Zoysia Install

[Landscape Poet]

Just thought I would throw up a few pics of a Zoysia install done today. Not a huge fan of Zoysia, mainly because they have gotten every home owner in FL to by into their marketing that it is the perfect miracle grass, but from a profitability standpoint I am learning to love it

[Florida Gardener]

Not a miracle grass, but chinch resistant and you can get rid of grassy weeds with chems. Needs to be cut with a reel though which is a good or bad thing depending on who you talk to.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Ric]

Originally Posted by diamondlandscaping

Not a miracle grass, but chinch resistant and you can get rid of grassy weeds with chems. Needs to be cut with a reel though which is a good or bad thing depending on who you talk to.
Posted via Mobile Device

Chris

Weed free because it is tolerant of just about any herbicide. But watch out for the Fungus. I am not real sold on Zoysia either.

[greendoctor]

A zoysia lawn is the only one I can think of that can be restored from years of neglect and improper maintenance. It is the only grass in my area that will come back if it has not been irrigated. St augustine and bermuda are quickly lost if not cared for and irrigated. Zoysia will get dollar spot, leaf spot and sometimes brown patch. It is nothing like bermuda, though. In the 1990's, I know of many people that lost their hybrid bermuda to Take All, forcing them to convert to zoysia.

[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by diamondlandscaping

Not a miracle grass, but chinch resistant
Posted via Mobile Device

This is only one of the things that get me with customers and the marketing. The tell them this and I get calls for Zoysia because the homeowner will tell me on how he will not have to pay for a L & O companies.
That followed by them telling me that it is drought resistant and they will save so much on their water bill

They have no idea about fungal issues with it, they have no idea that IMHO they are trying to get a lower maintenance turf, when again IMHO they are getting a higher maintenance turf.

[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by diamondlandscaping

Needs to be cut with a reel though which is a good or bad thing depending on who you talk to.
Posted via Mobile Device

Not really - might be better for sure but you have to remember that if the land is prepped and graded properly you CAN cut and maintain this turf in a attractive manner just fine with a rotary mower. I can assure you that their is enough Zoysia up north being cut with out a reel mower that it is not needed, again, in a ideal world, maybe.

Ric - given your experience answer me this. What is the ideal height for cutting Zoysia. U of G says 1 to 1.5 inches is preferred from my course work. 2 inches from U of F. Most L & O 's I have talked to hear prefer the 2 inch what is your opinion given empire in our environment and why? The answer I have been most commonly given is that given the dense stand - that cutting higher/allowing to grow higher is much more likely to create fungal issues - any truth in your opinion on that?

[Plantculture]

IMO
It depends on the variety of Zoysia. The 'Cashemere' around here is typically mowed at .5 inches and 'Diamond' can be mowed at greens height.
I've seen 'Ultimate flora' and 'Empire' mowed at 2" with a rotary, and also mowed at about .75". The shorter looks 10x better.

[Ric]

Originally Posted by greendoctor

A zoysia lawn is the only one I can think of that can be restored from years of neglect and improper maintenance. It is the only grass in my area that will come back if it has not been irrigated. St augustine and bermuda are quickly lost if not cared for and irrigated. Zoysia will get dollar spot, leaf spot and sometimes brown patch. It is nothing like bermuda, though. In the 1990's, I know of many people that lost their hybrid bermuda to Take All, forcing them to convert to zoysia.

Green

Interesting you say Zoysia will come back from a drought. I really don't have that many Zoysia accounts, but. I had a customer who turned off his water and let his Zoysia go totally dry thinking it was going to go dormant and then come back. Trouble was it just died and never came back.

Because Zoysia grows so slow it is a real PITA to get to fill in.


Mikey

Take Plantcultures answer because I really don't have an answer about mowing height for you.

[bugsNbows]

I'm becoming a zoysia fan. However, it's not a miracle grass.... there are none of those. We are seeing a lot of conversions here (from SA) primarily due to the chinch bug issues. Most of the new installs are with Empire although there has been some Jamur and El Torro I'm told. The Ultimate Flora lawns turned into disasters. On one street, we have two (approx 12-15K) Empire lawns. One is cut at 3/4 inch, the other about 2". They are both beautiful, although I prefer the short cut. Regarding drought tolerance, once the zoysia has established on site (6 mos. minimum) it can recover from drought damage quite well. This is primarily due to the presence of both rhizomes and stolons from which to re-grow. SA only has stolons... once they croak it's game over.

[Florida Gardener]

Originally Posted by Michael Geist Yard Works

Not really - might be better for sure but you have to remember that if the land is prepped and graded properly you CAN cut and maintain this turf in a attractive manner just fine with a rotary mower. I can assure you that their is enough Zoysia up north being cut with out a reel mower that it is not needed, again, in a ideal world, maybe.

Ric - given your experience answer me this. What is the ideal height for cutting Zoysia. U of G says 1 to 1.5 inches is preferred from my course work. 2 inches from U of F. Most L & O 's I have talked to hear prefer the 2 inch what is your opinion given empire in our environment and why? The answer I have been most commonly given is that given the dense stand - that cutting higher/allowing to grow higher is much more likely to create fungal issues - any truth in your opinion on that?

Yes, you can cut empire with a rotary, but a reel will give an overall better look. It is the same as pruning ornamentals with felcos vs. using a trimmer. Plus, I can do a zoysia yard faster and better with my Tru-cut AND charge more than using a rotary.
Posted via Mobile Device