# Wartee's Emerald Zoysia Journal



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

OK, introductions first. My current house was built in 2011, and I chose Emerald Zoysia because I thought it would require less mowing and might tolerate a little more shade than Bermuda. As you can see from the pictures below, I have a large flat back yard but a small, steeply sloped front. I have always used a reel on the back but until last year I was using a rotary on the front. The slope is too much for my JD 220A, even going across the slope, but I did start using a Tru-Cut on the front. It's not a lot of fun to mow the front, as it's not nearly as smooth and the mower tends to skip or cut less evenly than I'd like. But it did look pretty good in peak season last year:





Last season, I kept the HOC in back at 0.5, and about 1.0 in the front. In peak season I mowed twice a week.
This year I made some mistakes. First off, I intended to put down some fungicide in the offseason to prevent SDS but I didn't. Then, in February, it was unseasonably warm and my yard was greening up earlier than I could remember it. So I went ahead and scalped around the middle of February. Within a couple of weeks there was some significant green up (sorry no pictures). I put down some 13-13-13 with my preemergent, and topdressed the first week of March. I should have waited until April for the 13-13-13 and at least until now to topdress.



In the picture above taken after scalping, you can see a low area I intended to bring up a bit with topdressing. That was another mistake; I put it on pretty thick in that area, nearly an inch I reckon. It still hasn't quite filled in, though it is getting pretty close as you can see from yesterday's pictures:




(sorry, picture was taken late in the afternoon)

Don't know if you can see it, but I need to apply some fungicide to this area among others:



Anyway, I would guess I'm still 2 weeks away from being fully filled in and green. I used a grooved roller all season last year, but am giving a solid steel smooth roller a try this year in hopes of better stripes. We'll see. I joined my HOA this year for the sole purpose of winning yard of the month, so I will be pulling out all the stops!


----------



## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Wow. The Zoysia looks great. Are you cutting solely with the TruCut now?


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Yeah it's weird, the grass looks kinda blue in the last picture - it doesn't look quite that dark in person. I'm using the Tru Cut on the front yard only...it has a front roller I use my 220A on the back.


----------



## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

wartee said:


> I joined my HOA this year for the sole purpose of winning yard of the month, so I will be pulling out all the stops!


From the looks of it your neighbors don't stand a chance!


----------



## Iriasj2009 (Feb 15, 2017)

Wow, nice lawn!


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I am so envious that you can keep Emerald Zoysia that high and not have it turn into a lumpy un mowable mess. In my state, failure to keep it at or under 1/4" turns Emerald Zoysia into a hot mess in about 6 months.


----------



## raldridge2315 (Jul 1, 2017)

Did you have any trouble getting the sand to hold on that slope?


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

raldridge2315 said:


> Did you have any trouble getting the sand to hold on that slope?


Oh my goodness did I ever. When the sod was first placed I asked that it be staked, but later learned it wasn't when a bunch of the soil underneath washed away. Topdressing the front is a success if I can keep at least half of it from washing into the street.

What really stinks is I have a topdresser but can't use it on the slope. Tried it once and I put a strip of sand all the way down the hill and halfway across the street before I could get it under control!


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> I am so envious that you can keep Emerald Zoysia that high and not have it turn into a lumpy un mowable mess. In my state, failure to keep it at or under 1/4" turns Emerald Zoysia into a hot mess in about 6 months.


That's shocking to me. I don't think I could keep mine that low without it looking like hell. At an inch I get really great stripes but it's kind of puffy feeling. Half an inch seems like a decent compromise for me.


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I wish I could keep Emerald here without developing an inch of dead stems per year. I have always said that Zoysia is better behaved when it is under frost and ice for at least 3 months.


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Good to see more matrellas!


----------



## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

jayhawk said:


> Good to see more matrellas!


+1. Looks great. :thumbup:


----------



## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

jayhawk said:


> Good to see more matrellas!


Emerald isn't actually a matrella at all. It is a cross between zoysia japonica and zoysia tenuifolia. Very similar characteristics to a matrella though.

@wartee and last year's pics are very nice!


----------



## TigerinFL (Mar 29, 2018)

looking good. my el toro is coming in slowly and that is nature of my grass. last to green up and one of the first to go dormant. we haven't gotten a whole lot of rain this year so I've been putting the sprinkler to it.


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Spammage said:


> jayhawk said:
> 
> 
> > Good to see more matrellas!
> ...


