Zoysia in mostly shade?

Sabretooth – posted 07 May 2005 09:09

My backyard gets some morning sun, but not a lot and I was wondering whether El Toro might be a better alternative than fescue.

BeauDarvil – posted 08 May 2005 05:10

Sabre,

While I’m no expert at all I can tell you that some Zoysia plugs that I’ve planted this Spring have greened up nicely in the shady areas of my lawn.

Based on what I’ve read the partial day sun/shade you describe should be fine for the zoysia.

Again I’m no expert but it sounds like you’re on the right track.

Good luck to you.

Beau

KyleinMarietta – posted 09 May 2005 20:01

My previous house had El Toro in the back yard and Emerald in the front yard. Both did very well in the sun and light shade. Under medium shade, both thinned and under anything more than medium shade, both eventually died.

Unless the area gets at least 4 hours of direct sun every day, you should plant fescue, or you’ll be disappointed.

rlines – posted 10 May 2005 07:57

I planted Palisades Zoysia. Virtually identical in appearance to El Toro, but heard it greens up quicker and is more tolerant to both wet conditions and drought.