# Mowers for Zoysia



## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

Hi all - first time post here.

I live in tropical Australia but so will try to convert my terms and measures to American for most of the readers here  . My lawn is a smallish (100sqm/1,000 sqft) zoysia lawn over three terraces. The variety is what locally is marketed as 'Nara'. I believe the same grass is marketed as 'Icon' in the USA but is probably not that common there?. It is somewhat similar in look and habit to Empire Zoysia.

I currently mow with a petrol (gas) rotary mower and aim for a height of 40mm (1.5 inches). I am never going to be the guy mowing twice a week to get that perfect grass and often it is up to two weeks between mows. The zoysia grows very well in this climate (it slows down a bit for our 'cool' season but never stops) and at two weeks in the wet season it can be so thick in places that it almost stalls the mower. The lawn is level and weed free.

I like the idea of changing to a quieter and lighter mower which would be easier to pull out for a quick tough up and also to get up and down the stairs for the terraces. Options are:

1. Keep using the petrol rotary. Other than being a bit heavy, noisy and a bit rough on the grass, it is reliable and gets through anything.
2. Get an electric (battery or corded) rotary mower. I am worried about having enough power for the zoysia when it gets thick with one of these. Also, all of these are rotary so would still have the slighly rough cut of the current mower. 
3. Hold out for a while with the rotary (probably years) and get a lawn robot when the technology improves and costs drop a bit. Robot would be perfect because I could put it on whilst I am at work and get the mowing done regular enough to keep the lawn in slightly better shape. Because of the terraces a robot with a wire setup would not work out but something like the Ambrogio L60 would be perfect if they could perfect the technology so the border area only needed to be half as wide. 
4. Get a push reel mower (i.e. Fiskars Staysharp) and keep the petrol rotary for heavier mows. The idea would be to use the reel mower for quick maintenance cuts - particularly in the cooler season - but when i miss mowing for too long or want to scalp to reset height bring out the petrol mower. But I am worried that a push hand mower may struggle with the thickness of the zoysia even if mowed fairly regularly? Rotary mowers dominate in Australia (I think we invented them actually?) and with only one or two places in the country that sell the Fiskars I wouldn't be able to try one before buying.

Any ideas or experience appreciated.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Zoysia on terraces is not the best idea. I prefer Buffalo over Couch or Zoysia in that situation. Eventually, and sooner than not those grasses develop thatch at the heights of cut possible with the kinds of mowers that can be taken up and down terraces. I rather have ground cover that does not need mowing on terraces.


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## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

Thanks Greendoc,

'Buffalo' gets real confusing for me . Most people in this part of the world mean carpetgrass (Axonopus compressus) when they say Buffalo. This is historically the most popular grass locally as it tolerates any level of heat and humidity is very shade resistant and never seems to scalp even if you can't mow if for a month. But it is very coarse, itchy and needs lots of water in the dry season.

Most of Australia (down south) call what you call St. Augustine 'Buffalo'. I have seen a few lawns of it up here but never a good one (they may exist).

Then I understand in USA 'buffalo' is a different grass again to these two?

The Zoysia types only started to be grown locally say 10 years ago or so (other than no mow grass' in some gardens) but has been used a fair bit in some public spaces and road verges. On the road verges it is mown probably only every 3-6 months but seems to come back well. With the thatch issue the local recommendation is to scalp it to the dirt once a year or so to clean up. But most of it I have seen around town doesn't seem to have that done.

I do like the Zoysia (as do the kids). I can manage it with the current mower, but at the same time it would be nice to pursue an easier option if that is feasible.

Image below of the main terrace to give some context.


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## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

Greendoc, just noticed you are in Hawaii.

So I am at a similar latitude to Hawaii but the climate is a little different. More seasonal. A short (3-4 month) rainy season probably similar to yours (maybe a fraction hotter) and then the rest of the year is mostly clear (little rain) and warm (though we do get a fraction colder than Hawaii - most years we get a few weeks with minimums less than 50 degrees f.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I know something about dealing with Zoysia in a climate where it does not go brown dormant. Dormancy is the best thing for a Zoysia lawn because it forces that down to the dirt scalp every year. Barring that, I keep Zoysia mowed low as in no higher than 15 mm and limit water and fertilizer. I do not like to see Zoysia kept where that will not be done because eventually, it becomes a disease ridden mess that is also thatchy and pokey. Seeing tall Zoysia un nerves me because I know what happens in the end.


