Emerald zoysia
buff – posted 23 October 2011 20:16
Live in middle Georgia. Had some Emerald Zoysia installed the middle of August. Seems to be doing pretty good, lots of wild crabgrass and other grass shooting up. Most of it is pretty green, however there are some brown patches. I am presently cutting at around 3 inches. Is there anything else I need to do through the winter? Should I maintain the 3 inch cut until spring? And then what?
jugheadfla – posted 24 October 2011 07:59
quote:Originally posted by buff:Live in middle Georgia. Had some Emerald Zoysia installed the middle of August. Seems to be doing pretty good, lots of wild crabgrass and other grass shooting up. Most of it is pretty green, however there are some brown patches. I am presently cutting at around 3 inches. Is there anything else I need to do through the winter? Should I maintain the 3 inch cut until spring? And then what?
You are going to notice that once the zoysia goes dormant, it will pretty much not grow what so ever so you most likely won’t have to mow all winter. I have a ton of crab grass in my lawn right now as well, but it is a annual grass so it will die out once the cold weather kicks in. Just make sure you put down some pre-emergent next spring and you shouldn’t have the same issue. I mow my Jamur at 3 inches and thats about right. The lower you mow, the more chance you give weeds to pop up and breathe. Also, I wouldn’t worry to much about any damage your lawn currently has. Zoysia tends to repair itself extremely well, albeit slowly.
[This message has been edited by jugheadfla (edited 24 October 2011).]
buff – posted 25 October 2011 09:50
Jugheadfla, thanks for the reply and good info. At the present time I have a self propelled Toro set at about 3 1/4 in, but it’s having a tough time propelling through the thick grass. I got a good deal on a Tru Cut reel mower, however, I am kind of hesitant to use it since the highest setting is only about 2 1/4 in. I guess I’ll wait til next spring to see if maybe the grass will smooth out a bit and the Toro will work for me hopefully. Thanks again.
mrmumbels – posted 25 October 2011 11:59
Out of curiosity who makes the engine on your Toro? I bought a new toro 5 years ago and it always had a touch time with my zoysia. I eventually blew the motor and bought another toro that blazes through the zoysia. Both were 6.5hp but one was a Tecumseh and the new one is a Briggs.
quote:Originally posted by buff:Jugheadfla, thanks for the reply and good info. At the present time I have a self propelled Toro set at about 3 1/4 in, but it’s having a tough time propelling through the thick grass. I got a good deal on a Tru Cut reel mower, however, I am kind of hesitant to use it since the highest setting is only about 2 1/4 in. I guess I’ll wait til next spring to see if maybe the grass will smooth out a bit and the Toro will work for me hopefully. Thanks again.
buff – posted 25 October 2011 13:39
mrmumbels…mine’s about the same age….went out and checked…sure enough..Tecumseh. I had the front drive replaced about 6 months ago and it did fine on fescue. Looks like this ones going on Craiglist and I’m going shopping for a new rotary.
gvs505 – posted 25 October 2011 18:24
If you go to any of the College turfgrass websites (NC State, Clemson, University of Florida, etc), you will see that the recommended mowing height of emerald is 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches. I would trust their input. I have emerald and it flourishes great at that height.
buff – posted 25 October 2011 19:59
Thanks gvs505…..mine emerald was installed in Aug, about 2 months ago. How long did you wait before you started cutting at that height? My sod looks pretty good right now, but I’m not sure if it has been down long enough to start cutting at that height. I am about 25 miles south of Atlanta, so it will be another month or so before the weather drops down below 30, and it really does not get much colder during the winter months.
gvs505 – posted 25 October 2011 20:35
I really think you would benefit from reading the turfgrass sites at the colleges I mentioned. They have instructions about mowing (when to start, how tall, etc), fertilizing, winter treatment, on and on. I live in Greenville SC, so my conditions are almost identical to yours. I don’t reacll exactly their recommendations, but I followed them exactly. It is certainly critical to be sure the sod has “rooted” before mowing (the “pull” test)I have a Tru Cut mower and it does a great job.
buff – posted 26 October 2011 07:06
gvs505….will check college sites, thanks for your guidance to this newbie on zoysia. Really appreciate your help, thanks.
jugheadfla – posted 26 October 2011 07:31
quote:Originally posted by buff:Jugheadfla, thanks for the reply and good info. At the present time I have a self propelled Toro set at about 3 1/4 in, but it’s having a tough time propelling through the thick grass. I got a good deal on a Tru Cut reel mower, however, I am kind of hesitant to use it since the highest setting is only about 2 1/4 in. I guess I’ll wait til next spring to see if maybe the grass will smooth out a bit and the Toro will work for me hopefully. Thanks again.
I always say that if you have a small enough lawn and can use a reel mower then definately do it. I currently use your basic scotts 21in classic reel mower and it works great. I bought it just to try out old school mowing and I ended up finding that it keeps the grass a lot more healthy than rotary. I’m already looking to upgrade to a better reel for next spring. I think you may be able to cut yours a little lower because of your climate and soil conditions. Here in Florida we have very sandy soil that doesn’t hold water very well, so it makes more sense to let it grow a little longer and not cut so much off the top.
[This message has been edited by jugheadfla (edited 26 October 2011).]
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