St Augustine sometimes gets purple tips in harsh winter. It might be normal for your zoysia. When you read the original ads for Empire zoysia they probably talked about disease resistance. As you can see, it does get disease. When that happens the grass is dead and will not come back except as it spreads back from outside the dead areas. You can buy more sod and dig out what you have but otherwise you have to wait for it to fill back. That is one of the main reasons people in my neighborhood abandon zoysia and go to St Augustine. St Aug also gets disease but it usually grows back the same year. Your areas might not recover for several years due to the slow growth of Empire. Also kids can damage zoysia. The grass blades break off leaving you with a "path" of very low growing grass where they played. This is another reason people abandon zoysia. If you decide to try a different grass, consider Floratam St Augustine. It was developed by the University of Florida and Texas A&M University to withstand the typical stresses of our climates and conditions. I just put a couple pieces into my common St Augustine lawn to see how it does. It is just coming out of dormancy now so we'll see how it does and report back later. No matter what lawn you have, you should water it deeply and infrequently. Deeply means for an hour or so at a time. Infrequently means no more than once a month during the cooler parts of the year and no more than once a week during the hottest part of summer. Your sunlight, wind, humidity, and soil type will cause you to adjust from that regimen but many many people reading here have turned their lawns around by changing their watering practices. I know I'm one who has. And it was a Phoenix-based lawn contractor who convinced me to do it like that, so if they can do it in Phoenix, you can do it in Florida.

jimmygiii I used to try to time my watering with the wilting of the blades. I was using a rotary impact type sprinkler like all the magazines told me I was supposed to use. Unfortunately those things leave a lot of lawn unwatered. I spend one day watering and the rest of the week trying to catch up with the wilty spots that didn't get watered. Last year I went back to the oscillating type sprinkler. I've had every sprinkler at least twice and the oscillator at least four times. Now I have two of them and love them for my yard. I don't get enough wind down under the tree canopy to blow the water around so it works great for me. But as to wilting, I don't wait that long anymore. Everyone should adjust their watering by something and I prefer to anticipate the wilting and water a little early. When I waited for the grass to wilt, it never developed the density I was looking for. Now it does. 2.75" is a little short for the best appearance and least overall maintenance in my opinion. I mow at my rotary's highest setting and I'm seeing a lot more lawns mowed up high. If the grass is not dense, mowing high allows it to fall over so there is that to consider. If your density is good then mowing higher allows deeper root development, longer water retention in the soil (less evaporation), and less chance of weeds. I get my quiet serenity, such as it is, from an electric mower. I can't quite have a comfortable conversation with it running, but I can at least know if someone wants to talk without shouting.

You have already put down iron. Did it need it in the first place?. Anyway Zoysia grass only needs two fertilizer applications per year. Once in the spring when it greens up, and another about 8 to 10 weeks later and you are done for the year til next spring.

Our company is the developer and patent holder of Empire Zoysia. We do not recommend a 1-0-1 fertilizer, but rather a fertilizer with a 1-0-1 ratio. An ideal fertilizer would be a 15-0-15 in the spring, or a 20-0-15 if your lawn appears to be lacking in nutrients. One way to get the green without the N is to use iron that can be found in products such as Ironite. Be sure to apply an insecticide such as Bayer Advanced Grub control annually in the spring to prevent billbugs and other insects. Empire is typically pretty resistant to fungus and disease, but occasionally in wet conditions problems can arise. If you see sudden browning in spots, it usually a fungus issue and a systemic fungicide should be applied and will cure the issue. The link I included is to the maintenance page for Empire on our site. If you have any other questions let us know. If you would like more info on fertility, be sure to check out the post on understanding fertilizer on our Turf Talk blog. Good Luck! Drew Wagner Sod Solutions Inc. Here is a link that might be useful: Empire Zoysia Maintenance Schedule