# Zoysia Owners: Do you like it?



## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

I live in the upper parts of the Transition Zone and I've been very tempted to obtain Zoysia, such as Innovation Zoysia as it's a cross between Chinese Common (which is cold hardy) and has Z. matrella like quality..

(Now, if I decided to go through with this, I will be stuck with it as my neighbors will end up getting it. I want to do a lawn border with some plastic/rubber strips that are 5 or 6 inches in height. Time is running out as it's June)

The other option is a Bermudagrass, but it grows too fast for me - And my neighbors might end up angry if I had it installed due to their love of their gardens.

So Zoysia Owners.. what are your thoughts on it? Maintenance? Things to watch out for?


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## Tadams1186 (Jun 10, 2019)

I just sodded an area by my pool cuz we obviously hang out there only in the summer with Zeon Zoysia which requires less mowing and can be mowed lower. It's beautiful and was easy to establish from sod. I am in Maryland in transition zone. Good luck!


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Zoysia can grow even faster than Bermuda. Especially in hot climates. A 5-6 inch deep barrier is also not deep enough to stop it. Think 12" or more. It is an extremely difficult grass to mow. Similar to trying to mow bamboo kept at 1/2-3/4". In areas with wet falls and springs, diseases are an issue.

When you say Bermuda grows too fast, what kind? I know some of the hybrids and all of the common non hybrid from seed are rampant growers, especially when over fertilized. Properly watered and fertilized Bermuda should not need more than every 4 day mowing.

t


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## Tadams1186 (Jun 10, 2019)

This type zeon zoysia is known as a slow grower and cold hardy. Mowing period of 7-10 days at recommenced height of .5"-1.5"


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

I don't have a lot of it so can't really give an opinion yet but I just installed 70 plugs of Innovation Zoysia 2 weeks ago in a 10x10 test plot area. It was designed by my local university and is supposed to be cold hardy so figured I would see what it's all about. I would never transition my whole yard to it but I wouldn't mind maintaining a small area of it and mow it low and maybe have it as an area I chip or hit golf balls.


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Zoysia can grow even faster than Bermuda. Especially in hot climates. A 5-6 inch deep barrier is also not deep enough to stop it. Think 12" or more. It is an extremely difficult grass to mow. Similar to trying to mow bamboo kept at 1/2-3/4". In areas with wet falls and springs, diseases are an issue.
> 
> When you say Bermuda grows too fast, what kind? I know some of the hybrids and all of the common non hybrid from seed are rampant growers, especially when over fertilized. Properly watered and fertilized Bermuda should not need more than every 4 day mowing.


Out of all the papers I've read over on the various journals (PLoS, etc) suggests that 65% of the cultivars of Zoysia have a lower growth rate than hybrid Bermudas.

Speaking of barries, the stolen/rhizome depth is questionable. Some things I've found say 2 to 4 inches, others say 6. Sadly, I can't find any definitive papers/data.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Which hybrid. There are slow growers like Tifdwarf and Tifgrand and there are fast growers like Tifway 419. What is not discussed is what a miserable experience it is to get Zoysia that has gotten overgrown back to its height of cut. I would rather deal with Bermuda that has gotten a little long rather than Zoysia.

Real world experience with these grasses demonstrates that a 6 inch barrier is breached from underneath


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Which hybrid. There are slow growers like Tifdwarf and Tifgrand and there are fast growers like Tifway 419. What is not discussed is what a miserable experience it is to get Zoysia that has gotten overgrown back to its height of cut. I would rather deal with Bermuda that has gotten a little long rather than Zoysia.
> 
> Real world experience with these grasses demonstrates that a 6 inch barrier is breached from underneath


Latitude 36, Patriot, Northbridge as a start.

I'd like Latitude 36, but I'm scared of getting it then the maintenance exceeds that of my currently beaten down KBG lawn (which gets mauled in the transition zone heat)


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

Tadams1186 said:


> I just sodded an area by my pool cuz we obviously hang out there only in the summer with Zeon Zoysia which requires less mowing and can be mowed lower. It's beautiful and was easy to establish from sod. I am in Maryland in transition zone. Good luck!


Very nice!

I'm going to have to go the plug route because no one close has Innovation! (I live near Winchester, VA)


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

tneicna said:


> Greendoc said:
> 
> 
> > Which hybrid. There are slow growers like Tifdwarf and Tifgrand and there are fast growers like Tifway 419. What is not discussed is what a miserable experience it is to get Zoysia that has gotten overgrown back to its height of cut. I would rather deal with Bermuda that has gotten a little long rather than Zoysia.
> ...


Keep your N down and those grasses are not hard to live with. Handles heat and humidity just fine. Better than a cool season grasss


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

Could I install some latitude 36 plugs, then use Revolver to kill the existing KBG lawn after a bit of time?


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## UFG8RMIKE (Apr 21, 2019)

In Florida. Love zoysia. Neighbors all going crazy over it too since all they usually see is St Aug, which sux.

No clue where difficult to cut comes in, its been cut (and scalped) w rotary and a reel. I can't imagine needing to cut the grass 2-3 times a week. I have wayyy to many other hobbies to salve over the yard or need to apply chemicals to slow its growth . It gets fertilized every 6 weeks during growing season, prodiamine and fungicide 2x a year. And herbicide when needed.

Don't let it grow too high, bag clippings, and keep the thatch level low. Zoysia does like heat and I'm in FL so not sure how it does where u are.

.


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## LAG Gamecock (Apr 23, 2019)

I have 6in border around my beds and have had no problems with my zoysia getting across. I had 4in before and it went under. I have Meyer zoysia from when my house was built 11 years ago.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

I had 100% bermuda. switched to zeon, it's (matrella) just significantly visually superior at .75 or 3" year round. i wish it was more disease resistant (fungal) but i would do it again and continue to (e.g. HOA areas).

bermuda will frustrate many in the summer - there are numerous posts here each year with folks asking about HOC 'resets' or "why does it look scalped after i mow". hard to deal with unless you're mowing a near pool table flat yard.

upright growth, my tifgrand may lag my zeon?


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

I got my Innovation plugs from http://www.toddvalleyfarms.com/. It was the cheapest option I found, not sure if you found anything better or not.


