theplantation2860 – posted 18 June 2001 09:36
I’ve seen a few posts about Zoysia, but i haven’t seen to many people with answers. I live in central Florida and i’d like to know how zoysia would do here and what varity would be best?
seed – posted 08 July 2001 08:35
When David Fairchild brought some of the first samples of zoysiagrass to the US from Asia, at the turn of the last century, he had high hopes for it on the coastal ridges of Florida.
(“Zoysia” grass as we know it as a turf consists of probably five interbreeding species varying from the “Temple grass” that may have been the same turfgrass used in spiritual settings, e.g., the tea garden ceremonies in Japan in the 800s, to coarse-textured hairy Korean zoysiagrasses.)
After one century of trials and errors, zoysiagrass has established itself as a niche grass for the transition area of the US from Maryland to Missouri, and for some coastal areas such as the Florida Keys. It has strong advantages in its ability to grow in rocky soils and under the influence of salt spray, but it has severe problems from the sting nematode that is prevalent in deep sandy soils of the interior of Florida.
We might call zoysia, “the grass with more questions than answers” or “the Sunday supplement grass.”
I don’t necessarily want to irritate any zoysiagrass aficionados, but if there are any, I hope they will come forward and share their successful experiences.
Phil
[This message has been edited by seed (edited 08 July 2001).]
Lex – posted 12 December 2001 16:59
I live in Merritt Island FL and plan to try zoysia. I currently have floratam St. Augustine (FSA). FSA looks great when well kept but I find it high maintenance. Weeds and bermuda are creeping in despite an aggresive weed erratication effort. The FSA grows over my sidewalk but will not fill in spots in the yard. The FSA also requires edging and weed eating every week or two or threatens to take over the flower bed.
We had zoysia (I think it was emerald or matrella as it is very wire like) at my home as a child (in west central Alabama). We never had weed problems and never used any weed killers (okay, I recall two tiny clover patches springing up once or twice in 10 years (:+> )).
Here in Merritt Island there is no consensus about zoysia. Many say it will not grow due to salt content of soil. I find that hard to believe as zoysia grows well in Okinawa.
I plan to try emerald zoysia. If anyone else has had good luck with zoysia on the coast let me know! Best of luck to my fellow zoysia grass believers!Lex
theplantation2860 – posted 30 December 2001 19:11
Hey Lex. I live on Merritt Island too. I plan on planting a pallet of zoysia probably in April. Right now i’m leaning toward empress or empire. I order some plugs about a year ago from that company in Maryland. They took great and looked wonderful, until the lawn service hit it with round-up. I’m not too mad, i just had a small area i was testing, and it still had a long ways to go to fill inTheplantation2860
Dave-Cypress Creek – posted 26 January 2002 08:47
Zoysia is naturalized in the Keys, and it has two advantages. It looks great and grows well on pure coral rock and fill, even creeping out onto asphalt streets, and…it’s really the only thing you can grow without a lot of irrigation. It makes an amazing, soft, weed-choking carpet in the rough landscape of the Keys. You can water a patch that crops up in a barren area and get it to spread across the entire yard. It even seems to thrawt fire ants from nesting.Much as I like it in Key Largo, I’m avoiding it for my yard in Broward because of what I’ve read about Zoysia and nematodes. I haven’t had the soil tested, but I have deep, almost pure sand; St. Augustine grows well (except in the severe summer drought of 2001).
Lex – posted 13 October 2002 15:13
Hi Theplantation2860
I had to settle for empress zoysia (couldn’t get emerald). Installed two pallets and so far it looks great. I had one little go-around with billbugs but they lost to permethrin. Just bought two more pallets and am using pieces to fill in the remainder of the back yard. Looking okay so far.
I got my empress from Bethel farms – Duda only had empire. The first batch was fresh cut and looked great. The second batch looked like it had been cut a day earlier (may be two days earlier) and was drier.
One thing I found was that if you cut the sod strip in to about 5 strips, they will do much better if you soak the strips in water for about 10-20 minutes. I filled a wheel barrow with water and cut 2 strips of sod up and tossed in the wheel barrow. Then I dug the holes. Then planted the zoysia. So far every strip seems to be alive!
Good luck with your effort!
