zoysia from seed?

dieselcaddy – posted 06 July 2005 12:25

Can you buy zoysia seed and plant it and have a good lawn or is tyhis something that needs sodded or plugged in?

Blaze

chad h – posted 11 July 2005 14:59

FIRST OF ALL LET ME SAY THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT KINDS OF ZOYSIA. ZOYSIA VARIES A LITTLE FROM VARIETY TO VARIETY IN DROUGHT TOLERANCE, COLD TOLERANCE, AND THE TIME IT TAKES TO BECOME ESTABLISHED. KEEP IN MIND THAT ZOYSIA WILL NOT BECOME ESTABLISHED AS FAST AS BERMUDA OR OTHER GRASSES. YOU MUST HAVE A WELL PREPARED SEED BED (ZOYSIA HAS A HIGH FAILURE RATE WHEN SOWED ON EXISTING GRASSES). IF YOU BUY COATED ZOYSIA SEED YOU PROBABLY WANT TO INCREASE THE RECOMMENDED SEEDING RATE TO 2 LBS PER 1000 SQ FT (THE COATING MAKES UP ABOUT 50% OF THE WEIGHT). ALSO YOU MUST MUST MUST FREQUENTLY WATER THE SEED BED THE FIRST EIGHTH WEEKS. MAKE SURE THE SEED IS ONLY AT THE MOST 1/4 INCH IN GROUND YOU MAY EVEN GO SHALLOWER. THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF ZOYSIA ONLY AVAILABLE IN VEGATATIVE FORMS (MEYER,EMERALD,ZORRO,AND OTHERS.)IF YOU DECIDE TO GO THIS ROUTE I WOULD CONTACT A LOCAL SOD FARM TO SEE WHAT TYPE FAIRS THE BEST IN YOUR AREA. HOPE I’VE COVERED EVERYTHING.

GAzoysia – posted 12 July 2005 10:36

There are a couple of different zoysia seeds available. I recently planted @ 1,000 sq. ft of Zenith Zoysia from seed to go along with my existing Meyer. I had a slight drainage problem in the back yard and re-graded certain areas and planted the Zentith seed. A couple of things you may want to keep in mind:1) This stuff takes forever to germinate — I planted the seed nearly 4 weeks ago and the seedlings are sparse and only @ 1/2″ high. — I think Hurricane Dennis washed away a good portion of the seed this week2) You have to keep it constantly wet for at least the first four weeks. If you can’t irrigate, I wouldn’t bother.

If you want more info, I’d suggest visiting www.pattenseed.com or www.super-sod.com. Both have sections on the Zenith variety.

Good Luck!