Cutting Zoysia right

ivannamiracle – posted 17 April 2005 09:06

I am in my third year of an Emerald Zoysia lawn in Atlanta and have finally moved to a reel mower from a rotary. Now that I can cut my lawn to the recommended height of 1.5 to 2”, I am seeing that as I approach that height I am seeing black patches. Most are at least 2” tall. I have taken the lawn down by about a third of its height each time, starting from about 4” of dried winter brown. Should I keep going and trim back the tall black areas to a lower height or will I be damaging the growing area.

Also, the lawn is kind of lumpy in spots with high and low areas. Any suggestions on how to level it out?

Lastly, any wisdom on catching the clipping versus letting them mulch in the lawn would be appreciated.

Thanks,Ivanna

RLines – posted 24 April 2005 21:58

i have palisades zoysia ….medium thick bladed zoysia. I have had some sucess leveling with sand. It seems to like sand and grows through it with ease and prospers.

Cary, NC – posted 25 April 2005 17:24

Yes, sand is the best thing you can use to level Zoysia. Just make sure you do it gradually.

I believe the perfect mowing hight for Emerald Zoysia is right between 1.5″ and 2″

KyleinMarietta – posted 26 April 2005 19:47

Sand is a quick fix, but it is better to use thin layers of soil that matches the rest of the soil in your yard. That way, you don’t get a weird stratification layer of soil in the low spots that behaves differently than the rest of the yard.

Also, I’m thinking hard about rennovating our fescue backyard with emerald in 3-4 weeks. Are you on the north side of Atlanta? I’d love to take a look at the Emerald. The closest vendor I can find for it has to bring it from middle Georgia…

hammer2441 – posted 05 May 2005 20:40

If you mow your zoysia grass at about 2″ and mow it once a week you should not have any problem mulching your grass it’s acctually good for the grass just don’t start slacking and let it get to high or you’ll have a mess on your hand

ivannamiracle – posted 08 May 2005 21:00

Thanks for the advice. Sand is easy. I have tried that, but did wonder if using it as the sole soil would cause problems later on. I see that there is one voice to say that it will. I also have tried soil and see that it is tougher to use since it does not settle as easy. I will likely try a mix next.

Has nobody scalped their lawn and come up with black spots?

Thanks in advance.