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## BenC (Mar 27, 2018)

Zeon zoysia grows slow, fungus susceptible, super shade tolerant, handles full sun, needs irrigation system, but bounces back from a drought too. Most importantly its simply the best grass on the planet. people love to take their shoes off in my yard.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Here are a couple closeups of my innovation zoysia plugs, today is 2 week mark. I applied another round of liquid fert today. Doing it weekly for the first month then will back off to every other week. As you can see I didn't really get the area ready for plugging, I had planned on it but actually received the shipment faster then expected and was going out of town for a few days so didn't know how they would handle sitting in a box so just planted them the best I could. I have some fescue and weeds mixed in. I will spray the weeds in a few weeks, didn't want to do it too early and harm the zoysia.

Like I said in a previous post, don't really have a plan for this area just like experimenting with different grass types. This area of my property is out of sight and in the past was not really maintained outside of weekly mowing. Right next to this area I have another plot with cool season grasses.

If the zoysia becomes too invasive or starts creeping closer to my neighbors property then I might have to spray it with glyphosate but until then going to maintain it and my cool season plots in the 1.5 to 2.5" range and just compare the looks and feel of the two throughout the different growing seasons.


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## critterdude311 (Apr 21, 2018)

tneicna said:


> I live in the upper parts of the Transition Zone and I've been very tempted to obtain Zoysia, such as Innovation Zoysia as it's a cross between Chinese Common (which is cold hardy) and has Z. matrella like quality..
> 
> (Now, if I decided to go through with this, I will be stuck with it as my neighbors will end up getting it. I want to do a lawn border with some plastic/rubber strips that are 5 or 6 inches in height. Time is running out as it's June)
> 
> ...


I'm in the process of converting my backyard over from a typical TTTF/PRG/KBG mix to Meyer Zoysia. Reason being is, many of my surrounding neighbors have it and it encroaches on my yard each year. Rather than continuously fight it chemically, I've decided to embrace it. It took several years for me to come around to it, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I appreciate the qualities of it: self-healing / no overseeding requirements, no more watering aside from occasional drought situations, little if any herbicide spraying once established, the ability to mow low during the hottest parts of the year, the carpet like texture, etc. If you have children or pets, you'll appreciate the hardiness factor -- it's ok to play! Long story short: less inputs and more time spent actually enjoying the turf. Meyer does extremely well in my area, and I'm assuming innovation would be very similar for you.

As others have mentioned, you might want to go a bit deeper than 6 inches in the ground with your barriers. It's a slow moving grass, but highly invasive in the sense that once it takes over an area, it owns it and will continue to move. If it breaks the property boundary, short of chemical solutions, it will be highly difficult to control, particularly if your neighbors are not lawn enthusiasts. It could definitely put a strain on the relationship with your neighbors if they are not onboard the Z-train.

Mow it once to twice a week in the peak season at 1.5" or lower, keep the thatch levels down, and you should have an amazing lawn once it is fully established. I find myself laying in a hammock in the backyard admiring it after a cut. I think you'll love it once established.


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

ksturfguy said:


> I got my Innovation plugs from http://www.toddvalleyfarms.com/. It was the cheapest option I found, not sure if you found anything better or not.


That's what I've looked at. I think I'm going to give it a try in a small test area, I have to come up with some creative things to keep it isolated to my property, otherwise my neighbors will complain.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

jayhawk said:


> I had 100% bermuda. switched to zeon, it's (matrella) just significantly visually superior at .75 or 3" year round. i wish it was more disease resistant (fungal) but i would do it again and continue to (e.g. HOA areas).
> 
> bermuda will frustrate many in the summer - there are numerous posts here each year with folks asking about HOC 'resets' or "why does it look scalped after i mow". hard to deal with unless you're mowing a near pool table flat yard.
> 
> upright growth, my tifgrand may lag my zeon?


Reason why Bermuda frustrates is because it is overfed. Overfed Bermuda or any other warm season grass will grow so fast that it can require a twice a day mowing to keep it down. Not twice a week, twice a day.


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

critterdude311 said:


> tneicna said:
> 
> 
> > I live in the upper parts of the Transition Zone and I've been very tempted to obtain Zoysia, such as Innovation Zoysia as it's a cross between Chinese Common (which is cold hardy) and has Z. matrella like quality..
> ...


My neighbors to my north and south are not lawn care people. They mow, and use the weedwacker - That's it. No weed control, no fert, nothing.

My biggest problem is my cool season KBG areas are killed during the heat (even with watering). There are some material reasons, such as - Dual Plane glasses reflecting heat away from the house on to the lawn.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Just know that Zoysia is even harder to get rid of than Bermuda should it end up where it is not wanted. I have seen it take over entire neighborhoods starting with one lawn. When it ends up where the person is not equipped to mow it low, it does not end well


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## Jmyler (Jun 14, 2019)

I have geo zoysia in the front and Jamur zoysia in the back. I was a Bermuda guy for a long time and I'll just never go back after having zoysia. So many great qualities. Mostly I like the fact that it doesn't "look scalped" as bad as Bermuda when your yard is less than level, as someone mentioned above. The Jamur is my favorite. It's a much wider blade than most other cultivars so it's a personal preference on that but it's just gorgeous in the summer to me and I never have to worry about thatch like the geo. Handles drought like you wouldn't believe. 
It does put out runners like crazy though. More and faster than any zoysia I've ever encountered.


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## critterdude311 (Apr 21, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> Just know that Zoysia is even harder to get rid of than Bermuda should it end up where it is not wanted. I have seen it take over entire neighborhoods starting with one lawn. When it ends up where the person is not equipped to mow it low, it does not end well


This. 100% what happened in my local area. Speaking with one of my elder neighbors, it was introduced on a single lawn years ago, and has literally taken over the neighborhood in full sun areas. Astonishing considering how far north we are for a warm season grass. It's sneaky invasive because of how slow it appears and then all of a sudden it just seems to dominate an area.

So yea, either get the neighbors on board or try to get barriers in place.


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

Does anyone here have recommendations for barriers that they have used in a similar manner?


