Zoysia plugs
RDoherty – posted 09 August 2007 07:45
I live in Baltimore. I want a Zoysia lawn but I am not willing to pay for the sod so I have opted for plugs. I ordered 36 empire zoysia plugs from seedland. While waiting for them to arrive I remembered that someone in my neighborhood has a lawn that turns brown in the winter. I asked him what kind of grass he had and he said he was pretty sure it was zoysia. I do like the look. It is very thick, no weeds, and its the only green lawn in the neighborhood and he hasnt done any watering.
He was kind enough to let me take plugs so I plugged my front lawn with his grass. Then my Empire Zoysia plugs arrived and they looked different than the plugs I planted with my neighbors grassthe empire plugs have a wider leaf.
Questions:How do I determine if my neighbors grass is zoysia?Is it possible my neighbor has a different kind of zoysia and it looks very different?Could I take a picture of his lawn and post it here for verification?Is there anything I can do right now to expedite the growth of my zoysia plus. I currently have fescue.
Thanks for your help.
green in atlanta – posted 10 August 2007 08:28
There are many different zoysia cultivars. I happen to have empire myself. It has the wide blade that you described. Your neighbor’s sounds like something along the lines of Emerald zoysia. Unfortunately, I don’t think the two can coexist very well in the same lawn. And even if they could, I doubt you’d like the appearance. I must say, I’m a big fan of my Empire Zoysia. It’s cold hardy, but it also thrives in the Atlanta summer heat.(100 degrees plus this weeks, and I’ve got the best looking lawn in the neighborhood.) I have in-ground irrigation, but I rarely use it. And best of all, I can mow it with a rotary mower at around a 3″ height. Most other zoysia cultivars, and especially emerald, require a reel-style mower and a 1″ or less cutting height to look their best.
With the installation, hopefully you killed your fescue before you planted the plugs. The zoysia will perform much better if it doesn’t have to compete with existing turf. Under the best circumstances, zoysia plugs require alot of patience. All I can say is feed it some fertilizer, water it regularly, and be patient.
[This message has been edited by green in atlanta (edited 10 August 2007).]
jctflnc – posted 06 March 2008 20:47
I currently live in Valrico, Florida, a suburb of Tampa. I was living in East McKeesport, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh from 1951 to 1958. My Dad and his friend purchased several thousand Amazoya plugs from some place in Maryland. It only seemed like it took one year for the yard to be completely filled in. I was back in Pennsylvania in 2000 and went by to see the old house and yard. The current owner allowed the yard to grow to a height of about 6 inches or more. The yard was a deep green just like it was in the 1950’s. I wanted to take my shoes off and run through the yard like I did back then. I purchased Zoysia plugs from the same supplier for our summer home in Franklin,North Carolina about 11 years ago. The plugs have done very well and I finally have my own little Zoysia garden for transplanting plugs. I just installed a pallet of Imperial Zoysia sod in my back yard in Florida I have watered it daily for the past 10 days and it looks as good as any of the first class golf courses I have played. I ordered a second pallet for my back yard that will be delivered in the morning. My lot is about 1/3 of an acre with 27 oak trees in the yard and other oak trees bordering the yard. I was told that the Imperial Zoysia was developed for the Florida climate and tolerated shade very well. I have an automatic sprinkler system and will let you know how things turn out as summer approaches and drought conditions come and go. We are only allowed to water one day a week. The majority of my yard is made up of St. Augustine Palmetto. I hope to convert it over the next few years if the economy holds up and the market returns to profitability. I won’t have to leave home to play golf. This Imperial is beautiful stuff.
I almost forgot Do Not over water. Floratan /Seville all strains of St. Augustine are suseptible to fungus from over…
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