# Zoysia advice needed



## S281346 (Sep 15, 2018)

Decided to cancel my Tifgrand order and switch to a Zoysia grass since I have some shade issues (3 to 4 hrs of sun)on the left side of my house. Im not too confident the Tifgrand would do that good. I'm currently mowing with a TruCut mower and would like a Zoysia to be cut less than an inch. I've been told either Zeon or Emerald Zoysia would be best. I like the dark green color from the Tifgrand so I'm not sure which Zoysia would closest to it. I live in Dallas Tx area and have a sprinkler system. I tried to do my research but there's a lot of info on this site lol. 1. Does Zoysia require more water? 2. Does it require as much mowing? 3. Is it hard on my mower - more wear and tear? 4. What's the worst thing about Zoysia?


----------



## Gregau33 (Apr 15, 2018)

I have Empire Zoysia, and I love it. I mow mine high but it is incredibly thick and stripes great. I also don't have one tree planted in my yard (for that reason). I cut my zoysia twice a week and it looks really good. It does put a beating on your blades because of how thick the turf is. I sharpen my rotary blade at least every 2 weeks... Sometimes weekly. You might have to backlap your reel a little more than you had to while mowing Bermuda.

If you are going to cut under an inch, you will be cutting 2 to 3 times a week so you don't break the 1/3 rule. My zoysia doesn't need to be watered any more than any other grass type I have had in the past.

Just know that area under your tree is never ever going to look that great, even with a zoysia lawn. It might do a little better than Bermuda, but not by much. 3 or 4 hours of sun is not enough sunlight for any grass type to thrive or even survive in some cases.


----------



## drewwitt (Jun 25, 2018)

I live in San Antonio. I have Zeon. Zeon loves both full sun and shade. It need half the N per year than Bermuda (1-3lb/1000), about 1.25" water per week, and since it's slow growing, you can get away mowing it once every 7-10 days. 1" is a good HOC. It's really soft and great for barefoot.

Con: its slow growing so it doesnt repair as rapidly as Bermuda.

however, for people looking for low maintenance grass, Zeon is great.


----------



## Iriasj2009 (Feb 15, 2017)

Looks like you have tifgrand already and I bet zeon or zorro would do a lot better in the shaded sections, however, the color won't be as dark green as your Bermuda. I feel like zoysia has more of an emerald green color vs the dark green color of tifgrand. I bet Celebration Bermuda would blend in better and it performs a lot better than tifgrand In the shade. Just thought I'd share..


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

As one who did what you suggest, my feedback is Zeon has the edge on color, it's not dramatic though. I have both you mention.

3-4 (and in reality, it's hard for us to accurately know) is low. Get a light (DLI) meter maybe?

Geo is another low light option ....it's surprised me on a neighbors situation. Some talk as if Zoysia is all the same....some require more sun than others.

More water? I don't know ...rounding error. It will show drought stress earlier than but rebound when watered.

I cut 2x week at .5", conservative on water supplement and N. Taller, one a week is enough.

Zoysia blades have a higher tensile strength so it wears out the edge faster....so maybe you'll need to backlap 1 or 2 times more than if it was Bermuda. Those with taller and using rotary...better bring the torque!


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Shade will slow down growth, rooting etc. so you won't be mowing those areas as often.


----------



## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

S281346 said:


> Decided to cancel my Tifgrand order and switch to a Zoysia grass since I have some shade issues (3 to 4 hrs of sun)on the left side of my house. Im not too confident the Tifgrand would do that good. I'm currently mowing with a TruCut mower and would like a Zoysia to be cut less than an inch. I've been told either Zeon or Emerald Zoysia would be best. I like the dark green color from the Tifgrand so I'm not sure which Zoysia would closest to it. I live in Dallas Tx area and have a sprinkler system. I tried to do my research but there's a lot of info on this site lol. 1. Does Zoysia require more water? 2. Does it require as much mowing? 3. Is it hard on my mower - more wear and tear? 4. What's the worst thing about Zoysia?


Call Trinity Turf Farms and see if you can arrange to look at their Diamond. It's the only zoysia that I think might blend with your bermuda. It does require more water than bermuda, but Diamond grows very slowly.


----------



## Gregau33 (Apr 15, 2018)

I guess I should have said in my previous post that some zoysia tolerates shade better than other varieties of zoysia, but no type of zoysia is going to look great with 3 or 4 hours of sun. It might survive however. My mistake.

Is it possible to raise the canopy of your tree and/or go in and thin it out some? Or maybe a storm or chainsaw can knock it down 

I mostly deal with El Toro and Empire (and some Geo) varieties of Zoysia in my area. And I can tell you that the areas of zoysia under trees really struggle compared to other areas. Please keep us updated on your progress with this project. Looking forward to see how it turns out.


----------



## S281346 (Sep 15, 2018)

Thanks for all the info. After countless YouTube videos and google searching I've decided to go with Trinity (LF1) Zoysia and raise my tree canopy. Had a good conversation with Bladerunner and Hawian Turfgrass lol about Tifgrand and Zoysia. I get the sod tomorrow and post pictures soon. Wish me luck as this is a new Zoysia and hardly any info out there.


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

On Twitter, the bluejack tiger woods course (near HOU) super is a good follow.


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Being in the vanguard ....requires a reno or dedicated thread for the fine blade zoysia followers


----------



## lucas287 (Jun 3, 2018)

I'm intrigued by this new Trinity Zoysia! I hope it works for you.

Any thoughts on blending Zoysia with Tif 419? I have a few shaded areas that don't agree with the 1" HOC the rest of the lawn gets.


----------



## Stellar P (Apr 13, 2018)

jayhawk said:


> On Twitter, the bluejack tiger woods course (near HOU) super is a good follow.


Is that course Zoysia? I guess I can grow it then!


----------



## jonthepain (May 5, 2018)

Looking forward to seeing how the trinity works out.

In my experience, zeon gradually fades away with less than 8 hours of direct sun, despite the marketing claims.


----------



## LowCountryCharleston (Jun 21, 2018)

S281346 said:


> Thanks for all the info. After countless YouTube videos and google searching I've decided to go with Trinity (LF1) Zoysia and raise my tree canopy. Had a good conversation with Bladerunner and Hawian Turfgrass lol about Tifgrand and Zoysia. I get the sod tomorrow and post pictures soon. Wish me luck as this is a new Zoysia and hardly any info out there.


Looking forward to hear how it all went and see the new pics. I am thinking of redoing my front lawn to Zoysia so will look forward to your update.


----------



## Rpatterson (Jul 13, 2018)

Any updates? I looked at getting L1F for my back/side yard which got the following DLI from a partly cloudy day... 10-14 Mol, 500-750 intensity. I measured a spot that gets the least sun and I'm hoping to find something that'll work.


----------



## friscolawner (Sep 24, 2018)

it is very good option and looks great but 
How tall Trinity can be ? in document it say, less than .5 ?


----------



## S281346 (Sep 15, 2018)

Love the Zoysia. Have had some ups and downs with it. Grows real thick. Had my Trucut P20 at 1" cutting height and it crept up to 2 1/2 inches. Smh. Crazy how I didn't even realize it. Had to scalp it recently and it's coming back nicely. Not sure if it's the Trucut but blades get dull with The Trinity Zoysia. Had to sharpen them a couple times this year. Test driving a Swardsman Edwin 45 and Electra 22" reel mower. First mow tonight with the Electra and can't say enough about it. Feel like a kid with a new toy. Couldn't imagine it would this much better of a cut and feel over my Trucut.


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Looks great in pictures. Shaded areas, doing ok...less dense but surviving?


----------