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## ThomasPI (May 18, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Just know that Zoysia is even harder to get rid of than Bermuda should it end up where it is not wanted. I have seen it take over entire neighborhoods starting with one lawn. When it ends up where the person is not equipped to mow it low, it does not end well


Jesus that's unreal. There's no perfect grass for sure unless it's owned and maintained to the nines by someone like yourself. In our area the most common is Centipede, St Augustine, Bermuda and Zoysia and we need a salt tolerant grass since we are in the water. At least I know what I'm in for :mrgreen:


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## drewwitt (Jun 25, 2018)

Tadams1186 said:


> This type zeon zoysia is known as a slow grower and cold hardy. Mowing period of 7-10 days at recommenced height of .5"-1.5"


I have Zeon and mow every three days. In my experience mowing at the "marketing rate" means you'll end up with a taller grass which will be thinner and more prone to disease.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> Just know that Zoysia is even harder to get rid of than Bermuda should it end up where it is not wanted. I have seen it take over entire neighborhoods starting with one lawn. When it ends up where the person is not equipped to mow it low, it does not end well


You are making me regret my test plot. If I get enough cold ones in me and read this thread again I might just go out and spray it all with roundup lol.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

How do golf courses keep zoysia and the cool season turf separate? Like in my area most fairways are zoysia and the roughs are cool season, If the zoysia is so hard to control what keeps it from taking over the golf course?


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

My folks have had zoysia in their yard for 11 years. Their neighbors still dont have it and there is no barrier.


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

ksturfguy said:


> How do golf courses keep zoysia and the cool season turf separate? Like in my area most fairways are zoysia and the roughs are cool season, If the zoysia is so hard to control what keeps it from taking over the golf course?


I'm interested in this as well..


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## hefegrass (Mar 20, 2019)

I have zenith zoysia and my neighbors all have fescue..besides their seeds getting thrown in my yard by their lawn guy i dont see any of my zoysia in their lawn yet. I do have some small areas of my lawn that have bermuda in them..not sure where it came from because everyone around me has fescue. 
It is not as invasive in my flower beds as I was warned it would be..since its somewhat slow growing. I find the zoysia to be a constant maintenance hobby for me..since there was no pre-emergent put down in fall last year, this winter and spring I had heavy weed infestation..finally getting it under control and the zoysia is filling in well. I noticed that it really doesnt grow very fast until temps are 90 degrees then it goes crazy


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## critterdude311 (Apr 21, 2018)

ksturfguy said:


> How do golf courses keep zoysia and the cool season turf separate? Like in my area most fairways are zoysia and the roughs are cool season, If the zoysia is so hard to control what keeps it from taking over the golf course?


That's a great question. I can only speculate but I would assume it depends on a few variables:
* height of cut of the zoysia vs height of cut on the cool season turf
* variety of zoysia
* amount of sun
* fert/chemical schedule 
* local climate

I am located at the norther tip of the transition zone so it's relatively cool here for a warm season grass. We have a shorter growing season for it compared to a southern or tropical area which limits the speed / increases how long it may take to spread.

One thing I did for several years was cut tall. Like 4+ inches. If you cut tall and have a pre-established lawn of say fescue or KBG it is difficult for the zoysia to penetrate that in a small growing window. It will definitely mask its presence. When I cut the area low I was surprised by how much zoysia was present that I was unaware of.

Again being further north, another thing which slows zoysia is shade. It does much better in this area in full sun, so if you have a shaded area around the perimeter and you are further north it will have trouble spreading in that area.

On the chemical side, 2 things I've noticed which knock it back: weed n feed as it is leaving dormancy seems to severely injure it. The other is mesotrione (Scott's starter fert with the weed control). I'm sure there are others but the variety I have local is susceptible to those 2 chemical treatments.

Final thing would be variety of Z. I have only seen Meyer but I had read somewhere zenith and companion (seeded varieties) are not as aggressive in displacing pre-existing areas. I'm assuming different cultivars will have different levels of aggressiveness In spreading.

I'm sure the pros on the golf course have a lot more tricks than this up their sleeves, these are just things I've noticed in my 10 years dealing with it.


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## BenC (Mar 27, 2018)

@critterdude311 , the UGA charts also list mesotrione as one of the only herbicides that fescue can take but not zoysia.


Not much for Bermuda either. It's a sturdy grass.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Good to know @BenC. I guess if the zoysia plot starts spreading into neighbors property then I can hit it with some mesotrione and see if that controls it. Luckily there is couple thousand square ft separating my zoysia and the part of his property he maintains regularly.


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## BenC (Mar 27, 2018)

ksturfguy said:


> Good to know @BenC. I guess if the zoysia plot starts spreading into neighbors property then I can hit it with some mesotrione and see if that controls it. Luckily there is couple thousand square ft separating my zoysia and the part of his property he maintains regularly.


I only have zoysia experience with my lawn and one other. But, the overwhelming consensus from everyone I talk to about it is that it grows very slow here in Georgia.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

ksturfguy said:


> How do golf courses keep zoysia and the cool season turf separate? Like in my area most fairways are zoysia and the roughs are cool season, If the zoysia is so hard to control what keeps it from taking over the golf course?


A lot of mechanical edging between the two turf types.  Usage of Mesotrione(Tenacity), Topramezone(Pylex), and Ethofumesate(Prograss) on the cool season areas. Prolonged winter dormancy vs the cool season grass. As others have mentioned, the shading caused by the high HOC of cool season grass also disadvantages Zoysia. Only grass I have not seen taken over by Zoysia is St Augustine and that is because the HOC for St Augustine is much higher than what it is for Zoysia. Also, in many instances, St Augustine is being used as the turf in areas too shady for other warm season grasses.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> ksturfguy said:
> 
> 
> > How do golf courses keep zoysia and the cool season turf separate? Like in my area most fairways are zoysia and the roughs are cool season, If the zoysia is so hard to control what keeps it from taking over the golf course?
> ...


Thanks for the info. I'm guessing living in the northern part of the transition zone and the higher cut fescue around it should keep by plot somewhat contained. If not I'll get some tenacity.


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## RayTL (Jun 4, 2018)

I have a section of Zoysia in my front yard. I like how it feels under foot and I like the deep green color. I don't like how slowly it grows as it makes leveling, repairs go on forever. It also burns out quickly with the heat and I cannot cut it reel low like my bermuda. I'm not sure which cultivar I have,


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Just know that Zoysia is even harder to get rid of than Bermuda should it end up where it is not wanted. I have seen it take over entire neighborhoods starting with one lawn. When it ends up where the person is not equipped to mow it low, it does not end well


I find this amazing. Where I am (central florida) no one can get the darned stuff to grow at all, let alone take over! Many people in my neighborhood have tried zoysia and all had it die within a year or so. I actually talked to some lawn company people who were in the area one day and they said yup, people try zoysia because the sod people convince them it is more drought tolerant, but that in reality it is only tolerant after a few growing seasons - that the first year or so it is a delicate thing and needs to be babied. And for most, it dies.

