[Jimmy348]

I have "zoisa" spelled wrong I'm sure
I have been mulching and found a great deal of dead clippings in the grass.
I was thinking of renting a power rake, getting rid of the dead clippings and seeding.
Question, i have been told that the "zoise" will smother any new type of grass and that this smother is actually how it prevents weeds from growing.
If applicable and i go ahead with the plan what type of grass should i use and how much damage will a power rake do?
Also, do i need to fert after the seeding takes place?
Thanks, NJ temp 70-75 now with lots of sun during day and down to 50-60 at night

 

[KerryB]

Dont think you want to overseed Zoysia. They say not to overseed Centepede but we do will no harmful effects but the Zoysia is a different animal all together.
Power raking is ok while the lawn is actively growing.
One of the better LCOs in the area took over a new lawn and raked out the heavy thatch and the lawn is doing great. Ask Longslawn he is a member of this site and has much more experience with this grass.

 

[GLAN]

Your Zoyzia will be going dormant with the approaching cooler weather.

Wait till spring to power rake.

 

[Jimmy348]

Thank you
I did start raking with a steel rake though and a 5 x 5 area produced two bags of clippings. Think I will be scraping that plan altogether

 

[GroundKprs]

You can powerrake zoysia, but you will open up the soil surface to weed germination. Best management practice for zoysia is scalping: When the zoysia has greened up about 25% in the springtime, mow it as short as possible. I have been able on some to get down to 1", but it will take a long time, sometimes up to 6x the normal mowing time. Zoysia is tough stuff, and dead zoysia is really tough. Of course, you have to bag this cut, or you will smother the lawn with the clippings.

The reasons: zoysia ia a very tough blade - high in lignin, I believe. Note how stiff and upright they grow. Any grass replaces old blades with new ones, and the old dead blades just decay. But dead zoysia blades can stand there for a long time (years?). So by scalping in the spring, you are cutting these old dead blades down to where they will not be visible during normal mowing during the season. And you will have a knockout lawn in July and August.