Bringing Zorro Zoysia back to life during drought

turfnewbie – posted 13 July 2009 11:29

I live in the new Texas desert (College Station area), with 100-plus temps for a month and very little rain since early April. I fooled around with my sprinklers this spring and did not get enough water down on my lawn as the summer got nasty. Got is all fixed about a month ago. A lot of my grass is brown now (but there are also a lot of good green healthy patches). I water twice per week (total of about 1 inch per week). The brown patches are not greening up. Is there anything else I should be doing? Should I be using more water? Should I water more/less days per week? Should I just buy some green spray paint? Please help me.

tommy – posted 13 July 2009 14:08

Usually this is caused by un-even sprinkler coverage- and/or areas of un-even soil density. Another words: hard soil spots that the roots have not penetrated very well. Drag a hose out there and hand water the worst spots. Soak them real good, and pay attention to how well the soil excepts the water. If the water quickly runs off, you may need to aerify those spots. Re-check your irrigation, and consider increasing nozzle size, which may give you better coverage- provided you have the water pressure for it.