Now, I'm in an area with a ton of heat, and our soil/etc are different than many places, but the idea of it being this hardy grass that will spread and take over blows my mind. Goes to show how climate and even micro climates can make such a difference. Only other thing I can think of is I bet some were not mowing low, as they were used to st augustine, and using lawn care company, etc.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Nematodes. In Florida, the soil is infested with Nematodes. The Japonica Varieties and the Matrella varielies are extremely susceptible. Only variety that has a high degree of tolerance is the Japonica x Tenufolia cross known as Emerald Zoysia. This is why Bermuda grass has been hard to keep in Florida as well. The old varieites such as 419 and 328 are extremely susceptible to Nematodes. The newer varieties such as Tifgrand and Celebration are fairly tolerant. St Augustine tends to be rather Nematode resistant.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Nematodes. In Florida, the soil is infested with Nematodes. The Japonica Varieties and the Matrella varielies are extremely susceptible. Only variety that has a high degree of tolerance is the Japonica x Tenufolia cross known as Emerald Zoysia. This is why Bermuda grass has been hard to keep in Florida as well. The old varieites such as 419 and 328 are extremely susceptible to Nematodes. The newer varieties such as Tifgrand and Celebration are fairly tolerant. St Augustine tends to be rather Nematode resistant.


Ah! That makes a ton of sense.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Reason why 419 and 328 even exist on golf courses in Florida is a rigorous nematode control program


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Hmm, now I'm wondering about common and seeded varieties vs hybrids for nematodes...I know that my whole neighborhood has common bermuda trying to invade everywhere, so it seems to do pretty well. Even now, after three separate Roundup applications I have common bermuda that just won't die. Hard to believe nematodes could kill it. Pretty sure it would survive an atom bomb.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Seeded varieties kept at 1/2- 3/4 are not hard on the eyes. It is specifically 419, 328, and Tifdwarf Bermuda that I know to be Nematode susceptible.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Seeded varieties kept at 1/2- 3/4 are not hard on the eyes. It is specifically 419, 328, and Tifdwarf Bermuda that I know to be Nematode susceptible.


Good to know. I've got Maya bermuda seed in the ground right now, hoping it does well. It performed well over all in the NTEP reports in Florida so I'm hoping it goes well.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Best advice I can give you if you want to keep Bermuda is get rid of the rotary mower and watch your fertilization rates


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Best advice I can give you if you want to keep Bermuda is get rid of the rotary mower and watch your fertilization rates


Going to start with a rotary, but it's a small yard (3K sq ft) so could do a manual rotary, but it will be a while until I can/will invest in a powered rotary. But, most of my neighbors have a salad bar that is barely mowed, let alone anything nice, so even an iffy bermuda lawn is going to be a standout around here. Put it this way, other than one person with St Augustine that has been invaded by bermuda, the best lawns on my street are the Bahia ones that at least get mown once and a while.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Seeded Bermuda can be done with a manual reel if not overfed


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> Seeded Bermuda can be done with a manual reel if not overfed


I would definitely prefer NOT to overfeed, given the water quality issues in Florida, etc. Plus, why spend money on fert you don't need 

So, agreeing with that, what is the right amount, as a general guide? Or just go by the bermuda bible?


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Right amount is 1/2 to 1/4 whatever you have heard. You also want whatever you apply to be totally controllable and predictable in effect. No slow release anything, no Milorganite.


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## daviddsims (Apr 15, 2018)

This is the first time I have heard no slow release on Zoysia. I've been applying 16-0-8 Anderson's DG on mine and it's been doing pretty well. I planned on dropping milorganite around July 4th so there would be no chance of burning.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Fertilizer burn is not my concern because I am applying such low rates. Rather I am using the N as another tool to regulate growth. Applying a slow release material with an unknown rate and duration of release is contrary to that vs applying a known quantity of N that will be done affecting growth in 30 days or less. You live at your home. I am at a lawn 4 x per month. No need for something that promises prolonged action.


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

So.. are there any places that are selling Patriot Bermudagrass plugs? That seems like it might be a better deal for me.

On a side note - My front lawn, Midnight KBG.. is once again getting nuked by high heat and reflection from the windows. hence why I was asking about the Zoysia.


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## KBfromLINY (Jul 26, 2019)

I'm in New York and I love the zoysia meyer. The problem as you already read is patience. With such a short season up north it takes so long to spread. It took even longer with my acidic soil. It's weird because some areas spread so much faster than others. Hard to tell why when they are only 6 feet from each other. The good news Is once the zoysia is established it's the baddest on the block and super durable and always stays green and thick.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> ksturfguy said:
> 
> 
> > Only grass I have not seen taken over by Zoysia is St Augustine and that is because the HOC for St Augustine is much higher than what it is for Zoysia.
> ...


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@Greendoc Just curious about the above statement.

So if one has and area "say there back lawn that is all Bermuda" and you decided you wanted to plug the area on say 6 inch centers with Zoysia.

If you stop fertilizing the Bermuda would it eventually take over?

I guess it might would take say 10 years to take over the Bermuda at Zoysia slow lateral growth rate.....OR....would you just end up with a patchy mess of two different types of grasses?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@ENC_Lawn I would say that it will take over in 2-3 years if placed on six inch centers, but you would probably still need to spray the fusillade/Triclopyr combo to get the last of the bermuda out of it.

edit - this doesn't apply if the bermuda is Celebration...(don't ask me how I know)


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@Spammage Thanks for the info.

So it sounds like its doable?

If someone wants to take the long road and plug zoysia and once its has 90% coverage...you could spray it out without hurting the Zoysia?

The exception being Celebration?

Before I joined the forum...I kept reading about how Zoysia would choke out Bermuda and any other warm season grass.

Then I joined the forum and it seems the answer "it depends" or don't fertilize the Bermuda and this gives the Zoysia a head start?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

ENC_Lawn said:


> @Spammage Thanks for the info.
> 
> So it sounds like its doable?
> 
> ...


It will, but you have to be lean with fertilizer so you don't encourage the bermuda. Celebration is VERY aggressive and can perform under lean conditions too, so that won't work with it. I would also say that this works well for the japonicas, and I'm not sure if the matrellas would be as successful since they don't spread as quickly.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@Spammage Thank you Spammage for all of the insight.