Lex
theplantation2860 – posted 31 October 2002 21:27
Hey Lex, sounds like we’re both doin the same thing. I put one pallet down in April, then i put another down in August. I really like the grass, but i’ve found it to be a bit of work. I’m having trouble getting it as level as i’d like. I have a push reel mower, i’m not sure if i’m ready to invest the money for a power one yet. I’d like to talk to ya more about it, if you’d like, email me at theplantation2860@yahoo.com
randallcu – posted 23 December 2002 12:49
Hello everyone, I live in Oviedo, a town just outside of Orlando. I have started plugging empty holes in my yard with empire zoysia. So far the plugs look pretty good. I will keep you posted. Please let me know if you have any tips. Thanks.
–Randall (rcc@ao.net)
George777 – posted 27 December 2002 06:00
here in Bama Zoysia is an awesome turf grass. Emerald and myer is the most common. It does not grow as wild as bermuda. Only problems If not maintained it does get alot of thatch, this then leads to other problems. It should be fertilized every 6 weeks during the growing season. I have found that using a fert with some iron in it will have that grass looking good, plus you wont have all that top growth. It does not show it;s seed heads like bermuda.
Never had problems with nemitods, but not in sandy soil here in Bama. Only insect problem I’ve seen is mole cricket. I’ve also seen dollar spot, but using a faster release should take care of that. It does have pretty good shade tollerance but not as good as st. aug.
luvnsunnyfla – posted 28 December 2002 10:54
Zoysia seed should be planted in late spring / early summer after soil temperatures are 70+ degrees (day time 80+ consistent) AND all danger of freeze / frost is past.
Zoysia is a warm season grass that grows best when temperatures are between 80 and 100. Zoysia seeds should NOT be planted in the fall when cool season grasses are normally planted. It apparenty seems to grow the hotter it gets,
Zoysia chokes out weeds and resists the damaging affects of lawn insects and diseases.
Because Zoysia is slow to grow (it’s natural character), you must allow as much time as possible for the seedlings to establish and mature before cool temperatures cause the growth rate to go dormant in the fall. Failure to reach a certain maturity could result in not enough food reserves being stored to last through a hard winter when Zoysia is fully dormant (and brown). — A rule of thumb is to plant NO later than 90 days before first expected frost in the fall. You should also plant at least 90 days before temperatures begin to fall below day time highs of 70 degrees for best results.
Definitely makes a beautiful lawn with less maintanence than St. Augustine. Neighbors had a few patchy areas and learned about Zoy and working it into their lawn, maintains well. Not advertising by any means but here is a website of FAQ might be informative for you. Good Luck, keep us updated.
seed – posted 28 December 2002 12:49
luvn,
I don’t see the web site. Did your neighbors plant from seed? I don’t have any experience planting zoysia from seed, and I would like more details.
Thanks,Phil
luvnsunnyfla – posted 29 December 2002 17:25
Seed: Neighbors started with plugs as the seedlings are much harder to germinate. Suggestively to them, germinating their own in starter pots as it takes alot of water to keep them going. To date they have their own plugs in the making for this year but it has taken alot of discipline to do so. They used well nourished potting soil with pete-moss mixture to keep moisture in, daily watering and Peters Special every 10 days.
Ummmm…lets see, guess the website was not attached.
backvalley – posted 10 May 2003 09:32
I’ve been reading about the zoysia sod placed in some lawns in the area. Last October, I purchased emerald zoysia and established an entire front lawn….9 pallets. It’s now May and I’m having nematode problems already. I recently took a 12″ section of sod to the local extension office and they indicated I have nematodes AND a fungus. Just in case anyone is interested, the agent recommended a “lawn fungus control” with THIOPHANATE-METHYL as the primary active ingredient to solve both problems.(Scotts brand) His advice: apply to entire lawn, wait 2 weeks and reapply, and then reapply again in 2 weeks. I’ve completed the first application; the agent informed me this would not kill the nemadoes after the first attempt. The lawn continues to look “bad” so I’m anxious to see the end result. I’ll keep you informed. BTW, I live in Geneva, right outside Oviedo and Orlando.
johnboy – posted 10 May 2003 17:15
How did you know that you have nemotodes. Is your yard still brown or is it green?
redbird – posted 12 May 2003 13:49
I have just planted a yard of Empire Zoysia -it looks great/feels great (I guess they all do at first) – but, This is what my research revealed regarding the newer zoysia varities:
Empire and Empress have not exhibited specific problems with nematodes the way that Emerald and Meyer have. Empire and Empress are also better suited to extreme heat/drought/humidity than El Toro (the prior best zoysia choice for southern/coastal lawns).
