If you're not going to water in the summer, then anything but St Aug will be better than St Aug. It will die if not watered once a month or so. If the zoysia does not do well in the shade, then St Aug is the only option. So then, in prep for sod, no need to rototill or aerate. Just rake or scrape off the surface dead growth. Then lay the sod. Make sure they leave no gaps between sod pieces. The sod pieces should be staggered meaning that it should not look like a checkerboard. They should roll the sod down to ensure good contact between the roots and the soil. Then start watering briefly (5-10 minutes), 3x per day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner times), for the next 2 weeks. Then check a few pieces to see if they have knit to the soil. Try lifting a corner. By then the roots should be biting into the soil. Then you can back off on watering until you are watering deeply (1 inch) and infrequently (once per week max during the hottest heat of summer). That watering schedule may be much different from what your neighbors say and all your local advice, but their daily watering schedule does not develop a great root system. Daily watering also encourages every weed seed to sprout, and you don't want that. So as soon as the sod knits down, start backing off on the watering frequency. Are you interested in an inexpensive organic fertilizing routine. Here is a picture of a zoysia lawn with a handful of alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) applied a month earlier... You can see the improved color, density and growth. Alfalfa is usually applied at 15-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can buy it at any feed store in 50-pound bags. You and your daughter might appreciate organic.

Unfortunately you are not the first to find this problem when growing in containers. I am somewhat amazed that the cannas could receive enough water and nutrients to produce this growth in your container. You must be doing something right. Do you happen to know which canna cultivar you are growing and how many plants/rhizomes did you plant in each container? In your lengthy growing area, cannas typically need to be divided, thinned and replanted each/every spring. A 22” container needs to start with only one or two small healthy plants in the spring. The container may look bare to start but good plant or root stock will easily fill this container and reach its full potential each year. The choice of cultivar and container size will often be a determining factor in successful results. Because many of these containers can be expensive I would recommend removing the rhizomes however you find suitable. Do not be concerned about cutting or damaging the rhizomes. You will likely find that most will survive the surgery and you will likely have more pieces than you need to replant. In fact, your biggest problem is the removal and what to do with the excess rhizomes. Good luck and let us know how things work out. Kent

If it looks that bad, I don't think I would want an exchange, I would want my money back. Read the warranty and just stick to your guns. Don't accept another product that may get them through the warranty period but will ultimately fail too. If they insist, then tell them you want the warranty restarted. Get everything in writing before it is reordered.

Where are you climate wise, city, etc.? Can you post a pic? How big i the bark you're using? Cymbidiums are generally pretty easy to grow. And bark is easy to modify with perlite or large to small pieces depending on grow conditions. What I do when in between sizes is fill bottom 3rd with Styrofoam peanuts packing material OR very large pieces of bark and then fill the rest with small terrestrial orchid size bark.