So the cliff notes are...if one wants to convert a Bermuda lawn do the following:

Preferably pick a Zoysia Japonica "for example Zenith Zoysia or Meyer Zoysia".

Plug on 6 inch centers from each other.

Water your lawn like normal but DO NOT fertilize the lawn because you could encourage the growth of Bermuda.

Sit back and wait a couple of years...and at that point you could spray out the Bermuda without hurting the Zoysia.

All of the above could be done without killing off existing Bermuda grass correct?

Thanks again!!!


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

The most aggressive and invasive cultivar is El Toro if your region is warm enough. Does not tolerate wet falls or wet springs though.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@ENC_Lawn that's pretty much the gist of it. I do have El Toro in the front yard, and I think it would actually crowd out Celebration, but that would be a Battle Royale.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> The most aggressive and invasive cultivar is El Toro if your region is warm enough. Does not tolerate wet falls or wet springs though.


Thanks @Greendoc :thumbup:


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

Spammage said:


> @ENC_Lawn that's pretty much the gist of it. I do have El Toro in the front yard, and I think it would actually crowd out Celebration, but that would be a Battle Royale.


Gotcha... thanks again for all your help and info.

Greatly appreciated @Spammage :thumbup: :nod:


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Spammage said:


> @ENC_Lawn that's pretty much the gist of it. I do have El Toro in the front yard, and I think it would actually crowd out Celebration, but that would be a Battle Royale.


El Toro takes over entire neighborhoods in Hawaii


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

KBfromLINY said:


> I'm in New York and I love the zoysia meyer. The problem as you already read is patience. With such a short season up north it takes so long to spread. It took even longer with my acidic soil. It's weird because some areas spread so much faster than others. Hard to tell why when they are only 6 feet from each other. The good news Is once the zoysia is established it's the baddest on the block and super durable and always stays green and thick.


I also live on Long island NY have zoysia in my full sun backyard and no sprinkler system. It's definitely bullet proof with easy maintenance. Two shots of Milo and a early dethatch with pre m. But the long period of dormancy and never deep green color is definitely not appealing to me


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## sabanist (Mar 28, 2019)

I planted half my front lawn with empire zoysia about 6 weeks ago. It looks great. Very nice to walk on. Ive been maintaining it higher than I would because it is pushed up to the St aug. But the st aug has just got worse and worse as the heat stress continued. No matter how much I water. my front lawn gets baked all day with no shade. the zoysia loves it.

My back yard is entirely st aug, and has a giant oak tree. that shades it part of the day. I've never seen healthier grass and I barely do anything to it besides water and

I just tilled up another 2000 sf of my front lawn, brought in 2 yards of soil, 2 yards of compost, leveled with a drag mat and now I'm getting ready to plant some more empire sod.


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

sabanist said:


> I planted half my front lawn with empire zoysia about 6 weeks ago. It looks great. Very nice to walk on. Ive been maintaining it higher than I would....


I am also a new zoysia empire user. When we bought our house earlier this year and the yard was Celebration Bermuda and it looked absolutely awful :-(

The builder put this type of turf in all of the houses here to match what is used on the adjacent golf course, but they apparently did not consider the differences between open fairway sunlight levels and the much reduced sunlight intensity between the houses.

I've had the Empire down now since April and it has grown in incredibly fast. I was actually shocked how quickly it all took.

i've slowly been dropping my HOC to attempt more of a fairway look and on my Allett cylinder mower I am at something around 1 inch, maybe a tad more.....So far so good, but I'm not sure how much lower I can go.

What height are you cutting your empire at?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I am planning on converting my front yard to Empire Zoysia and will be cutting at 1/2". I've heard it does well between 3/8" and 3/4".


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

Redtwin said:


> I am planning on converting my front yard to Empire Zoysia and will be cutting at 1/2". I've heard it does well between 3/8" and 3/4".


I would love to get mine that low @Redtwin ! I bought an Allett Liberty 43 and am cutting about halfway between 3 and 4 on the height setting. I believe 4 is 32mm, but cant recall what 3 is. It does go all the way down to about 6mm.

I have also noticed that HOC is much lower with the Allett for a given height setting than with the push mower I was using before, presumably due to weight of the machine.


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

This is about 12 week old Empire at the top Allett HOC of ~32mm (1.3" supposedly). This is actually much lower than my manual mower where I measured barely over an inch to the bed knife.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

That looks AWESOME, @TampaBayFL! I probably won't get my zoysia down until next season as I still have to build out a ditch retaining wall, back fill, level, and nuke all the Saint Augustine/Centipede that is up there now. I mow with a GM1000 (not simple to change HOC) so the Empire will get the same mower treatment as my Tifway 419.


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

Thank you @Redtwin . I probably can't take too much credit for it looking fairly decent for it being so new as mother nature has provided plenty of sunlight and heat, the reclaimed water system has provided plenty of water, and I have literally pumped this grass full of every supplement available😁

Going forward, I plan to be far more disciplined and scientific, but as a newbie and just getting it started, I have applied fairly large amounts of NPK (liquid and granular), Milorganite, iron, humic acid, fulvic acid, sea kelp, supplemental liquid N, m. fungi, etc. Since I have not been disciplined, I really don't know what has done what, but in the beginning I was just trying to pump it up to really have it grow like crazy and get settled in. It has worked as I absolutely need to mow it daily. I honestly don't mind this since it is only 2500 ft.², and I enjoy using my Allett cylinder mower. If the novelty of that wears off, and I'm sure it will, I will probably start using growth regulators as I have seen some folks here talk about.


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## WWC (Apr 19, 2020)

Yes I like it. Zoysia for life!


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@TampaBayFL your lawn looks great! Love the landscaping!!!

@WWC Beautiful lawn and color!

@Redtwin I am excited to follow your front lawn next year...based off how awesome your back lawn is!


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## sabanist (Mar 28, 2019)

TampaBayFL said:


> sabanist said:
> 
> 
> > I planted half my front lawn with empire zoysia about 6 weeks ago. It looks great. Very nice to walk on. Ive been maintaining it higher than I would....
> ...


Well, I've been at 3" because it was butting up to some st aug. I just finished removing most the st aug from the lawn and laid down another 1000 sf of zoysia. My lawn isn't the most level lawn, so I'll probably still cut it at no lower than 2" to prevent scalping


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

My lawn is fairly level, but as I have reduced the HOC, it is becoming clear it is not quite as flat as I originally thought 

Using the Allett height setting parlance, I was cutting at the setting of 4, which is about 32 mm. I've actually been slowly dropping it (it is infinitely adjustable between the major settings using the height dial) and as of today cut at 3, which is about 25 mm. I would love to get down another 5 mm or so, but that may have to wait until next year when I plan a lot of sand leveling.


