GeorgiaGirl – posted 08 July 2003 11:43
We have emerald Zoysia and our lawn did not green up this year (less than 40%). Chemlawn is saying it is due to “Winter-Kill” (conveniently after an article ran in the local paper), but I’m not convinced. I could understand spots in low areas, but not the entire lawn (which is on a slight slope). Another turf expert said there was a pre-emergent or herbicide overdose. Any advice, or do we have to replace our entire lawn? If so, what would you recommend
Will-PCB – posted 08 July 2003 19:27
I dont know much about your kind of grass, but I can tell you … I found out that I did a much better job at maintaining my lawn than did TruGreen Chemlawn.
It’s amazing what you can learn just by a soil sample and a free visit to your County’s Extension Office.
redbird – posted 09 July 2003 10:40
Zoysia (any cultivar) should not winterkill in the state of Georgia. I know of a few neighbors who lost large portions of their lawns (not zoysia) to combinations of the following this winter/spring:
insects
scalping/herbicides/fertilizers delivered rapid machine-gun fashion (beating the lawn too death with too much stuff)
fungus (caused by an excessively wet winter/spring)
I doubt if you have any real winter-kill issues. I would bet that the problem was rooted in maintenance (too much/too little of something).
Mike
Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 10 July 2003 08:13
I’m about as negative on zoysia as anyone could be. Every year I see lawns with the same problem being replaced completely – and NOT with zoysia. The owners have put in years of nursing it along, and then suddenly, 30-40% of it is gone!!?? They are not willing to put in another couple years of bare spots while the neighbors ask them what happened to their expensive lawn. They go with the flow and put in whatever grass is the dominant grass in the area.
If zoysia were the greatest grass in the world, there should be at least one golf course that has at least a demo plot of it somewhere. I could be wrong but I don’t think so. Zoysia is a museum piece grass. If you have a museum’s budget for it, then you might be able to handle it. Some of my neighbors do have an unlimited budget for their garden but they don’t have zoysia.
redbird – posted 14 July 2003 06:52
Dchall – Just curious:Do you have any information regarding the cultivars of zoysia that have helped you form your poor opinion regarding zoysia grass in San Antonio?
The only reason that I am asking is that there is a long history of people using cultivars in the south that were never really meant for these climates. I have recently installed Empire Zoysia in the SE coastal area (so far, so good – need a few years of good track record to make a definitive determination on the grass) but – the people I have spoken with who use a cultivar appropriate for the area (El Toro is reputed to be good in the SW, Empire is the leading cultivar in hot/humid areas – resistant to fungus & many bugs, low maintenance) have had good luck.
I can tell you this – I am experiencing better luck this year than some of my next-door neighbors with St. Augustine who have experienced troubles with fungus, mole crickets, and fire ants (I do have some fire ant nests along the foundation of the house, they dont make any visible ant hills out in the yard – sod appears to be too dense).
Anyway – what is your take on the issue of inappropriate cultivars for the area being the culprit for poor performance?Mike
Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 14 July 2003 07:29
redbird,I’m wide open to the idea that inappropriate cultivars are a serious issue. Unfortunately I do not have that info for the lawns I see come and go. I believe cultivars can be somewhat important in St Augustine, too. But all I see is the zoysia lawns being installed and a few years later being removed. I have to believe that some intelligence went into the initial decision to install it, but that doesn’t mean the landscaper did the biggest favors for the homeowner.
I have seen a nice stand of zoysia at the San Antonio zoo. If that was the only zoysia I had ever seen, I would be an enthusiastic supporter for the grass. I should mention one other stand of it I just saw last 4th of July. Some folks in the next neighborhood over have some in 10×10 squares in front of their house. Most of it is very nice, too.
Also, in reply to my own post on this topic earlier, golf courses would never use zoysia except maybe for display. It is not a walkable grass and certainly not a grass you want to be digging divots out of all the time.
redbird – posted 14 July 2003 12:58
Not sure that I can agree with a couple of your points:
Not a walkable grass – lush, soft, thick – one of the most walkable grasses in existance. I also think – and many would agree – that it is much more durable for traffic than St. Augustine. True, zoysia is slow to recover from damage. But that must be weighed against the fact that it is much more difficult to damage in the first place.
Not used for golf courses – there are courses in GA/FL that are beginning to use the new cultivars which were established in Brazil (Empire/Empress), they are even trying them out on greens if my info is correct (albeit second hand – can’t quote the specific courses).
My lawn is extremely slow-growing. It has taken a long time to fill in the gaps smoothly between the sod pieces and it recovers slowly from minor scalps. BUT – it has not succumbed to any of the problems that my other neighbors with new lawns have encountered. I don’t even have to worry about the critters (racoons, armadillos and possums) digging up my lawn looking for bugs/grubs like my neighbors – again I can only assume it is due to sod density.
Mike
redbird – posted 14 July 2003 13:01
Not sure that I can agree with a couple of your points:
Not a walkable grass – lush, soft, thick – one of the most walkable grasses in existance. I also think – and many would agree – that it is much more durable for traffic than St. Augustine. True, zoysia is slow to recover from damage. But that must be weighed against the fact that it is much more difficult to damage in the first place.
Not used for golf courses – there are courses in GA/FL that are beginning to use the new cultivars which were established in Brazil (Empire/Empress), they are even trying them out on greens if my info is correct (albeit second hand – can’t quote the specific courses).
My lawn is extremely slow-growing. It has taken a long time to fill in the gaps smoothly between the sod pieces and it recovers slowly from minor scalps. BUT – it has not succumbed to any of the problems that my other neighbors with new lawns have encountered. I don’t even have to worry about the critters (racoons, armadillos and possums) digging up my lawn looking for bugs/grubs like my neighbors – again I can only assume it is due to sod density.
Mike