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## daviddsims (Apr 15, 2018)

So you would scalp zoysia in the spring just like Bermuda?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

daviddsims said:


> So you would scalp zoysia in the spring just like Bermuda?


Yes.


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## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

daviddsims said:


> So you would scalp zoysia in the spring just like Bermuda?


Yeah, that is the idea.

Though it seems the public plantings in the area don't do this and the zoysia still look pretty good.

I've just done mine (middle of summer/wet season) as the wet season is when I think it is best to have it at its lowest stage. But I imagine spring makes most sense elsewhere.


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## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

Back onto the mower query, I found over the weekend that I can get these locally https://www.ryobi.com.au/products/details/18v-one-35cm-cylinder-mower-skin-orm1800.

They seem fairly new to the market.

I think this would be a good option if I could get away with using it maybe 2/3rds the time and than the other occasions (when it has been too long between mows or needs a scalping) bringing out the petrol rotary?

At least I can get this option locally and return it so may be worth a try?


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I can also tell you that if a mower was previously mowed with a rotary mower, prep to ensure a cylinder mower does not stall on thatchy grass is to scalp down to dirt with a string trimmer. I personally use what is known as Rotary Scissors to do this first scalp in instances where the grass has gotten so thick that my greens mower cannot do the job.


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## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

Ok, yeah I can see that being the case. And I assume that even with regular cylinder mows there is going to be a semi-regular need to scalp down to reset (unless it is one of those multi-thousand dollar engine driven cylinder mowers)?

I get your earlier comment on the low fertiliser too. When I did the first lawn i cultivated the main area nicely and fertilised with some slow release. After that area was layed i had extra turf left over so quickly scraped the top off a small side area. Soil was compacted, bone dry builders rubble.

I thought the extra turf would slowly die, but figured it would look ok for a while whilst it did so. Well the main area has done super well - grows very fast, green and nut grass can barely grow through it. The area out the side to my surprise took really well too - but it grows a bit slower and stays a bit shorter and looks 95% as good as the main area.

Given we get good natural nitrogen with our summer storms I am toying with the idea that one light (like half the recommended rate) fertiliser application in winter is going to be plenty. Might keep the growth down a fraction.

Keeping the water down around here is no problem 8 months and impossible 3-4 months a year  .


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Scalp right before summer. Really look at the fertilizer in the wet season. Zoysia growth is pushed by water and heat. 20 c or lower in the day is a low growth period. That becomes dangerous if that is also your wet season. Diseases are epidemic under cool and wet conditions. Those diseases are also aggravated by the grass being over 20mm.


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## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

Greendoc said:


> Scalp right before summer.


Like this? 



Did this about 10 days ago. Thick, light green fuzz coming through now and some more nut grass (though should be easy to take out with Sempra).

So I've purchased the electric reel mower and going to try to see how that goes at about 25mm-30mm (about an inch) with likely rotary mower resets/clean-ups on occasion in between.

If I can't keep up at that height i'll go back to 40mm ish as it has worked out pretty well so far. I know of public area plantings of matrella, japonica and macrantha (which is what I have) in the area that have been in for a number of years and don't get mowed very often. I have never seen any disease in them and to my eyes they all look better than other turf types in our area. Possibly because our climate is dry most of the year, warm (we almost never see a daily high temperature less than 23 - 24 c (73-75 F) and sunny? When it is wet it is almost always also very hot. None-the-less I plan to keep scalping to the dirt at least once per year - right before the summer wet season sounds like a good time like you suggest.

If the right robot mower comes along one day I'll consider resetting and aiming for a lower height again.

Also going to look to keep that fertiliser right down to non-existent.

Thanks for the suggestions.


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## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

Quick update. The zoysia is well and truly back from the scalp and the little electric reel mower is working well so far. Mowing at just under 1 inch. I do prefer the feel of it a bit longer but keeping it down for now whilst it thickens up again. I haven't had a missed weekly mow yet though so still expect I will need to bring out the rotary from time to time.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@NorthAus Looks Great!


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

That's looking great! Can you do that entire area on one battery?


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## NorthAus (Feb 8, 2020)

Gilley11 said:


> Can you do that entire area on one battery?


Yeah, I only have about 100sqm/1,000sqft so it does it pretty easy with lots of capacity left on the mower (over half). The battery will deteriorate over time but should be good for my area pretty easily for a few years yet.

The box says that the mower will do 'up to 450sqm'/4,500sqft) on a charge of the 5amp battery but I am assuming that is with the grass already cut and the running behind the mower . I guess that you could get an extra battery for larger areas. But if I had a really large area I'd have looked to something different again.


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