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## ltsibley (Jul 30, 2019)

So I have both Zoysia and Bermuda in my front yard...I believe the Zoysia is Emerald and I'm not sure on the Bermuda...I inherited both with this house in 2013, and I didn't even think there was grass because there were so many weeds. I will say that from the time I started getting interested in actually taking _reel_ care of my yard (which started 2 years ago) that Bermuda feels and looks better. You can see in the picture below the difference in color from the B & Z...the zoysia is lighter green under the tree (HOC @ 5/8" w/ GM1000):


*GROWTH/SPREADING*: My house faces SE and we have this tree in our front yard so the Bermuda seems to hold it's ground in the sun and the Zoysia does the same in the shadier areas. This also contributes to the Zoysia growing/spreading slower as it gets less direct sunlight than the Bermuda (Emerald is also said to spread/grow slower but I feel like the less amount of sun contributes even further). I also have Bermuda in the backyard that grows faster than both the B & Z in the front. The Zoysia is slow to repair compared to Bermuda and very slow to spread compared to Bermuda.

*COLOR*: picture speaks for itself. The Bermuda is darker green than the Zoysia.

*FEEL*: Last year I cut from 7/8" to 1.25" and the Bermuda felt better at all heights IMO. It's softer, more carpet like versus the Zoysia, which feels a little prickly. Same goes for this year at a HOC of 5/8". When the fam hangs out in the front yard we'll get a blanket to sit on the Zoysia because it's prickly while the Bermuda is very soft and comfortable.

*FERTS/ETC*: These are both fed spoon fed the same amount of nutrients/chemicals, which is on the low end of N & PGR. They also both receive FEature @ 2oz/1000 rate when I spray PGR.

*WATER*: With this being in the same part of my yard as Bermuda (and the same sprinkler zone) it gets the same amount of water as the Bermuda, which is a little more than 1"/week. Given the little shade the Bermuda gets throughout the day and in the evening, it seems to thrive with just that amount of water. The Zoysia, however, started to get heat stress earlier this month and started to wilt. I hit it hard two days in a row and it came back. Not a huge deal but worth noting.

Last note, I don't dislike the Zoysia. The strip by the street is zoysia as well and it's look awesome and grows just a little faster than the zoysia under the tree. It's also not as soft or dark as the Bermuda but it looks good. Plus, I'm sure other varieties offer a better feel under bare feet. Also, the Bermuda wouldn't survive (or would be thin) in the shade I have in the front yard but the Zoysia is very thick. Anywho, I just hope to share some of my experience to help anyone considering Zoysia.


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

ltsibley said:


> Also, the Bermuda wouldn't survive (or would be thin) in the shade I have in the front yard but the Zoysia is very thick. Anywho, I just hope to share some of my experience to help anyone considering Zoysia.


I think your assessments above are spot on. Since I live on a golf course, there is a ton of really really nice Bermuda all around. It is absolutely fantastic and I would love to have something similar in my yard. The problem is shade. This stuff simply will not grow in shady areas here, even the golf course superintendent (this is a PGA Tour course) told me they don't even bother trying to get Bermuda to look any good in areas where they know it will fail over time due to insufficient sunlight. My yard was exactly this case. The spacing between houses is pretty close and there is simply not enough sunlight to make Bermuda happy, so literally everyone who still has it in their yard in my neighborhood has a pretty lousy looking side yard😩. To keep the golf course look, our HOA only allows zoysia as the other option, so that's what people are slowly switching to (and it is definitely far superior in the shady areas). During the summer months, there appears to be enough hours of sunlight per day to have the Bermuda start to come back a little bit, but as soon as the days start to get shorter, the decline starts again and the cycle repeats.......


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

ltsibley said:


> So I have both Zoysia and Bermuda in my front yard...I believe the Zoysia is Emerald and I'm not sure on the Bermuda...I inherited both with this house in 2013, and I didn't even think there was grass because there were so many weeds. I will say that from the time I started getting interested in actually taking _reel_ care of my yard (which started 2 years ago) that Bermuda feels and looks better. You can see in the picture below the difference in color from the B & Z...the zoysia is lighter green under the tree (HOC @ 5/8" w/ GM1000):
> 
> 
> *GROWTH/SPREADING*: My house faces SE and we have this tree in our front yard so the Bermuda seems to hold it's ground in the sun and the Zoysia does the same in the shadier areas. This also contributes to the Zoysia growing/spreading slower as it gets less direct sunlight than the Bermuda (Emerald is also said to spread/grow slower but I feel like the less amount of sun contributes even further). I also have Bermuda in the backyard that grows faster than both the B & Z in the front. The Zoysia is slow to repair compared to Bermuda and very slow to spread compared to Bermuda.
> ...


Wow, grass up on that tree! I'd agree short emerald blades will feel prickly.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@ltsibley awesome info...and thanks for sharing.

I have a friend who is using emerald zoysia around his flower beds and has Bermuda in the rest of the lawn.

His hope is the Emerald over time will take over the Bermuda.

In your experience in full sun which cultivar Bermuda or Zoysia seems to be taking over?


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## ltsibley (Jul 30, 2019)

ENC_Lawn said:


> @ltsibley awesome info...and thanks for sharing.
> 
> I have a friend who is using emerald zoysia around his flower beds and has Bermuda in the rest of the lawn.
> 
> ...


I'd say the Bermuda...due to the very slow spread of the Zoysia. Zoysia does have a leg up with its cold tolerance so it may be spreading longer into the season than the Bermuda. I guess it might help to keep the N on the low end in hopes to not push the Bermuda and the Zoysia seems to handle low N pretty well. I'll have a better idea later this season or beginning of next since I've been taking more pictures and paying more attention this year.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@ltsibley Gotcha....yeah keep the pictures coming when you get chance throughout the season....it helps us all see how they two cultivars blend!

Thanks!


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## ltsibley (Jul 30, 2019)

ENC_Lawn said:


> @ltsibley Gotcha....yeah keep the pictures coming when you get chance throughout the season....it helps us all see how they two cultivars blend!
> 
> Thanks!


