Lawn Chair Chuck – posted 07 July 2009 21:55
Hello everyone! Newbie here.
We just moved into a house with carpet grass but want something with a thinner blade and Zoysia looks good. The question is how well will it do down here. We live in deep South Texas near the border to Mexico (McAllen, Tx to be exact).
Summers are long and VERY HOT! For example, we are expecting 103 as a high tomorrow. That’s a typical summer day for us. I have trees so some areas get morning light, and the rest gets noon-afternoon sunlight.
What do you all think?
mrmumbels – posted 08 July 2009 06:47
It’ll need tons of water to stay pretty. Zoysia is one of the first to curl up under drought conditions.
tommy – posted 08 July 2009 11:42
Zoysia will take a lot of heat, but like any other grass, you will have better success with a well developed, deep root system. Stunted roots growing in hard soil- is the number one reason for quick wilt in hot conditions.
Dixie – posted 08 July 2009 12:00
I agree with above. Zoysia will do fine if the soil conditions are good with adequate watering. You will need an irrigation system.
Lawn Chair Chuck – posted 10 July 2009 09:15
As far as watering, that’s not a problem because I spend A LOT of time watering. The wife and I use it as “together time”. We stayed up until 3:00 in the morning last night watering the lawn.
If Zoysia isn’t good for this area, then what would you all recommend with a good root system?
saltcedar – posted 01 August 2009 08:43
Cavalier Zoysia may be a good choice as is palisades.
green in atlanta – posted 04 August 2009 11:05
quote:Originally posted by Lawn Chair Chuck:Hello everyone! Newbie here.
We just moved into a house with carpet grass but want something with a thinner blade and Zoysia looks good. The question is how well will it do down here. We live in deep South Texas near the border to Mexico (McAllen, Tx to be exact).
Summers are long and VERY HOT! For example, we are expecting 103 as a high tomorrow. That’s a typical summer day for us. I have trees so some areas get morning light, and the rest gets noon-afternoon sunlight.
What do you all think?
Most high quality turf grasses will require irrigation, so don’t be scared off from zoysia because of that. Also, there are many different kinds of zoysia — some more heat and drought tolerant than others I suspect. My experience with Empire zoysia is that the hotter it gets, the more it thrives. Though it was injured, it survived an epic drought with watering restrictions here in Georgia over the past 3 years. Now that the drought is over, it looks better than ever.
steve@zoysia – posted 12 November 2009 11:15
All your answers are definitely helpful, but here is a little more advice:
Zoysia doesn’t require too much watering, although doing so will help keep it looking its best. The deep south is also a great area for Zoysia, with lots of heat and sunlight. In fact, heat is great for Zoysia. It helps it really come to life.
Hope this helps.
– Steve at Zoysia Farms