Dry brown hiding under my nice green Zoysia

turfnewbie – posted 07 September 2008 13:58

I live in the College Station TX area and have (I think) Zorro zoysia in my yard. I have noticed for the past few mowings that it looks worse after mowing because the very surface is nice and green, but most of the plant is dry and brown below. Mowing actually exposes a lot of the brown underneath.

Is this a mowing height issue? I keep it about 3 to 4 inches tall because I thought that too short might cause it to dry out in the drought this summer. What can I do to fix things at this point in the season?

tommy – posted 08 September 2008 18:15

The brown is your thatch layer, and its normal for Zoysia and bermuda. These type of grasses benefit from a de-thatching once a year- late summer or mid spring. De-thatching machines are available at rental yards, or have a lawn service do it. Your also mowing way to high, and this causes even more thatch! Don’t mow any higher than 2 inches in the summer, and lower during cooler weather. You will be able to maintain a green turf (at 2 inches) if you de-thatch once a year.

turfnewbie – posted 08 September 2008 20:16

Thanks Tommy. After I dethatch, do I need to be doing anything special to help the turf recover? Extra fertilizer, preemergent for fall weed seeds, ??? I’m just imagining that the yard will take a severe beating with the dethatching, but maybe I’m being overly concerned.

tommy – posted 10 September 2008 10:20

Yep, the yard is going to look like its completely dead, but it will come back nicely! Fertilizing is a must after de-thatching, and yes, its a good idea to use a fertilizer/ weed preventer combo. Usually there are couple of different brands available at your garden center.

turfnewbie – posted 23 September 2008 20:54

Okay, had a local company do dethatching and aerating today. Problem is that it does not look like much thatch was removed. I was not present to see how much was carted away, but I still see brown clippings and stems at the base of the grass. Should I be able to see the underlying soil, or is it normal for that still to be substantially covered?

What got me really wondering whether they went deep enough is the fact that most of the runners of the neighbor’s invading St. Augustine appear untouched.

ericl – posted 10 March 2009 13:03

did the dethatching help your lawn?