Zoysia Maintenance
sd_lawn – posted 03 May 2011 12:19
Thanks for the information on this board, I decided to plant test stripes of 4 interested grasses and I hope my observations may be helpful to those who are still deciding on the grass variety.
I planted a 5-sq-ft sample of each of the following 4 varieties, watered them 3-times-a-day for 3 weeks.
* Zoysia DeAnza* Zoysia El Toro* Bermuda Tifway* Bermuda Tifgreen
Here is my observation:
* Bermuda Tifway grows best. The growth can be controlled by the amount of water. It is probably the least maintenance grass among the 4.* Bermuda Tifgreen grows lower and slower, and it produces seed-heads if not mowed frequently. Also, it is not as dark green as Tifway. Tifway looks better.* Zoysia DeAnza is the best looking grass but I had a hard time making it grow well.* Zoysia El Toro is similar to DeAnza but not as nice looking.
I would expect that Zoysia DeAnza and ElToro would require more maintenance than the Bermudas because they are harder to maintain in Southern California where there is no rain between March and November, even though they are slower in growth.
Scott
[This message has been edited by sd_lawn (edited 03 May 2011).]
mrmumbels – posted 03 May 2011 16:53
Just my opinion but I’ve yet to see a thick carpet-like bermuda lawn. I love the zoysia because there’s no way possible to see dirt through it. St Aug grows thick too but it ends up more like a canopy where you sink 3 inches when you walk on it which also allows nice bugs n snakes to hide.
ken4255 – posted 03 May 2011 18:44
I agree. These are almost fighting words on a zoysia thread. First, what specific conditions are we talking about? Second, what criteria do you use to rate bermuda as better?
If we’re talking about which grass will spread faster, then it is bermuda. But I have seen so many bermuda lawns that don’t do a good job of choking out weeds. In a well established zoysia lawn, you can almost get away without using weed killer (but I still use it).
sd_lawn – posted 03 May 2011 21:42
These were my criteria for evaluating the grasses:
1) Water efficiency. Reasonable turf quality when irrigated at 40% ETo2) Not much weed problem.3) Ability to withstand moderate-to-heavy foot traffic4) Good color
Zoysia is beautiful when maintained properly. I was under the impression that Zoysia grass is a low maintenance grass compared to Bermuda. Bermuda needs more frequent mowing. However, Tifway growth rate can be controlled by irrigation amount. Therefore, the excellent drought-tolerant Tifway is a low maintenance grass here.
Zoysia, on the other hand, is not as easy to grow. It is no doubt a more beautiful grass. Without the low-maintenance advantage, it is probably not the first choice for home lawns in SoCal.
mrmumbels – posted 04 May 2011 20:13
I guess it depends what you want. I prefer the better looking lawn with less weeds.
Mowing, in my mind, is maintenance. The little bermuda I have creeping in from my neighbors grows vertically probably twice as fast as my zoysia.
Perfect example of bermuda right here
http://www.infojardin.com/fotos/albums/userpics/normal_IMG_ok2.JPG
try to do that with zoysia
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