conceding seeding failure

lennyk – posted 25 August 2006 14:07

I am going to have to concede failure in my first attempt at seeding zenith zoysia.

I seeded a small area as a test towards a larger area. I also put a few seeds in a container as a controlled test.

Anyways due to the fact that where I live in the tropics it is now heavy rain season they were unable to take. What seeds weren’t washed away were not able to take root quick enough as they were often broken by the heavy rains.

It appears that the pennington zenith zoysia seeds which I have take 10-16 days to germinate at a high percentage.However I this means I would need at least a month and a half of no heavy rain to dislodge the seedlings.

Sadly though the weeds have caught on quite well and not easily disturbed by the rainfall.

TexanOne – posted 26 August 2006 05:03

I think you are exactly correct as to why seeded Zoysia generally isn’t very successful – it takes too long to put down stabilizing roots before the risk of a washout occurs. I had the same experience when I planted Zenith in 1999. Eventually after several years, about 80% of the Zenith developed into an attractive, mature-stand. For the past couple of years, the Zenith has slowly declined because of various reasons to the point it is now only acceptable looking in about 40% of the yard.

From my experience with Zoysia, there seems to be a great deal of difference in performance and quality within the differing Japonica-group species too.

The Zoysias released by Texas A&M (Palisades, Crowne, and Cavalier) all had a long, and science-backed history of development without the bogus marketing hype of some of the most popular Zoysia varieties. The TAMU varieties all perform very well across a wide spectrum of climates and soils. One small and curb-separated area of my yard has Palisades and it spread very well to cover the entire area and become a showpiece – in other words, exactly the opposite of what the Zenith did.

The only advantages I have been able to determine for the seeded varieties are cost and convenience. The seeded varieties seem to produce only acceptable quality under optimum conditions – flat areas with no risk of washout, good quality soil, and weather conditions that cooperate.

Your location in the West Indies should be perfect for growing Zoysia. Before you invest any more money on seeded Zoysia, you may want to consider one of the TAMU plugged or sodded varieties.

lennyk – posted 26 August 2006 15:37

well today we had another rainstorm which effectively killed everything, it even knocked out the couple 2×4 styrofoam trays with promix which i was testing under the eaves of my house to avoid the direct raindrops.

So is it safe to say that zenith seeds areslow to grow to safe and stable growth, full of marketing hype ?

In my country(Trinidad) we are very primitive with regards to turf, there is only a common zoysia which people have and nobody knows what type it is. It is a little slow but it actually is quite good.I have some but I really wanted to try and grow a consistent stand of something.

Importing sod to start something is out of the question since it will be a real pain to go through quarantine etc.

I will try again when the hurricane season eases up.It is very disheartening to water something for 3 weeks 2-3 times a day only to see it wipe out in a matter of minutes.

[This message has been edited by lennyk (edited 26 August 2006).]

TexanOne – posted 26 August 2006 23:14

My understanding is Zenith is a good grass for hot, tropical climates (such as Trinidad) if you can get it to grow roots deep enough before a washout. Zenith does not do well in hot, arid climates with alkaline soil / water, which were my conditions. If you still want to try the Zenith, are you able to get jute netting, or some other type of natural material erosion-control blankets there? Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to make the seed sprout and grow faster – it is naturally very slow.

If you can find a source of jute netting, you can almost eliminate the problem you are having by covering the overall seed area with one layer and placing several layers of netting under the roof eaves to dissipate the runoff. If you can’t find jute netting or erosion control blankets, do you have access to shredded paper, straw, or anything that is biodegradable to stabilize the soil? You only need to buy 2 or 3 months worth of protection before the Zenith can stand up to heavy rainfall on its own.

Another option is to find plug trays, small bedding plant pots, or plain flats and grow your own Zenith. Once the grass is a few inches tall, transplant that under the eaves of the house and seed the remaining areas. There is a hundred different ways to solve the problem.

Zenith is still rated as #1 in quality of the seeded Zoysias in the latest 2002 NTEP testing. If you want to try seed again, I would recommend that you stick with Zenith.

I feel your pain with the washout problem. My Zenith was just starting to sprout in 1999 when a severe thunderstorm hit with rainfall rates of 2” to 3” / per hour. I used peat moss to prevent erosion. It didn’t work and much of the 6 lbs of Zenith seed washed down the street gutter… Not a good day.

lennyk – posted 27 August 2006 03:36

growing in tray seeding trays looks like the only viable option right now since I will not bother to take the risk again until a few months time when the rainy/hurricane season subsides. Hopefully the trays will have good seedlings.Thanks for the advice.