Champion Zoysia in NORTH CAROLINA

peedeepirate – posted 05 May 2006 11:32

Is there anyone from NC, or sounding areas with similar climates, out there that has Zoysia, particularly, Companion. I am considering zoysia and have mixed feelings. I have read everything I can find on this forum about zoysia and on the internet. I am still confused. If there is anyone that can tell me about their experience with Zoysia in NC. Green up time, length of green and when it goes dormant. Mowing frequency and any other good info for future zoysia lawn owners. THanks so much.

[This message has been edited by peedeepirate (edited 05 May 2006).]

RickW – posted 02 July 2006 16:49

At Lowes it seems they sell various Tall Fescue varieties and some ugly sod for touchup patching. I saw maybe 1 brand of centipede and 1 brand of bahia grass but it was very expensive for a small bag, and I read it takes a lot of maintenance and doesn’t tolerate shade. After a lot of research, I decided was worth a shot… my front lawn got about 4-5 hours of direct sunlight each day, and was slightly acidic from the oak trees. Deeper down was a lot of clay but the top layer was very sandy – I read all of this the zoysia can cope with.

I bought 2 lbs of Companion seed from outsidepride.com, looked like the best deal I could find on the Internet. Out of all the zoysia images I found, I liked companion the best – dark green with fine blades. Also one of the only few that could be planted by seed. Two weeks prior I used a grass and weed killer. Then I used a garden rake to take off some of the moss that took up 2/3 of the yard. I brought in 6 cubic yards of soil additive (sand, humus, compost, maneur, topsoil) and spread it out. My front yard is an odd shape, but I think its a little over 1000 sq feet.

First I lay a heavier amount of seed along the yard border, then spread it twice by using a criss cross pattern. Then I lighly raked the seed in, and gave it a good watering. I was able to get an exemption from the town so I could water every day for 3 weeks.

Well, it was all going good until a bad thunderstorm hit 3 days later. It washed a lot of the humus off the yard and left mostly the sand. This seed grows SLOW – so it took about 2 weeks before I could see some of it stayed but there were was a lot of seed that washed away.

Last night I bought another 3 lbs from the same company. They ship it really quick, I’ll probably get it mid-week. Luckily I still had about 2 cubic yards of soil leftover I stored out back, I’ll light spread that out again to help cover the new seed. This time I bought 1/4 lb of white dutch clover which germinates and grow real fast, it should help protect the soil and seed while it grows. Also, this particular clover it nitrogen-fixing. I’m thinking once the zoysia grows completely in (might take a few years), it will choke out the clover. Even if it doesn’t, I really don’t mind clover. In late fall I will be overseeding with some kentucky blue grass which should go dormant again in spring while the zoysia comes back to life.

Based on what I could see with the little seed that is growing, I think its going to be a great grass. Just have to be patient. This time I buried some border along the yard adjacent to my neighbors, so if we get a bad storm again it should help catch runaway soil/seed.

Now – this is a side note – but my ultimate plan was to use Meyer Zoysia plugs from zoysiafarms, and use the companion seed to fill in while the plugs took time to grow. But after finding all these bad reviews of it I’m trying to get a refund before they ship it (which is already late). After comparing images I decided the companion was prettier anyway. Besides, once its mature, I can just let it go to seed again before my first spring mow.

greycoat – posted 16 July 2006 12:35

I live in Person County and last year had Zoysia seed planted. It took 2-3 weeks to come up, but before it had a good chance to grow, wild thick bladed grass took over and shaded the new grass and it didn’t do very well. Four years ago I had zoysia sod placed in my front yard. As it was greening up this May, I noticed it had large dead areas where the grass never came in. My maintainence man said he had never seen anything like it. It looked to me like brown patch. I have placed plugs in the dead areas and it is growning along with the edges of the “dead circle”. I did not fertilize this area too soon as someone had told me that was the cause of the die back. Anyway it is looking much better. My question is: when do I de-thatch this yard?

RickW – posted 31 July 2006 07:12

I think you’re supposed to detach ever 2 years for established zoysia. Don’t take my word for it though, I’m still new at this too.

The companion zoysa seed is coming in SLOW. Just like you, a bunch of stray quick growing and wide blasded grass got in and is taking over. I think its tall fescue. My front yard is only 1200+ sq/ft, so I’m attacking the uninvited grass by brute force. I spent a few hours yesterday hand plucking each clump. I’m about 2/3’s done – by next weekend the yard should only have zoysia seedlings and clover again.