Both of these cultivars were established as commercially viable in Brazil, SA for at least 5 years prior to sale in the US. Both are suitable for cutting with a standard rotary mower. Both have a softer feel than other zoysia cultivars. Both are slow growing, need little fertilizer/water. The Empress has a finer blade, does better for greens/close cutting heights – but it is a higher maintenance grass.
Universal studios in Orlanda has begun using Empire (and loves it). It is starting to be used in the Jacksonville, FL area. I spoke to the agricultural extension office Master Gardeners, I heard nothing but negatives about zoysia until I mentioned “Empire.” “Never heard of it” was the initial reply – upon conferring with the other Master Gardeners, the final reply was _ “Oh yeah, that stuff is suppose to be great!”
I can tell you this – it is a gorgeous, deep green turf.
Mike
andrewmcnabb – posted 28 June 2003 11:22
I installed empire zoysia on my full-sun south facing yard in the spring and have mixed results. I have very sandy soil, so I brought in quite a bit of composted soil and tilled thoroughly before laying the sod. I also used some of the composted soil to fill in some low spots. Now, I can tell which areas have a higher concentration of the soil I added, as they are green and healthy, while other areas are brown and look dead. I’m trying to bring back the brown parts of the yard, but so far with no luck.
wickedpete – posted 05 August 2003 06:14
just installed 7 pallets of Empire Zoysia in N FL. Looks great so far! will let ya know…
cboothe – posted 08 August 2003 22:02
just installed 5 pallets of empire zoysia (should have ordered 7). i’m so freaking tired, but the yard sure does look good! just a helpful hint, don’t guess when trying to figure out just how much sod you need. measure, measure, measure!!! anyway, as far as the neighbors are concerned i have a full yard of sod and it looks great. the guys i hired to install it kept commenting how nice the sod was. it does look much better than i expected freshly laid sod to look. anyway, time will tell. if any of you have any helpful pointers, let me hear them. i’m planning on watering daily for the next 10 or so days. once i verify root growth i’ll hit it with some fertilizer. should be getting it’s first mowing in 7 to 10 days. i had a st augustine yard and it just went to hell and a handbasket after a year. st augustine is too high maintenanace for me. between chinch bugs, dollar weed and drought restrictions i didn’t have a chance. i truly hope empire zoysia works for me. oh yeah, for you guys looking to make the switch in the Deland/Daytona Beach area, Johnston Turf Farm and Kirkland Sod have the best prices by far……
frenchman – posted 08 August 2003 22:06
cboothe, wait untill about three weeks before you mow.
cboothe – posted 19 August 2003 08:12
OK, I’ll wait 3 weeks before mowing. The lawn is looking great. I’ve got new root growth albeit pretty slow. I’m figuring it’s time to put down some starter fertilizer to give it a good jump start(lawn is 11 days old). I’ve got a few seams to fill in with topsoil here and there, but all in all everything has been pretty smooth so far. I’ve even had a couple positive comments from neighbors. One of them did point out to me that per community by-laws we’re supposed to only sod with St. Augustine. I didn’t even think to check that out. Hope it doesn’t turn out to be a costly mistake for me. It sure is a stupid by-law. This zoysia looks 100% better than St. Augustine anyway. On another note, at what point will it be safe to treat for insects?
cboothe – posted 19 August 2003 18:30
Guys,
The closest I could find to 10-10-4 (recommended starter fertilizer) was 10-10-10. Is this an acceptable difference or might it damage the sod?
wickedpete – posted 21 August 2003 07:25
I too am about 3 weeks into a new zoysia lawn. I mowed today at a 3″ height and it evened it out nicely. If anyone knows for sure about the fertalizer question, I would greatly apprecate it too! Thats how I burnt up my last lawn Will-PCB – posted 21 August 2003 17:33
I wouldnt fertilize any new sod or lawn for atleast a month after installing it.
craigebrowning – posted 23 August 2003 22:00
Hello Folks,I am considering planting Zoysia, does anyone live in the Stuart area, I would like to actually see zoysia before planting it.
