Empire zoysia

New to site – posted 14 September 2003 13:17

My empire zoysia has turned golden brown in the middle of the summer. Any ideas?

redbird – posted 15 September 2003 06:45

My experience with Empire Zoysia this year:

It goes dormant at the drop of a hat when it gets too dry – but rebounds immediately when watered. If this is the case though, you should have first seen a darkening in color in the affected area, caused by the leaves curling lengthwise – the blades will appear very thin, about the width of bermuda blades.

The brown color you are mentioning doesn’t sound like what I am describing above. There have been a couple of problems in the wet, wet, SE this year that can lead to browning:

1) Spittlebugs have been unreal this year. I spoke to someone who told me that they have not seen it this way in years. Spittlebugs did a number on my lawn this year before I caught it – but it has bounced back well with light fertilization/pesticide. You could have some other bug – I had found a couple of billbugs. This had caused irregular patches of grass where 50 – 60% of the leaves turned brown cxreating an overall brown effect.

2) I have heard of some people with empire suffering from brown patch or take-all-patch this year due to the unusual wetness. Many of these people have left their sprinkler systems on cycle, regardless of the rain – their lawns probably haven’t dried out all year.

3) Mowing height could be an issue – do the the brown areas look greener at the end of the week, just before you mow again? Regardless of what you may hear about reducing your mowing height over several cuttings, it doesn’t seem to work well with empire – it grows too slow. It is really hard to reduce your mowing height partway through the season with this grass – it just tends to look scalped and brown after each cut. If you want to lower your cutting height, it might be better to wait until the start of the next growing season.

Do any of these situations sound like you?

Mike

redbird – posted 15 September 2003 06:46

My experience with Empire Zoysia this year:

It goes dormant at the drop of a hat when it gets too dry – but rebounds immediately when watered. If this is the case though, you should have first seen a darkening in color in the affected area, caused by the leaves curling lengthwise – the blades will appear very thin, about the width of bermuda blades.

The brown color you are mentioning doesn’t sound like what I am describing above. There have been a couple of problems in the wet, wet, SE this year that can lead to browning:

1) Spittlebugs have been unreal this year. I spoke to someone who told me that they have not seen it this way in years. Spittlebugs did a number on my lawn this year before I caught it – but it has bounced back well with light fertilization/pesticide. You could have some other bug – I had found a couple of billbugs. This had caused irregular patches of grass where 50 – 60% of the leaves turned brown cxreating an overall brown effect.

2) I have heard of some people with empire suffering from brown patch or take-all-patch this year due to the unusual wetness. Many of these people have left their sprinkler systems on cycle, regardless of the rain – their lawns probably haven’t dried out all year.

3) Mowing height could be an issue – do the the brown areas look greener at the end of the week, just before you mow again? Regardless of what you may hear about reducing your mowing height over several cuttings, it doesn’t seem to work well with empire – it grows too slow. It is really hard to reduce your mowing height partway through the season with this grass – it just tends to look scalped and brown after each cut. If you want to lower your cutting height, it might be better to wait until the start of the next growing season.

Do any of these situations sound like you?

Mike

The Golden Lawn – posted 15 September 2003 16:46

I watch for the curl of the leaf to initiate watering. Of late I have been watering to try to compensate for the browning affect. Today I put down Triazicide granules (frontand back yard) to elimnate any bug problems. Spittles are everywhere. It is possible that fungus has crept in from the extra watering—but I think that would be post-browning.My next step is to take a soil sample to Clemson Extension to be analyzed.

My lawn is usually cut at a 2″ height. I fertilized in late May (16-4-8) and the lawn was looking great. Fertilized in July with 24-8-16 and wondered if it might have burnt the grass.

The back yard is almost entirely brown green springs here and there. The front yard is mostly green, with brown sprinkled in.

I will take your advice and let the yard have a chance to dry out—it is hard not to water a brown yard.