Does anyone know what pure Zoysia tenufolia looks like? I do. That stuff forms clumps and mounds in a short time. It is also super spiky and hard. We kids in Hawaii had a name for that grass, we called it "poked in the @ss grass". Emerald Zoysia has leaves that are twice as wide as Tenufolia leaves because of its Japonica parent, but it is still spiky and clump forming if not kept mowed low.


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Mowed today, 0.4 back, 0.5 front. Still waiting on a good week of 80 degree weather to get it growing. Double cutting this time of year doesn't do much, but I had some stray leaves to pick up. 





Too much sand still visible.

And for a closeup, here's the best patch I could find. 


Gonna prune azaleas and thin out my crepe myrtles a bit this afternoon.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Looking good


----------



## Guest (Apr 21, 2018)

TigerinFL said:


> looking good. my el toro is coming in slowly and that is nature of my grass. last to green up and one of the first to go dormant. we haven't gotten a whole lot of rain this year so I've been putting the sprinkler to it.


That's unusual for El toro. Mine greened up almost 3 weeks before some of the centipede I have. It also stayed green into the 1st week of December.
That emerald is absolutely gorgeous. If I had a reel mower I'd be all over it. Rotary looks like it would struggle with it.


----------



## TigerinFL (Mar 29, 2018)

yeah it is a little strange. i dropped my HOC down to 1.5 this year. last year I was at 2.5. I think it shocked the grass a whole bunch, but I am staying with it. wish my lawn could handle my Honda going to 1 inch but it would just look like crap and more like I cut it with a bush hog.

there just aren't a bunch of nutrients in the soil this close to the gulf. heck i was moving two bushes today it was pretty much pure sand. plus our temperature hadn't hit 80 this year yet and very little rain.

counting the days till i can get a Swardman and drop that HOC on down.


----------



## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

It looks great, don't stress. Put down some milorganite!


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Starting to warm up at my place, thankfully. Looks like we'll have a few days in the mid 80's next week. That will help a lot.

Back yard or really starting to come on, though I still have some sand peeking through and a few small patches of SDS.







Front yard is nowhere near where I want it with the sand still showing. I checked quality of cut today and discovered my mower for the front already needed some lapping. Took care of that and gave it a clip.





Come on heat!


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Lookin good. I have to live vicariously through you guys with grass covering 90% of your lawns


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Back 0.4", mowed with JD 220A, smooth roller.




Back yard is looking so much better than the front this year. Still have several spots where sand is peeking through, and a couple of SDS spots are starting to fade away. Temps have been in the 90's this week, so the Zoysia has no more excuses to perform.

Front 0.5", mowed with Tru-Cut C25 with roller.



Looks better than the picture would suggest, but that slope really makes things tough. Top dressing is a very difficult proposition, and I really have to keep on top of the irrigation. And I'm reasonably certain I'm going to have to raise the HOC here substantially as the season goes on.

I'm going to wait a while before applying PGR for the first time. Just too many areas that need to thicken up.

I'll tell you, if I had it to do over, I would have put in a greens-grade Bermuda - at least in the back. The frustrating thing about Zoysia is it takes so long to get into mid-season form compared to Bermuda. It does produce less clippings though.


----------



## TigerinFL (Mar 29, 2018)

looking good there! looks like the southeast is going to get some rain this week.


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

TigerinFL said:


> looking good there! looks like the southeast is going to get some rain this week.


Thanks! Yeah, rain is definitely on the way. Already dreading the thought of missing my mid-week mow and perhaps next weekend too.


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Looks great. Closeup is ridiculous. I wouldn't think you have raise ....it's not like muda were only the top millimeter is green in July. I cut my emerald on the 4th notch all season last year and it's not just a hill but a (hell)sphere.


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Well, my back yard is finally starting to purr. Still mowing at 0.4" with my 220A...can only see the top dressing sand in some very tiny spots.

First pass:



Second pass:



I'm getting more distinct stripes just mowing once, but I can't stand how it looks from the side, so I wind up making a second pass.

Front yard is looking better, but I decided to sacrifice height for better color and striping. Went from 4th notch to 5th notch on my tru-cut, which comes to about 0.7" I think.



Got a fair bit of sand still showing in the front. Need some rain this week, my yard much prefers organic sky water to the stuff out of the tap.


----------



## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

@wartee Did you ever mention your tactics for sanding the front yard? I've got a similar slope which I would like to level soon. Guessing just super light applications so it does not wash away?



I also sacrificed some height in my front. I believe I'm on the 4th notch there.