Since everyone likes pictures here's a couple to show the recovery of the Emerald strip by the street after a heavy verticut/scalp in the early spring versus yesterday:





This strip did seem to recover fairly quickly in the spring...this strip obviously gets good sunlight so I'm sure that aided in the recovery.

Also, I may or may not have run that 1 ton asphalt roller across my entire yard several times


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@ltsibley Looks Great!!! :thumbup:


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

ltsibley said:


> ENC_Lawn said:
> 
> 
> > @ltsibley Gotcha....yeah keep the pictures coming when you get chance throughout the season....it helps us all see how they two cultivars blend!
> ...


I'm fairly confident, walking/running on that is less impact to anything. Looks dense


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## ANPT (Apr 4, 2019)

I have an older 22" Toro Recycler (149cc Kohler engine) and it can't drop below 1.5" on my Zenith Zoysia in the front yard. It's just entirely too dense and the blades stop almost immediately when trying to get it that low.

I have a push reel which is great for what it is, but it's not cutting it all that well. I basically go over it with the push reel then clean it up with the toro set slightly about 1.5".

Is there a commercial rotary that I should be looking at? I feel like all of the powered reel mowers are far too expensive for the amount of grass I actually need to cut. I've seen people touting the Honda's. Ideally i'd get something like the Gardena 380 LI but I don't think those are in stock anywhere i've looked.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

ANPT said:


> I have an older 22" Toro Recycler (149cc Kohler engine) and it can't drop below 1.5" on my Zenith Zoysia in the front yard. It's just entirely too dense and the blades stop almost immediately when trying to get it that low.
> 
> I have a push reel which is great for what it is, but it's not cutting it all that well. I basically go over it with the push reel then clean it up with the toro set slightly about 1.5".
> 
> Is there a commercial rotary that I should be looking at? I feel like all of the powered reel mowers are far too expensive for the amount of grass I actually need to cut. I've seen people touting the Honda's. Ideally i'd get something like the Gardena 380 LI but I don't think those are in stock anywhere i've looked.


How much grass are you cutting? I maintain 9K with my 26" Baroness, takes me ~1 hour.


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## ANPT (Apr 4, 2019)

Tmank87 said:


> ANPT said:
> 
> 
> > I have an older 22" Toro Recycler (149cc Kohler engine) and it can't drop below 1.5" on my Zenith Zoysia in the front yard. It's just entirely too dense and the blades stop almost immediately when trying to get it that low.
> ...


The front yard is a little less than 1k. The backyard is tiftuf but it's not super thick so the mowers have no problem back there.


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## cavince79 (Jun 18, 2019)

ANPT said:


> I have an older 22" Toro Recycler (149cc Kohler engine) and it can't drop below 1.5" on my Zenith Zoysia in the front yard. It's just entirely too dense and the blades stop almost immediately when trying to get it that low.
> 
> I have a push reel which is great for what it is, but it's not cutting it all that well. I basically go over it with the push reel then clean it up with the toro set slightly about 1.5".
> 
> Is there a commercial rotary that I should be looking at? I feel like all of the powered reel mowers are far too expensive for the amount of grass I actually need to cut. I've seen people touting the Honda's. Ideally i'd get something like the Gardena 380 LI but I don't think those are in stock anywhere i've looked.


I'm currently mowing my front Zeon Zoysia at the lowest setting (I think 1 1/8") on a Honda rotary until I can level. The Zeon is very dense, but it doesn't have a problem.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

ANPT said:


> Tmank87 said:
> 
> 
> > ANPT said:
> ...


I get it, you have too little.

Have you looked at a small 20" Tru Cut or something? The Bermuda could benefit from the reel anyway.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@jayhawk@Spammage Question for the Zoysia experts.

If the Zoysia gets overgrown say your maintaining the Zoysia at 1 inch HOC and the Zoysia gets overgrown to 2 inches or 2.5 inches.

How do you bring Zoysia back down?

Do you do a HOC reset like with Bermuda or is Zoysia different?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

ENC_Lawn said:


> @[email protected] Question for the Zoysia experts.
> 
> If the Zoysia gets overgrown say your maintaining the Zoysia at 1 inch HOC and the Zoysia gets overgrown to 2 inches or 2.5 inches.
> 
> ...


If it's a one off situation like a vacation, then I just cut it down to where I want it. Zoysia can get puffy like bermuda though slowly over the season and need dethatching/verticutting and a reset of the height. My El Toro in the front yard gets full sun all year and needs this done now actually.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@Spammage Thanks for the info!

Do you ever scalp to the dirt like with Bermuda...or is that just during the spring green up?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

ENC_Lawn said:


> @Spammage Thanks for the info!
> 
> Do you ever scalp to the dirt like with Bermuda...or is that just during the spring green up?


Just during the Spring scalp.


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## sirwired (May 21, 2020)

ANPT said:


> I have an older 22" Toro Recycler (149cc Kohler engine) and it can't drop below 1.5" on my Zenith Zoysia in the front yard. It's just entirely too dense and the blades stop almost immediately when trying to get it that low.
> 
> I have a push reel which is great for what it is, but it's not cutting it all that well. I basically go over it with the push reel then clean it up with the toro set slightly about 1.5".
> 
> Is there a commercial rotary that I should be looking at? I feel like all of the powered reel mowers are far too expensive for the amount of grass I actually need to cut. I've seen people touting the Honda's. Ideally i'd get something like the Gardena 380 LI but I don't think those are in stock anywhere i've looked.


For Zenith 1 1/2" is the suggested cutting height; it's designed to be cut higher than finer-bladed Zoysias.


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## ANPT (Apr 4, 2019)

sirwired said:


> ANPT said:
> 
> 
> > I have an older 22" Toro Recycler (149cc Kohler engine) and it can't drop below 1.5" on my Zenith Zoysia in the front yard. It's just entirely too dense and the blades stop almost immediately when trying to get it that low.
> ...


Have any proof of that, the technical guide says 3/4" to 1-1/2".


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@ANPT @sirwired the grass wasn't "designed" with any cutting height in mind. The patent holders though probably indicated that 1.5" was "ideal" based on many factors. Zenith, like most zoysia japonica cultivars, can be maintained at .5", but this requires a higher level of maintenance and/or inputs like growth regulators. Most people don't want zoysia for keeping it at 1/2" though and are buying into the marketing hype about it being low maintenance and slow growing. Sirwired is correct that the matrella varieties can typically be maintained at a lower cutting height, with some being capable of being used for greens.


