Palisades Zoysia – what mower

dehrle – posted 24 May 2007 13:26

I live in greater Houston and recently had a 3000 sq/ft yard sodded with Palisades. After one week it needed mowing – full and green (except for the lines between the sod). Had it mowed to ~2.5″ with a rotary (gas) mower – looks good. Also, worth note is it had 2″ to 3″ roots extending down into the mix of top soil and sand. Two weeks (less one day) and the lawn again is needing to be mowed. Long term what mower should I use (reading zoysia – recommends a 7 blade reel – but there are many varieties)? There are a few 7 blade manual push mowers (McLane, American …) and Sunlawn EM-2 electric that I am considering. Suggestions.

tommy – posted 28 May 2007 23:31

You can continue using a rotary if there is not a need for a lower cut. Many homeowners use a rotary for bermuda and zoysia, but of course a reel mower is needed for lower cutting heights and higher quality turf applications,(golf fairways, sports fields etc.) If you decide to go with a reel, definitely get somthing with an engine! You have too much Sq. footage for a push. Mclane is usually less money than the others, and has a suprisingly good cut for the price.

dehrle – posted 29 May 2007 10:21

Thanks for the feedback. I was actually thinking that 3000 SqFt was small enough for a manual push reel mower. Will now consider continuing with the rotary mower – at least for this summer. Another question is to bag, or not to bag.

green in atlanta – posted 29 May 2007 15:00

I’m not familiar with Palisades Zoysia, but I have Empire Zoysia, and a rotary mower is actually recommended for it. It looks great mowed at about 3″. If your Palisades is more like Emerald Zoysia, on the other hand, you may eventually want to switch to a reel mower. One caution: there are few things more appealing than well maintained, reel-cut turf. But if your installation wasn’t done to athletic field type specifications, all of the high and low spots will really stand out like a sore thumb. Plus, reel mowing needs to be done much more frequently than rotary mowing. Just my 2-cents.

dehrle – posted 29 May 2007 22:50

The front and side yards are surprisingly smooth. However, the back yard was leveled with sand and after the last few rains (seems like it want to rain every few days) it is lumpy (small lump – but everywhere).