Empire Zoysia turf height?

Empire1FL – posted 02 October 2005 19:48

I have had Empire for 13 months. I have had my rotary mower set at 2inches. That is two inches from the ground to the blade housing. As my grass became thicker this summer, I am at a point now that it seems like I am slightly scalping it every weekend. There is alot of brown mixed in with the green. It fills in by the end of the week and looks alot greener, but I would like to have more than a couple days of the week where it is picture perfect. any suggestions??

AtlBch-EZ – posted 23 October 2005 12:07

I also recently put in Empire Zoysia, and am having a similar concern. After the initial install, I began mowing at the highest setting, approximately 3 ¼ ”. I mowed it a couple of times and then dropped it down to 2 ¾ “ and it seems to have a similar appearance over a few days before recovering. It is my understanding that this grass should be maintained at 1 ½ to 2”. Does anyone know the best rate of reduction for a new install, and an optimum height for this variety of Zoysia? Also, would the use of a reel mower reduce these effects and allow me to maintain it at a shorter length?

Asian Cajun – posted 29 October 2005 07:32

I too have Empire Zoysia in New Orleans. My grass been down and about 5 months now. I try to cut my grass at the highest setting(about 3 ot 4 inches high) using a push bagged rotary mower by Troy Bilt. I notice if I cut it too short and leave it too long to cut, it will be brown looking. Also, it might be a good idea to cut your grass in different direction everytime. Go from North to South, then next time to West to East and then diagonal(if perfer). That way it won’t leave tire track and marking on you lawn. In time the grass will look like a checkerboard pattern like dem baseball field you see on TV. Hope this help. Cajun.

turfgrrl – posted 18 November 2005 16:51

The brown tips you’re seeing is scalping. This happens when you take the grass down too quickly. A good rule of thumb is not to take more than 1/3 of the leaf blade off at one time. Zoysia will do best when mowed with a high-speed rotary, like a riding mower, or a reel mower. For more info, go to: www.environmentalturf.com/maintenance.html . You can download a document on maintaining UltimateFlora Zoysia but it will also apply to Empire.

docrings – posted 14 March 2009 13:16

Here in Florida I maintain a beautiful Empire Zoysia lawn at 3″. The higher height crowds out weeds, bermuda. After the winter dormancy, I scalp it down to 1″, and gives it a great greening period with lots of sunshine and nutrients/water for the new growth.Yes, you can keep it at 1″ to 2″, but it requires MUCH more frequent mowing and dries out much quicker, requiring more mowing.I have done both bagging and mulching mowers, and it looks good with both, with perhaps just a slighter higher fertilizer requirement with bagging.I fertilize Spring, Summer, Fall (3x), and yes, it could be a tad greener if I fertilized two more times, but I don’t use near the water or have to mow as often. It still looks great, and gets LOTS of great comments from my neighbors with St. Augusting or Bermuda, which they all despise.

Cheers,Doc Gulf Breeze, FL

Alex_in_FL – posted 21 March 2009 09:58

Agree. Never cut more than 1/3 of the blade length and it should stay green.

My only disagreement is with the statement that zoysia looks best if cut with rotary mower. It will actually look much better if cut with a reel mower – but I don’t own one (nor do I intend to buy one).

eremor – posted 04 July 2009 10:40

Just wanted to throw in here…I’ve been mowing a yard full of empire zoysia for five years now. I use a run of the mill 21″ lawn boy set to the middle height adjustment. The grass looks great when finished. I am not positive of the grass height since I’ve never measured it. I would guess it’s about 2.5 to 3″ once cut. It grows about .5 to .75 an inch every seven days. I bag the clippings as I mow weekly and my turf looks great when finished. If I cut it any shorter, it appears scalped for several days too.

Turfguy_UF – posted 04 July 2009 13:14

Eremor,Your grass will looked scalped if you lower your height by more than 1/3 of the grass height. If you wanted to achieve a lower height you would want to gradually lower the height that way to avoid scalping.

Also if you are mowing once a week, and your clippings are not heavy I would leave them on the lawn. Those clippings give back a wealth of nutrients that the lawn can reuse.

TurfGuy

saltcedar – posted 01 October 2009 07:03

And don’t forget the initial Spring Scalp to removeall the dead Winter killed stems. This will go a longway to improve Summer appearance. Less fertilizerand water can make a difference if either or both are overused. As a side benefit there’s less thatchbuild up as well.

Suzeebeezee – posted 21 November 2009 11:01

I have had Empire Zoysa for a year. It was started as sod. Actually I mow it to one inch and it does very well. My understanding is that this allows sunlight to get to the dirt which discourages pests. If you are mowing high you need to decrease the height gradually, but I believe this is the optimum height for Empire.