Criag
cboothe – posted 23 August 2003 23:43
I’m going to apply the 10-10-10 to a small test area and see what happens. I don’t think it will be a problem, but I really don’t want to screw my new yard up. Most of the yard is growing like gangbusters, but I had about a pallets worth of sod that was lighter in color from the get go and it just doesn’t seem to want to do anything. It’s not dying or anything like that, it just isn’t growing like the rest of it and it is a much lighter green. It’s not a matter of location or water not getting to it. Where the dark green and light green sod pieces intermingle it’s like a checkerboard. I really think it’s just a fertilization issue.
wickedpete – posted 24 August 2003 07:02
I think the 10-10-10 will be fine. Found this zoysia distributer that states 20-20-20 is good to use on zoysia lawns:
Lex – posted 24 August 2003 07:19
Update on my Empress Zoysia in Merritt Island Project. Yard is looking okay and getting better by the day. Issues I am facing are:(1) Damage from billbugs. Repeat treatments are required for a couple of years. You have kill the adult weevil AND the larva AND the eggs. Okay, you can’t kill the eggs. Therefore repeat applications of a residual pesticide are needed.
(2) The fully sodded area is starting to get thatch. Especially where I killed and rekilled the billbugs. Sod turned brown but now is recovering.
Suggestions: (1) Consider plugging your yard. My best and most healthy looking area is where I made plugs from my sod strips. My best areas are where I made plugs by cutting strip sod into 4-5 pieces, submerging each piece in water for at least 30 minutes and then planting it deep. My experience showed planting deeper and leaving in water longer resulted in the best/fastest growth (and no billbugs in those areas!!!)(2) Kill any nutgrass/sedge before you put down your zoysia. Zoysia is thick but nutgrass comes between the cracks. Go with Manage (TM). Forget Roundup, Basogram, or MSMA). Image is “okay” but Manage is best.(4) Again, watch for those pesky billbugs. They set me back about a year.
Good Luck! Oh, and yes, zoysia does grow here just fine (less weeds, less mowing, and it beats St. A in appearance in my opinion).
I’d welcome hearing of other’s experiences.
cboothe – posted 24 August 2003 19:06
Wickedpete, I was in Lowes today. They had the 10-10-10 and also an 8-8-4 or possibly 8-8-6. I can’t remember now. I picked up one of those 18″ reel mowers. I decided to go ahead and mow as I will be out of town all this week. Glad I didn’t wait another week because it was quite a chore. Dense is the word with this grass. I’ve got some dollar weed poking through here and there, but I don’t think the weeds are going to stand much of a chance, especially once the seems fill in. I mowed it at 2 1/2″ just to make sure I didn’t scalp it. I’ll take it down to 2″ next time and see how that goes. A question for you reel mower experts, should the blades actually touch or should there be a small gap between them? My mower came with a gap on one side and blades touching on the other. The gapped side wasn’t cutting anything, so I adjusted it so the blades slightly touch. It was just harder than I imagined pushing that thing.
redbird – posted 25 August 2003 08:12
Just an update on my new Empire Zoysia lawn –
My lawn was beginning to brown. I started out mowing at 3″ with a rotary mower to avoid scalping – some had advised that this was better for the grass. But, I was unhappy with the appearance of the lawn due to the fact that the lawn was covered with a sea of red seed-heads, detracting from the beautiful deep green appearance. At the recommended interval, I did a fertilization with a starter fertilizer (27-27-6? – couldn’t find another starter fertilizer at that point in time) at 1/2 the recommended rate to avoid giving too much nitrogen. The lawn was looking lush and full.
In intervals, I lowered my mowing height, bringing it to about 2″ – which meant that some areas were at about 1″ due to slight unnevenness – to try and keep the seed-heads at bay. For a while it worked very well. Then the lawn began to look yellow-green (chlorotic) and began thinning in the slightly shady areas. Coincidentally, these areas became hugely infested with spittle-bugs.
I had been mulching the clippings and leaving them on the lawn to supply nitrogen – no piles, tiny little clippings from a 5 – 6 day cutting cycle. I had no thatch accumulation, but more brown blades and fewer green blades began appearing in these areas.
I killed the spittle-bugs (they’re back – they fly and seem impossible to eliminate entirely) and I applied a half & half mixture of Ironite and 10-10-4 fertilizer (effectively reducing the fertlizer application by 50%).
The lawn has improved dramatically in less than 2 weeks. Deep green again and lots of new blade growth in the previously thinning slightly shaded areas.
This is my hypothesis – I welcome your opinion:
In the hot, wet, humid southeast, Empire Zoysia grows much faster than advertized. There is no way this grass can be mowed every 10-14 days in coastal S.E. Georgia. I mow every 5 – 6 days. Although I have been cautioned not to over-fertiilize zoysia, it appears to me that this rapid growth, coupled with a low mowing height (requiring more energy to maintain low-height blade growth), burns a lot of nutrients – the grass needs more food. Failure to provide it results in poor performance, particularly in high stress areas (i.e., areas in partial shade or under attack from critters).