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

@SGrabs33 I wish I knew a magic way to topdress a slope. This year I put about 2 yards of sand out front, and I would guess I lost about 1/2 yard to the street. The wife doesn't like sand hanging around so I don't have the luxury of applying a little bit at a time.


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Happy happy day. Dry enough for me to double cut the back and get a good cut on the front.





Still dealing with some thin areas in the front, but it looks way better than last week.



Installed my new Rachio 3, although Alberto will bring the rain here most of next week it looks like.



Haven't applied Podium before, but I might give it a go tomorrow if weather permits.


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

I love the view coming up my driveway. The turf is very smooth here and the angle gives great stripes.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Looks GREAT! :thumbup:


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Mid-week mow in between patches of heavy rain. Alberto has given me 5" so far this week (TWSS). Made mowing very messy, but I got some great stripes out of it.



My new Rachio hasn't scheduled a watering until 6/7!


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Looks great! Alberto dumped a lot of rain on us as well.


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Ready for some backyard baseball action


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

Put down Podium PGR on Monday, at 0.125/1k. I'm thinking next time I'm going to double the rate as I haven't seen a noticeable reduction in clippings. Also, it's pretty obvious I need to fertilize but that will have to wait as I'll be missing my mid week mow due to work.

I did switch from my solid roller to the grooved one, as I haven't seen any worm castings the last couple of weeks. And somehow my HOC got messed up on one side of my 220A, so I had to reset it. One of the adjusters has worked loose. While I was at it I adjusted the bedknife clearance just a touch to maintain light contact. I also replaced the drive belts (see the JD thread in the Equipment Forum). 



(Thanks crepe myrtles!)


----------



## tcorbitt20 (Aug 31, 2018)

Looks great! I'm in Auburn, but my wife's from Montgomery. I actually had to drive over there this morning. Any updates since June?


----------



## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Great looking lawn. I've always had TTTF but have to admit seeing some of your pictures makes me want to experiment with Zoysia. I don't have a reel mower though and 1.25" is as low as my Pro-Stance goes.


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Yes! My recent Instagram, poking my KS friends


Summers are brutal for tttf there.


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

ksturfguy said:


> Great looking lawn. I've always had TTTF but have to admit seeing some of your pictures makes me want to experiment with Zoysia. I don't have a reel mower though and 1.25" is as low as my Pro-Stance goes.


Thanks! Zoysia has its advantages, but to be honest, hybrid Bermuda is very hard to beat for looks. I don't know what I'd pick if I had it to do over.


----------



## wartee (Mar 27, 2018)

tcorbitt20 said:


> Looks great! I'm in Auburn, but my wife's from Montgomery. I actually had to drive over there this morning. Any updates since June?


Well, I hate this time of year. The Zoysia has gotten so thick it is scalping a good bit, but it's too late in the year for me to verticut. Right now I'm just sort of waiting it out to go dormant. May-July are when my yard looks best.

Here's some pics from the weekend:


----------



## tcorbitt20 (Aug 31, 2018)

Looks pretty good from the pictures


----------



## mgosis (Jul 24, 2019)

Hi! I love viewing the images of your beautiful lawn. You do a great job maintaining and improving it. I am looking to improve my lawn, and could use some advice. I also have emerald zoysia, and intend to start using a tru-cut reel mower. The size of my yard is about the same as yours, and I also have a relatively flat back yard and steeply sloped front yard.

My issue is my grass has historically been mowed with a standard mower, and kept really high (probably 3 inches or so). Also, my grass hasn't been de-thatched, aerated Or fertilized in years. And lastly my grass isn't level. There were 5 or so pine trees removed from the back yard about 10 years ago so divots and holes encompass my yard.

How would you recommend I go about getting my yard to look like your yard? What I've done to date is mow my lawn relatively short with my standard mower, so as to be able to use my reel mower going forward. I did a test strip with my reel mower last night, and it seemed to scalp the grass pretty badly.

Does this mean I should hold off on using the reel mower until next spring?

Or is it okay to scalp now (even in July)?

Should I just dive right into using the reel mower, or should I focus on leveling the lawn first?

What's your recommended method for leveling my yard? I know sand is commonly used, but that seems like a massive task when leveling a 10,000 sqft yard.

Do I need to de-thatch, aerate and fertilize the yard before I begin, Or is that not necessary?

I know that's a lot of questions, but I figured I'd ask all of them up front, and any help you can offer will be super helpful!

Thanks,

Misha


----------

