I need to Kill Zoisia!

[PaproskiLandscaping]

I just got a call to look at a new customer's lawn. The owner has about a 5,000 square foot front yard. About 60% is zoisia, the other parts are KB, Fescue, Rye mixes. He was asking about his options but was leaning towards having the zoisia removed and reseeding with KB, Fescue, Rye. He does not like how brown it gets in the winter and how it doesn't grow in the shady areas. He is also looking to create more of a monoculture.

So the question is: has anyone ever removed a large amount of zoisia before. None of my other customers have zoisia so I have no experience dealing with it. What is the procedure? Spray it? Use a sod cutter? Rototill it and harley rake it?

Or will he be better off trying to improve the existing stand of zoisia and possibly slice seeding with rye?

The front yard is flat and properly drained. The edges are shady and there are a fair amount of obstacles (trees, beds, well cover etc) to work around. I have not gotten a soil test yet, but as soon as things thaw out I will have it off to the co-op.

[fparella]

I've done it several times with mixed results. I have used a sod cutter a bobcat and a slice seeder. The best results I've had was waiting until late summer(August here in Ma)spraying with something like round up, waiting to be shure that it all dies and re- treating if necessary, then slice seeding with a desirable mix. The trick is the complete erradecation of the zozya or it will come back.

Good luck*trucewhiteflag*

[lawn king]

Zoisia grass is a nightmare plant with roots from hell! It always seems to come back eventually! If the budget is there, i would kill it this spring as soon as it greens up, remove the lawn & the top six inches (at least) of top soil & reinstall from scratch. If there is irrigation there you're screwed.

[DLAWNS]

Zoisia grass is a nightmare plant with roots from hell! It always seems to come back eventually! If the budget is there, i would kill it this spring as soon as it greens up, remove the lawn & the top six inches (at least) of top soil & reinstall from scratch. If there is irrigation there you're screwed.

I couldn't have said it better myself. That stuff is the biggest headache I've ever dealt with.

[lawnpro724]

I couldn't have said it better myself. That stuff is the biggest headache I've ever dealt with.

Yes it is a real pain to get rid of but its also one of the nicest lawns you can have. I love mine and if you take good care of it, its the most weed proof lawn out there.

[DLAWNS]

Oh, I definitely agree, but I hate dealing with it when a customer wants to be rid of it. The only thing I don't like about having it as a lawn is that it takes forever to wake up in the spring and goes dormant in like November. It's just brown more than its green, at least where I'm at.