Zoysia in the summer: How much Water?

volabroad1 – posted 23 July 2004 19:23

I have a semi established Zoysia lawn.. . by this I mean, it is probably 60% Zoysia well established and 40% seasonal weeds (I’m working on it. . .) . . .

My question is this: How much water does the zoysia need in the summer? It has gone dormant and is not really growing. I usually water once a week for a couple of hours and that works well when it is growing. . . I don’t want to water weeds if the zoysia will survive a “drought”. . .

kansasguy – posted 24 July 2004 02:15

I have lived in Kansas with zoysia grass for 5 years and the lawn has seen a couple of summers with 100+ degree days where I did not water the lawn at all. In spite of that the zoysia is still there! It does start growing later and goes dormant earlier than blade grasses (depending on your location) but will come back next year. My neighbor scalps his lawn when he mows and still the zoysia survives! However, to get a thick, green lawn of zoysia it is best to fertilize in the spring, water every 2-3 days, mow frequently, and set the mower high to allow the zoysia to spread.

volabroad1 – posted 24 July 2004 10:44

Ah man. . . I don’t know why I typed Zoysia in . . . substitute zoysia with Tall Fescue. . .

ted – posted 24 July 2004 19:08

simple way to test how much water you need. get a rain guage at your local hardware store, see how many hours in each location, it takes to fill it up to an inch full. then see how many days it takes to evaporate back down to zero. then you’ll know how much and how often to water. tall fescue is a very thirsty grass- however if you can keep the crown system alive, it will come back incredibly well when temps dip back below the 90’s. you could also help this situation in advance by mowing tall, and soil testing for proper nutrient levels such as potassium, etc. some of the best tall fescue i saw in the summer heat was around 6-7 inches tall, no fooling… it looks a little messy – but you will reap the dividends in about 2 months…