Zoysia – Maintence Requirements?

wakko – posted 03 May 2012 08:04

LOC: Austin, TXI’m trying to re-sod my front yard, but am unsure of the requirements needed to upkeep a zoysia lawn. I previously killed my last ST Aug lawn just due to neglect but that’s changed and now want to make sure i put down the right type of grass. I’m worried about all the problems people seem to be having with Zoysia and wondering if i should just go with St Augustine? I have a lawn that faces southwest and 2 trees that provide partial shade.

http://i46.tinypic.com/qstbbo.jpg

tommy – posted 03 May 2012 10:47

Zoysia is good for partial shade, and is considered low maint. St Augustine has more insect and disease problems, so if it were me, I would go Zoysia.

ezf – posted 03 May 2012 14:13

Palisades, Empire and JaMur zoysia have wider blades. When mowed high (e.g., 3″ ) they are very drought tolerant. If you search around you will find that some zoysia lawns have never been fertilized or watered after they are established. I would just cut one notch lower for the first cut in Spring and fertilize it once per season with an organic fertilizer in May so that it has a full Spring to develop deep roots. These are all I do to maintain zoysia.There is a research report found on the web which says that Meyer zoysia has the largest root mass when not fertilized with Nitrogen. It seems to suggest that when the cutting height is fixed, more Nitrogen supply causes Meyer zoysia to devote a higher percentage of synthesized carbonhydrate into the production of green stuff, only to be mowed down periodically. I never use any chemical on zoysia.

[This message has been edited by ezf (edited 03 May 2012).]

wakko – posted 03 May 2012 15:23

I think i’m going to go with Zeon. The guy recommended that or Cavalier.

ezf – posted 03 May 2012 18:41

Zeon is more shade tolerant.

jod788 – posted 04 May 2012 08:38

I like the Palisades a lot. I’ve had very little issues in 2 years. I don’t have the yard chemically treated for weeds. The zoysia seems to keep the weeds choked out by itself. I did have an issue with real slow greenup in part of my yard. I had a slight thatch buildup that seemed to be holding the grass back this spring, but I raked that junk out of there, no big deal.

wakko – posted 08 May 2012 12:48

Alright got Zeon grass installed yesterday, and it looks nice and fresh. It’s currently raining , but any precautions or things i need to do for the next month besides watering daily for the first 2-3 weeks? Do i need fertilizer?

jugheadfla – posted 08 May 2012 13:31

quote:Originally posted by wakko:Alright got Zeon grass installed yesterday, and it looks nice and fresh. It’s currently raining , but any precautions or things i need to do for the next month besides watering daily for the first 2-3 weeks? Do i need fertilizer?

Nope, just water and wait for it to establish. I think after about a month or so you can put down some milogranite but other than that I wouldn’t worry about fertilizing for a few months. Don’t be surprised if it takes a while fully root. Remember that this type of grass is extrememly slow growing.

New in Pensacola, FL – posted 20 May 2012 16:20

I have El Toro and live in Pensacola, FL Since I have very very little time to spend on my almost acre of zoysia, I heavily fertilize once or twice in the spring, and once in the fall, with a very heavy sprinkling of cottonseed meal or alfalfa pellets, Never ever water unless the grass turns thin-bladed and dark green. It just doesn’t need that much water at all, but it does need high nitrogen, and believe me, the weeds will hate the high nitrogen, the zoysia will LOVE it, and you will have a golf-course, envy of the town, lawn. I also keep my zoysia fairly short, in fact, it’s on the lowest setting of my rotary mower, but I let it get long just a few weeks before the cold weather sets in. So it will stay long throughout the winter, but I keep it short all summer long. It really looks awesome!! I also use diatomaceious earth to keep the bugs away, and hopefully, the moles too!! Moles have been my primary problem, because I don’t use any chemicals, just organic feed, that you can get at any feed store.

ezf – posted 21 May 2012 13:05

New in Pensacola,

You used to mow at 3 inches. Could you tell us why you change your mowing height and compare it to what you did before ? Thanks.

wakko – posted 26 May 2012 07:10

the grass has finally rooted and i mowed it today. i do have some brown spots in the grass. not sure if its just bad pieces of sod or if i did something. also when i mowed i scaleped some of the edges that were uneven with the curb…. should i just water these a little more? Ive also started to go every other day and next week probably go 3-5 days… plan on gettting some alpha pellets later today to hopefully green up the grass as it looks a little pale compared to my neighbors st augustine.

[This message has been edited by wakko (edited 26 May 2012).]