This is what I am thinking – my lawn is doing much better. I am leaning towards fertilizing more often with lower amounts of fertlizer, mixed with Ironite to promote good color.
What do you think, guys? Does my theory sound reasonable? Am I on the right track? Any experience or suggestions to the contrary? I welcome your input.
Mike
wickedpete – posted 25 August 2003 19:12
I had a neighbor reccommend ironite today and said to use a slow release because she thinks the 10-10-10 will burn up the lawn with this hot weather…. any input on that? Dont want to fry my new lawn.
Will-PCB – posted 25 August 2003 23:52
I dont see where Iron could harm your lawn.
Like I stated before, I would not fertilize any newly sodded lawn before the roots have taken in well to the ground.
wickedpete – posted 26 August 2003 09:46
not that the iron would burn it up, but the 10-10-10… its been about a month, so i think i will do it this weekend.
cboothe – posted 26 August 2003 23:29
Redbird,
I would think the conditions you and I have been seeing this past summer would be ideal for this grass. Brazil (where it originated) is for the most part hot,wet, and humid (at least I think it is). Also, I wonder if shade out could be a factor? According to the Sodsolutions website, 1″ is optimal(it also says heights above 2″ will reduce quality). I don’t know that I’ll ever mow it that low, but 3″ seems high compared to what they recommend. Another thing to consider, is it possible the bugs started affecting the grass before you noticed them? I’m just throwing ideas out there based on what I have read. I’m sure as hell no expert:-)
redbird – posted 27 August 2003 09:42
CBoothe:I agree that the conditions may be ideal for lots of growth (like I said I am mowing every 5th or 6th day!) I may have had more insect damage (by spittlebugs and/or other unidentified critters) than I had originally noticed – I have since treated for these. But, I was still noticing an overall lessened performance and color that didn’t seem to be limited to the areas of browning. The lawn seems to be (crossing my fingers) rebounding very well with a light fertilizer/iron application. I just wondered if this variety may need a little more nitrogen during peak growth than is commonly supposed. This would be confirmed by communications from the owner of the sod farm that I purchased from (Phillip Jennings Turf Farm, Soperton, GA – good sod) who is recommending a lite application of 10-10-10 every four weeks during the growing season ( I just looked back on some of the stuff he gave me – higher annual nitrogen recommendation than Sod Solutions).
Mike
cboothe – posted 03 September 2003 22:10
Came back from California and found a couple small spots with fungus growth. I had meant to cut back on the sprinkler while i was gone, but there was a misunderstanding between me and the sprinkler controls:-) Anyway, for the most part the sod is firmly rooted in the soil so I just flat out turned the sprinkler off. I’ll turn it on as needed but we are still getting plenty of rain. I decided to give the organic approach a try and put down corn meal at a 20#/1000 sq ft rate. I’m hoping this will kill 2 birds with 1 stone as a fertilizer and to get rid of that fungus (been feeling like the mushroom fairy lately). I’m thinking some iron might be in order too, as it isn’t as deep green as it has been. All in all though the yard looks good. Even in the sections with fungus I still have plenty of green blades. Mowing with the reel mower was a lot easier the second time around too. I’m going to have to improvise a catcher for the mower though, as collecting those clippings is a bit too time consuming.
rgregory – posted 13 September 2003 10:36
We layed freash Zoysia in May of this year. The backyard is growing great but, the frontyard is weak and browning out in some areas. The backyard gets fulll sun while the front faces the north and only gets speratic sunlight. Could this be our problem?
GXL – posted 20 July 2004 23:46
I think so.For what I’ve read, Zoysia needs at least 6 hours for full sun.
Why don’t you try growing turf-type tall fescue in the shady areas?
That of course, depends on where you are on the US map. Fescue will grown as far south as Georgia, but in shady areas only.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
tiff – posted 25 August 2006 19:30
Hi there…I just installed 6 pallets of the Empire Zoysia grass and have been wondering if you could give me any pointers about your experience with your Empire Zoysia sod. I just finished reading all about your experiences and how happy you are with it. I would like to know what would be the best pieces of advice you could give someone starting out. I live in St. Augustine Beach, FL…where my ‘soil’ is sand. What is the best time to water and how to water? The best fertilizer? What to look out for? Is it really necessary to mow that often..etc. Any advice would be totally appreciated Thanks!