Zoysia sod recommendations

Tiger Mike – posted 07 May 2009 22:15

I’ve read through most of the posts during the past year, but I seem to be more confused than when I began. I live in the Atlanta suburbs and have contracted with a landscaper to install Emerald Zoysia in my backyard in a couple weeks. My neighbor has Meyer Zoysia in his backyard, which was sodded a couple years ago and looks great. The landscaper recommended the Emerald due to its deeper color and finer texture. While our house faces south, we have removed several trees in the backyard so most of yard receives several hours of sun each day. I understand the Emerald will require me to buy a reel mower (I currently have a self-propelled rotary). Are there any other special considerations with Emerald, other than fertilizing and routine watering? I do have a sprinkler system.

I was reviewing some literature on-line prepared by UGA, it noted that Emerald has a tendency to develop excess thatch and has poor cold tolerance, making it “susceptible to winter injury in and north of the Atlanta area”. I live about 15 miles north of Atlanta, so is this cause for concern?

Does anyone have other recommendations for zoysia in this area? Both estimates I received recommended the Emerald, although I read a recent post about someone in Atlanta who just installed Zeon. I’ve also seen recommendations on this forum for El Toro, JaMur, Zenith, etc. Is there a big difference between these, or will Emerald work just fine here?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

saltcedar – posted 09 May 2009 10:37

Meyer and Emerald are circa 50 years old.If you like the look stick with them.If you need improve shade, drought or rust disease tolerance go with the ones developed for those traits in the past 2 decades.

Tiger Mike – posted 09 May 2009 15:38

Thanks saltcedar. So you’re not concerned about the cold tolerance for Emerald in north Atlanta?

saltcedar – posted 11 May 2009 07:04

Well I’d never use it as it’s thatch prone and so fine bladed as to require a reel type mower. If it did get freeze damaged; being slow to recover, might take a season or more. Just my take on old types of Zoysia.

Tiger Mike – posted 12 May 2009 07:14

I’ve been researching other zoysia sods available in Atlanta, and I’ve come across Zeon and Zenith. Given your concerns about Emerald, do you have a recommendation about either of these sods?

saltcedar – posted 12 May 2009 11:04

I have no experience with either. The literature says both are slow spreading. If you solid sod and don’t have damage (think kids, dogs) either would work. Zenith’s wider blades gives a rotary mower an advantage. If you have sand ‘Empire’ would be more desirable as it repairs itself fairly fast. In clay I’d say ‘Palisades’ or ‘El Toro’ and ‘El Toro’ does well in denser shade than other Zoysia’s I’ve seen.http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/report/2004/p43.pdf

[This message has been edited by saltcedar (edited 12 May 2009).]

Dixie – posted 12 May 2009 11:48

Go to www.theturfgrassgroup.com and read about JaMur zoysia and then view the photo gallery. JaMur recovers faster than any other zoysia, is more cold and drought resistant, medium blade, cuts with a rotary mower. I’m having 6000 sf installed in two weeks in North Carolina. I have been reviewing zoysia for several months and came to the conclusion of JaMur.

saltcedar – posted 12 May 2009 12:12

One other thing… most sites mention Zoysias hate poor drainage and flooding. In 1991 a portion of my property was under water for a month. The following Spring the El Toro was un·fazed and grew better than ever.

[This message has been edited by saltcedar (edited 12 May 2009).]

Tiger Mike – posted 14 May 2009 22:01

Thanks for everyone’s input. I’ve decided to move forward with Zeon Zoysia, due to its shade tolerance and finer blade texture, with less thatch tendency than Emerald. Suppodedly, I can mow Zeon with a rotary mower, so I’ll see how that works out. Flooding won’t be a problem, as our yard slopes down toward the street.

I found a contractor through this forum that provided me a recent reference, which checked out. He has placed the order with Sod Atlanta, a turf farm in Cartersville, about 40 miles NW of Atlanta. The installation is set for next Friday, weather permitting. Wish me luck!