rain here soon. And also before you lay the sod down you might wanna water the soil pretty good before doing so as this will help with the rooting. I also laid down some light fertilizer on the sod 10-10-10 about 10 days after installation.
Why is the area barren? Drought? Grub worms?
Also Bermuda isn't the best grass for shade fyi.

The pending rain is one of the reasons I was interested in laying the sod...

I definitely planned to roll out at least one big cube of "peat soil" and amend the hard clay that's out there right now, and shape it such that the new sod would encourage water to drain away from the side of the house.

As far as the bermuda/shade issue, the area isn't complete shade, just not as much direct/full sun as the rest of the yard. From what I can tell, even though its borderline, there's probably *just enough* sun to keep it going, but it will take a bit more attention. At least that's what one garden type told me

Are there other low light necessary alternatives that might work as well?
Decorative rock garden or a raised plant/flower bed perhaps?

The area isn't seen very much by virtue of its location, so the "effort/enjoyment" ratio can go very high very quickly. As a result, I'm kinda reluctant to put in a rock garden or a raised flower bed. Its on the east side of the house with limited windows and a fence on the neighbor's side. The area is only about 33' x 6'. Heck, at one point, I thought about just having a sidewalk installed on that side of the house, but that gets kinda expensive pretty quickly. I can snag the rolls of bermuda for (well?) under $100..

[WilliamTell]

I have put down sod before in summer, you will be fine. Just make sure you water deep every other day for 2 weeks

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Most Bermuda hates shade. Make sure it's a blend or it'll die too.

[SoonerDave]

Most Bermuda hates shade. Make sure it's a blend or it'll die too.

Well, its a bit ironic you post this, because I was all geared up to get my sod and roll it out in advance of the rain that's supposedly coming....and my nursery didn't have any

So I took the time to actually monitor exactly how much sun that part of my yard actually gets, and I was shocked and how severely I overestimated it. The area was in full shade until 11:00 AM this morning, about 1/3 sun by 11:25, 2/3 sun by around noon, and full sun just before 1pm. The shade had already started back on the opposite site by 1:15ish. So, the most I could say that full sun was in the area is maybe 2-2.5 hours. Even I don't think Bermuda can survive with that little sun.

So I'm going to have to find out what kinds of hybrid grasses are even a good idea in that situation. Perhaps Marcum's being out of my sod was a blessing in disguise

[foodiefan]

. . . even with bermuda, you are going to have to maintain (water, fertilize, mow). In lieu of a sidewalk, have you considered stepping stones and groundcover?? Once the ground cover is established, it will be a lot easier to maintain than any turf grass.

[s00nr1]

Most of the guys here have hit on some good points regarding turfgrass growth and in particular bermuda's aversion to even the slightest bit of afternoon shade. If you truly want to keep this area flourishing for more than just one season I would certainly recommend looking into a more shade-tolerant strand of bermuda such as Tif Grand (TifGrand®) or Zoysia such as Zeon (Turf Grass Group). I also would highly recommend waiting until at least the middle-end of August before laying down new sod if you have an issue with clay soil as your neighbor said the roots will have a very difficult time moving downward to take hold during hot/dry conditions.

[SoonerDave]

. . . even with bermuda, you are going to have to maintain (water, fertilize, mow). In lieu of a sidewalk, have you considered stepping stones and groundcover?? Once the ground cover is established, it will be a lot easier to maintain than any turf grass.

Well, this is a ~200 sq ft area in an otherwise already-bermuda-covered lawn, so no matter what I choose, I'm still maintaining a good chunk of turf

I will definitely consider some stones and/or other groundcover. I have to balance just how much $ and time I want to spend establishing it, because its on a side of the house that is seen only infrequently.

*I would certainly recommend looking into a more shade-tolerant strand of bermuda such as Tif Grand (TifGrand®) or Zoysia such as Zeon (Turf Grass Group). I also would highly recommend waiting until at least the middle-end of August*

TifGrand is exactly the variety Marcum's had, unfortunately. I was planning to put down at least a 1" layer of Peat Soil before rolling out the sod. As it stands right now, August may be the earliest I can do anything as my next two Saturdays are all-but booked up, and that puts us squarely in the first weekend of August. That's the other reason I was so frustrated that Marcum's was out - I was primed to work, and when they were out, I called around to discover most other sod farms are out, too. I found some stuff at Lowe's, but I honestly didn't like the looks of it. IT looked like a wider-blade variety of Bermuda that I thought was not very attractive. And, now, given that there's a lot less sunlight there than I thought, a generic Bermuda from a big-box retailer probably isn't a good idea, anyway.

[CuatrodeMayo]

A family member of mine had a similar situation. She was having trouble keeping grass on the side her of house. We rolled out some landscape fabric, placed 12" pavers to create a stepping stone walkway, then filled in the area with river rock. We used a large rock that would stay in place. Minik Materials sells it for $40-$50 per ton. The only maintenance it requires is to have the leaves blown off in the fall.