Complete Backyard Makeover - Zoysia or St. Augustine

St aug. Plug it.

I've read a lot of mixed reviews on Zoysia. Some say it takes up to 3 years for plugs to fill in and it's easier and more efficient to seed. Others say it's really hard to get seed to germinate and spread. I'm probably leaning St. Aug.

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Spray MSMA and go with the bermuda

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I want something that requires a little less maintenance. I work 7 on 7 off in the Gulf.

Come home after being surrounded by water for a week and pick up 12 garbage bags of molded oranges that fell off the trees due to a freeze then get back with me

I have installed a lot of varieties of zoysia but even the nicest zoysia isn't as nice as Palmetto

I own a spraying business, so I deal with all types of warm season turfs. Zoysia hands down if your choices are between those two, however, Bermuda is the cheapest and easiest option!!! There's a reason the state and local municipalities spray roadsides with glyphosate/ 2,4-d mix...they're trying to encourage Bermuda to take over because it's extremely hardy and the amount of maintenance is minimal in that setting. Put bermuda in a lawn setting where it's mowed regularly and gets watered/rain 2x per week and you end up with a beautiful lawn. St Aug is prone to Brown Patch in Spring and Fall. It will thin during times of frequent rain...like we've had this summer. It doesn't tolerate traffic, so if you have a dog or kids, they will wear it thin and Bermuda or weeds will fill in the areas worn by foot traffic. Zoysia on the other hand is pretty disease and insect resistant. When planted next to St. Augustine, it will eventually take over the lawn. It does fairly well in traffic areas, though not as well as Bermuda. Like Bermuda, it grows via rhizomes and stolens, which adds to its resiliency when stressed.
To answer your question about sprigging, you're probably not going to be happy with the results because your going to be dealing with a lot of weeds until the lawn fills in. If your on a budget, seed with Bermuda. If not, sod with Zoysia.

Just got my entire Front and side yards pulled, redid the grade and responded with St. Aug. I am absolutely pleased with the results. The backyard is still this crap mix of centipede/Bermuda mix that my builder put down without grading the yard. I'll have to regrade it also. It looks okay but mowing it is like trying to mow across a plowed field.

I planted 30 pallets of emerald zoysia around my house, and planted about the same area across my driveway with zenith zoysia from seed, both 12 years ago. When it's right and perfect, there isn't a prettier warm season grass than emerald zoysia. If anyone says differently, they have never seen it in top shape. But rarely is it in perfect condition. It is very maintenance intensive. It looks best when cut with a reel mower. I had one that sells in the $2k range. But I sold it because it was ridiculous for getting sharpened and it woukdnt stay sharp with emerald's fine, dense, and wiry blades ($100/month) Emerald is also very thatch prone. I sold that reel mower and bought a power rake instead because I had a hard time finding rentals. Without regular detahtching, there's no chance with emerald. I now just cut with a rotary. It takes several days for the frayed ends to heal after a rotary cut. I would not recommend emerald. It's gorgeous when perfect, but really hard to keep it that way.

The zenith seeds did come up very well, but I kept it wet with my sprinkler system and a good timer program. It is a lot easier to deal with than emerald, and probably comparable to empire or Meyer zoysia in appearance. It is not as fine as emerald, but softer and easier to maintain. All zoysias require dethatching in this climate if you fertilize and water a lot and give them what they need to look like what they're known for. If you don't plan on doing that, there's really no point to having it. That's because the clippings, and natural attrition even if you bag, decompose very slowly and accumulate. The more you feed and water, the more you encourage the cycle.

I went to a sod farm in Foley AL to look at Emerald, and Meyer zoysias. I went to a sod farm in poplarville MS to see empire zoysia. Both places had different varieties of st aug. as well. Looks are a matter of opinion. In my opinion, no st aug can match zoysia at its peak appearance. At the same time, no zoysia can match st.aug's lower level of attention and still have as good of an appearance as st aug. if not cared for.

From my 12 years with two varieties of zoysia in separate areas, if you're committed to long term more intensive maintenance, get zoysia. If not, there's no point. St aug will make you a much nicer lawn.

I wouldn't count out centipede as it grows slower than st aug.