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## Rammy1546 (Jan 3, 2020)

I can tell you first hand, that the finer blades zoysia can handle a tighter, lower cut than the wider zoysias.

Fine blades Zorro in the back can handle 1.25 all day long. Meyer z-52 in the front can, but if you have any spots that are weaker than others and aren't exactly perfect, that extra .50 inch at 1.75 covers the up plus allows for less weed pressure.

That's the main difference I have seen in wide blade vs narrow blade zoysia. The wide blade sometimes doesn't grow as dense leaving spots in the yard for weeds to come in.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

I mow my Palisades at just under 1". Seems to like it.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@Tmank87 Looks great!

How often are you having to mow to keep it at less than 1 inch HOC and not scalp?


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

ENC_Lawn said:


> @Tmank87 Looks great!
> 
> How often are you having to mow to keep it at less than 1 inch HOC and not scalp?


Thanks!

When I'm under regulation I normally cut once every 5 days or so. When I'm not, I TRY to cut about every 3rd day. With two little ones it doesn't always work out. If it does go past 3 days I typically double cut or else I have some stragglers.

That said, I haven't experienced my Zoysia scalping like the Bermuda guys talk about. The only time I really have experienced a major scalp is literally bottoming the blades out, not from cutting off too much material.

I personally haven't leveled but plan to next year to see how that treats me.

I will have given the turf about 2.5#/K N this season through spoon feedings (.25 each) of Peter's 20-20-20 just as reference for growth speed.

A few more glamour shots :lol:


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

ENC_Lawn said:


> @[email protected] Question for the Zoysia experts.
> 
> If the Zoysia gets overgrown say your maintaining the Zoysia at 1 inch HOC and the Zoysia gets overgrown to 2 inches or 2.5 inches.
> 
> ...


Thx for the promotion....
In that hypothetical, (1" maintened suddenly gets to 2" ) I'd bring it down straight away. 
over a week or two doesn't hurt either, probably more physically bearable. What's the question behind the question? 

Yes, zoysia grows more upright (I don't know 
the best way to describe) and won't need a 'reset' as most the blade is green.


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

Tmank87 said:


> I mow my Palisades at just under 1". Seems to like it.


Beautiful @Tmank87 !

I have empire and currently seem to be stuck at around 1.25" HOC. If I go any lower I get too much scalping in certain areas😩


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

jayhawk said:


> ENC_Lawn said:
> 
> 
> > @[email protected] Question for the Zoysia experts.
> ...


@jayhawk Thanks for the info! :thumbup:

I'm Trying to learn all I can about Zoysia...so If I ever have chance to do a redo...I can have more information to help pick the cultivar!


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## BakerGreenLawnMaker (Mar 13, 2018)

I have Royal Zoysia, I keep it mowed anywhere from 0.5"-1.5". I love it!


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

BakerGreenLawnMaker said:


> I have Royal Zoysia, I keep it mowed anywhere from 0.5"-1.5". I love it!


@BakerGreenLawnMaker Beautiful!!!


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## sabanist (Mar 28, 2019)

couple questions if anyone can help me

My zoysia lawn is pretty bumpy. I'm reading where everyone is taking their zoysia down to below 2". I think if I tried 2.5" right now I'd have quite a bit of scalping.

The lawn is only a little over a week old for half of it, and about 3 weeks old for the other half. should I wait til spring, then scalp and level? Or do it before the growing season ends in mid october?

I was also thinking of renting a lawn roller and giving that a try. Anyone done this?

Thanks


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

@sabanist .... I am in a similar boat as you. I am actually in the process of raising my HOC up for the exact reasons you mentioned. It is simply too difficult to keep it at around 1 inch. At quick glance, my lawn looks flat, but as I started cutting it shorter and shorter it became obvious that there were a number of areas they were fairly bumpy, and this was causing a problem with the lower cut heights. In my case, my mower (which just last month I spent a small fortune on) in stock form won't go much higher than about 1.2 inches . So, I've had to figure out a way to raise the height of cut by modifying the roller assembly a little bit.

Also, my sod is fairly new as well as it went down in April if memory serves. The ground was fairly flat when it was put down, and it was also rolled. The humps seem to have developed over time as everything settled. I have done a little bit of sand leveling on it, but once I realized how ugly things would look for awhile, I decided to simply raise the current height for now and reconsider cutting lower next year after significant scalping and leveling. But, I'm going to try the higher height first and see if I like the appearance. I have seen a few other zoysia lawns around 2 inch and they really do look pretty fantastic.


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## mitch1588 (May 8, 2020)

@sabanist, Not surprised you are getting scalping if your try to go below 2" with a rotary push mower. Zoysia really likes a reel mower. With the new sod, I would wait until Spring to level. A lawn roller is a good idea in the meantime.

@TampaBayFL, I am surprised you are scalping with a reel mower. I assume you have roller in the front and back of the Allett, correct? I am guessing it is just going to take some time for the sod to settle and root in. Should get better with time. Just keep up with regular mowing and regular fungicide/fertilizer/humic/fulvic applications.


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

mitch1588 said:


> @TampaBayFL, I am surprised you are scalping with a reel mower. I assume you have roller in the front and back of the Allett, correct? I am guessing it is just going to take some time for the sod to settle and root in. Should get better with time. Just keep up with regular mowing and regular fungicide/fertilizer/humic/fulvic applications.


@mitch1588 ....Yes, Im using the Allett with front and rear rollers. Ive been fighting the scalping in areas all summer and have finally concluded I am either going to have to cut higher or level. Im choosing the higher cut for now as the thought of a real leveling (and looking at that mess for a few months) is too daunting........so Im thinking maybe a hard spring scalp then a significant leveling project may be in the cards. Alternately, if I end up liking the higher cut, maybe Ill just live with it.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Thread is off the rails ...

i don't know that a common roller will do much at this point. Well saturated, with a small asfault like roller, yeah.


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## MDJoe (Sep 16, 2019)

I have patches of Meyer Zoysia (I think it's Meyer - light green, house built in the 70s). It does look great in the peak of summer when the cool-season grasses falter. It IS hard to cut, and has a "scalped" look even if I don't change the HOC sometimes.

It does spread, but not so aggressively I can't keep up. My main complaint is that it's often straw brown until May. My blooming spring landscape (bulbs etc) looks better against green grass than straw...

If not for that, I'd make a whole yard out of it.


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