# Talk me out of letting my Zeon Zoysia grow taller :)



## Dawgvet (Jul 2, 2019)

Background: This is my postage stamp (380 sq ft) Zeon Zoysia area of the back yard. Sod was put in 3 years ago. My background of lawn maintenance was (until this year) "throw some fertilizer, add some water and call it a day"
The reason I went with zeon was because I wanted a soft carpet like grass that could tolerate some shade. This area gets morning shade, about 5 to 6 hours of full mid-day sun, and late afternoon shade. 
Well, my lack of knowledge has taken it's toll. My sod looks ok....if you are 3 feet tall (or have been at the bar all night drinking and you think you are going home with a 10)










but in reality, when at normal adult height (and you are trying to chew your arm off so as to not wake up the person you thought was a 10), it looks like this.










Above picture was sanded early spring, about 1/4 inch of sand. Black spots are worm castings. No stolon activity.










This is an area that I decided to "let go" so as to use it to get plugs to fill bare spots. This area has not been cut since spring (it's on a sharply curved slope and reel mower doesn't do a good job there. It is the thickest part of the lawn (no thatch either) and sends out stolons like crazy.










The grass blades in that area are 5 1/2 plus inches.

I am currently using a Fiskars reel at 2 inches. Would it be wrong to mow the Zeon at 4 plus inches? It really looks good and is soft. 
Talk some sense into me..


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## Dawgvet (Jul 2, 2019)

All jokes aside, does any one have any ideas how to get stolons/rhizomes going?
I've been trying NExt RGS every 3 weeks for 3 months and have seen no improvement. Again the sod is not "new", just has a bad owner.


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## critterdude311 (Apr 21, 2018)

Just a thought here - I'm wondering if maybe you are getting too much shade for the lower mowing heights. Generally speaking, I think grasses in the shade do better at taller heights, so that might be what is going on here.

Bottom line - if you like it better, and the turf is performing better, I don't see any reason not to go for it. At the end of the day, you are the person who has to live with it so you might as well enjoy it the way you want so long as the turf is healthy.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

Dawgvet said:


> All jokes aside, does any one have any ideas how to get stolons/rhizomes going?
> I've been trying NExt RGS every 3 weeks for 3 months and have seen no improvement. Again the sod is not "new", just has a bad owner.


With Bermuda cutting it short and spoon feeding Nitrogen tend to get the stolons to run. I know Zoysia is a different animal so maybe someone can drop some better knowledge here.


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## Dawgvet (Jul 2, 2019)

critterdude311 said:


> Generally speaking, I think grasses in the shade do better at taller heights, so that might be what is going on here."


I agree and that is why I was cutting it around the 2" height. Thinking more surface area for sun. But then I thought I read somewhere here that a lower cut encourages lateral growth (?). So, will I be sacrificing lateral growth by cutting it higher?


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## Dawgvet (Jul 2, 2019)

TN Hawkeye said:


> Dawgvet said:
> 
> 
> > All jokes aside, does any one have any ideas how to get stolons/rhizomes going?
> ...


The way some of the Bermuda owners describe how quickly it spreads, they make it sound like Kudzu. It would probably grow over your dog if he stays on the lawn too long.
I'm jealous


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Dawgvet said:


> TN Hawkeye said:
> 
> 
> > Dawgvet said:
> ...


Only thing that gets Zoysia to run is sun, warm weather and water. But, if the roots are waterlogged, it rots and dies. Best thing to do to Zoysia in shade is to not mow it very often or excessively short. Unless you have actual Emerald Zoysia, then low mowing is mandatory to mitigate thatch and lumpyness.


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## Dawgvet (Jul 2, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Only thing that gets Zoysia to run is sun, warm weather and water. But, if the roots are waterlogged, it rots and dies. Best thing to do to Zoysia in shade is to not mow it very often or excessively short. Unless you have actual Emerald Zoysia, then low mowing is mandatory to mitigate thatch and lumpyness.


