too late to lay zoysia sod?

zoysia drew – posted 14 September 2004 15:52

I will be finishing the dirt work for my new home and will sod my yard with zoysia either now or later. I can either throw our rye grass now and lay sod in the spring(which I DON’T want to do!), or go ahead and sod now and take my chances with a poor root growth before the winter dormancy. Someone told me you can lay sod anytime you want and maybe its even best when dormant. I live in Tennesse and we are starting to get in the low 80’s/upper 70’s for highs in the next few weeks. I don’t want to sod and have my grass die from a harsh winter, but would really like to go ahead and get it down this year. Any advise out there?

ted – posted 14 September 2004 21:03

you’re really looking at tall fescue as your best choice of grass in the area. don’t recommend sodding zoysia this late- too much potential for winter damage. you’ll do alot better in the late spring.

zoysia drew – posted 14 September 2004 22:25

This grass is going to be in full sun. That with 95 degree summer days I would be watering fesque all day long. I’m pretty sold on zoysia but am just concerned on the timing of laying sod. Thanks for the reply Ted.

cking – posted 15 September 2004 08:22

I’m no expert, but I would be concerned about putting down zoysia sod right now. Late spring is your best bet.

cking – posted 15 September 2004 09:45

This is from the Kansas State website: “When to plant. Zoysia should be planted early in the growing season so it will have time to develop a good root system before frost. Late plantings may winterkill while early plantings may be damaged by a late freeze. Plugs and sprigs should be planted between late April and June. May is usually the best time for planting. Sod may be laid somewhat later in the season, as long as there is enough time for the sod to knit into the soil before the end of the growing season.”

ted – posted 15 September 2004 18:25

zoysia is rare in the area because of it’s lack of color during most of the year. i would not recommend sodding it this late- too much of an investment to do so. tall fescue still the recommend choice,not that much watering needed, and very few places hit 95 degrees this summer…