This is what is so frustrating. There is about a 5 foot distance difference between the second and third picture. Photo period is pretty much identical for both areas. Temps have been in the upper 80's to low 90's. The lawn gets about 1 inch of water per week ( 1/2 inch on Mondays and Fridays) and supplemental watering if it looks like it needs it. I switched to a slow release organic fertilizer (Ringers lawn restore) this spring and have applied 0.5 lbs Nitrogen TWICE (April 15th and June 15th) so far (planning 1 maybe two more applications in the remainder of the growing season). *The only difference between the two areas is height*.
Again this is the first year that I've actually spent time trying to learn the whys of lawn care, so I'm in learning mode.
Would a dose of quick release nitrogen help? (I read that Zoysia prefers lower Nitrogen supplementation, and I had adequate N levels in the soil test.) Any other supplements or tricks that may encourage lateral growth? Would increasing the height hurt anything long term?
I realize no two lawns are alike and that most things are recommendations and not hard set rules, i.e HOC <--- See, I'm learning. Also that I have to learn to look at my lawn to see what it needs. But I am stumped on this one.
Has anyone cut their Zeon at much higher lengths and did it help?


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Worst thing I have seen done to Zoysia is apply either slow release or organic nitrogen. Several things are possible. Surge growth when the N releases, disease, or lack of response to the N. When I want to push growth, I use a 1-1-1 soluble non slow release non organic fertilizer at 0.1-0.2 lb of N per application. When I am trying to maintain Zeon in shade, I limit water a little according to how fast the area dries out. Wet soil in shady areas is a killer of Zeon. I also watch my HOC and how often. Throw out the 1/3 rule for mowing. I have let Zeon grow up to 2" tall in shade and mowing to 1" when I notice it has developed some density. Best way to get density in Zoysia is to leave it alone. Water it, feed it and leave it alone.


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## Dawgvet (Jul 2, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Best way to get density in Zoysia is to *leave it alone*. Water it, feed it and leave it alone.
> 
> 
> > *leave it alone*
> ...


Funny you say that. After typing this post on the forum I really started to think about what was different about the thick area on the side. Initially HOC was the only thing I could come up with but, before I saw your response, I realized that the thick area that I like I absolutely do nothing to it. It gets the "scraps" of everything that I do to the main area as the water runs off into this section. 
So is Zeon Zoysia a grass that does better with "controlled neglect"? 
I was looking at liquid fertilizers this morning. Is a 16-4-8 too high to apply? (My P an K were low on soil test). Is your 0.1 to 0.2 lbs N per application monthly?
I have learned how to figure out "pounds on the ground" for granular, How does work for liquids?


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

A good related read:

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=8444

I concur with greendoc ....bottom line is shade requires avoiding unfortunate circumstances : too much moisture, lot of N and over management. May want to watch the 'deals' thread for sales on granular fungicides...or buy danconil (sp?) to have reserve, to put in a sprayer.

Manual reel I would think is a ++ here (less wear n tear)


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Controlled neglect is how I treat a number of lawns. Stop overdoing. Recognize when your efforts are yielding diminishing returns.

As for the liquid fertilizers, you first figure out how many lbs a gallon weighs, then you figure out the analysis. At that point, the math is done to get the 0.1-0.2 lbs of N per month. It is rather predictable and controllable rather than having lbs on the ground with no idea of how much the grass is actually utilizing at a given point in time.

Disease dangers I look out for include Pythium root rot and Large Patch. Stock up on the granular Disease X(Azoxystrobin) because that is one of the more accessible and effective fungicides for those diseases,


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## Dawgvet (Jul 2, 2019)

jayhawk said:


> Manual reel I would think is a ++ here (less wear n tear)


Currently using a manual reel.

Thanks for the link. In that post they mentioned PGR. I have seen PGR mentioned a number of times. From my brief reading, theses regulators prevent vertical growth of the grass, amongst other things. Won't this defeat my trying to let grass get taller in the shade? Will they also affect lateral growth? Also learned that Cytokinins in PGR promote lateral shoot growth. Do they make a Cytokinin only PGR?
Thanks for all your help guys, I'm really learning a lot. :thumbup:


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## Dawgvet (Jul 2, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Controlled neglect is how I treat a number of lawns. Stop overdoing. Recognize when your efforts are yielding diminishing returns.


Overdoing-I think this is one of the hardest things to learn not to do whenever you're starting something new. Even though I told myself in early spring to concentrate on major things this year (pH and macro nutrients), I found myself micro managing everything on the soil test.
Ok. Time to raise the HOC, stop adding 102 different additives, stop sacrificing goats to the grass gods, take a deep breath, step back......and consider switching hobbies. (j/k)


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