Zoysia Grass - Need advice

10 years ago

I am preparing to get grass going in my backyard. I tentatively intend to lay zoysia sod a 1000 square foot area on a slope near my house, and seed the rest (~10,000 sq ft) of the yard I have two questions:

1 - My sod options are El Torro and Cavalier Zoysia - which will look most similar to the seeded varieties, can anyone recommend one over the other to me?

2 - I am looking at zenith and compadre zoysia seed, and I have found a blend of the two sold by superseedstore.com - I could not find any reviews or examples of anyone having blended the two, can anyone share any input on whether I should seed zenith, compadre, or a blend?

Addtional Info: I am located between Sanford and Spring Lake, NC, around 50 miles southwest of Raleigh. My yard is part shade due to a couple of trees. I have sandy, slightly acidic soil, but intend to do amendments prior to seeding/sodding. I have bermudagrass in front that I love and is thriving, but I feel I zoysia will do better in my shady backyard, and I don't want to spend as much on fertilizer as I do for the bermuda. I also have found I need to mow the bermuda every 4 days or so to keep it looking best, and would prefer to mow the back only weekly. I have a fairly high-traffic yard (frequent cookouts, and a large dog.)

Thanks in advance for any input/advice!

This post was edited by Sandhills_NC on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 21:33

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Comments (6)

weed_cutter
10 years ago
I have no experience with the seed myself, but this may help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardenweb
BonesD
9 years ago
http://youtu.be/Ya-kwDt5tYs

The above link is of what we hope is ZenithZoysia that we seeded last year. Germination was very sparse. We don't know if this grass is the Zenith Zoysia or not. It does not look like Bermuda. It has only grown in clumps so far. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: Zenith Zoysia
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If you're not going to water in the summer, then anything but St Aug will be better than St Aug. It will die if not watered once a month or so. If the zoysia does not do well in the shade, then St Aug is the only option. So then, in prep for sod, no need to rototill or aerate. Just rake or scrape off the surface dead growth. Then lay the sod. Make sure they leave no gaps between sod pieces. The sod pieces should be staggered meaning that it should not look like a checkerboard. They should roll the sod down to ensure good contact between the roots and the soil. Then start watering briefly (5-10 minutes), 3x per day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner times), for the next 2 weeks. Then check a few pieces to see if they have knit to the soil. Try lifting a corner. By then the roots should be biting into the soil. Then you can back off on watering until you are watering deeply (1 inch) and infrequently (once per week max during the hottest heat of summer). That watering schedule may be much different from what your neighbors say and all your local advice, but their daily watering schedule does not develop a great root system. Daily watering also encourages every weed seed to sprout, and you don't want that. So as soon as the sod knits down, start backing off on the watering frequency. Are you interested in an inexpensive organic fertilizing routine. Here is a picture of a zoysia lawn with a handful of alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) applied a month earlier... You can see the improved color, density and growth. Alfalfa is usually applied at 15-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can buy it at any feed store in 50-pound bags. You and your daughter might appreciate organic.
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dchall_san_antonio
9 years ago
You're not going to be happy with zoysia. The shade is going to be a problem and the traffic will wear paths through it that will never recover. Zoysia is notoriously s-l-o-w to respond to wear and tear.

There are no great northern grass options for shade and high traffic. Fescue will do okay in shade but will not recover from wear. Kentucky bluegrass recovers from wear but will not do well in shade.

You might think about establishing a grassy area with zoysia and some planned pathways through it following the paths you know already exist. Many years ago we built a path from the back of our deck over to the garage where the dog had worn a path. The path was wood with pressure treated 4x4s set into the ground following a curve and pressure treated planks screwed into the 4-bys. The path was 4 feet wide so two people could walk on it. It looked great and lasted fine for 10 years until we remodeled. Later we put some flag stones off to the side by the garage and put the Weber grill out there. The dog seemed to prefer walking on the deck out to the garage, so all was great.
BonesD
9 years ago
Thank you for the reply and the inputs. Were you able to view my short video to determine if the stuff growing is Zoysia. Also I am wondering why you think I have shade. I guess we are neighbors. We live in Georgetown Tx.
dchall_san_antonio
9 years ago
BonesD, I was not replying to you. If you want replies to your issue, you should start a new thread. Your lawn looks blurry and out of focus ;-) It also looks like it has an understory of live oak leaves, which, had I been replying to you, would be a big clue that your grass is under a tree or two. And armed with the knowledge that you are in Georgetown, I would have about a 90% chance of being right about being under shade. My daughter is at Southwestern. But even in the blurry state, the grass looks like St Augustine. Whatever it was that you planted, was it supposed to be fine bladed or coarse? St Aug is what 80% of the successful lawns are in your area. Why not go with the flow?
BonesD
9 years ago
My first inclination is to try to reply with a thinly disguised rude response
but I will try to resist. Yes my video is lacking in quality but if you think that is St Augustine you may want to have another expert check your own yard out. After owning and maintaining homes with St Augustine grass since the
mid sixties not only can I identify it I can despise it as well. Shame on me for trying something different!
What we planted was Zenith Zoysia seed. If anyone can tell me from the lousy video if this is what it should look like I would appreciate it. This is all I asked to begin with. I have never seen StAugustine grow in clumps or have thin pointed blades like the grass in the video. Thanks ahead of time for any helpful info. We already know that growing from seed is tough to do and are willing to spend a few years establishing this yard. We bought it because it is supposed to be drought tolerant, low maintenance, shade OK, etc.
Sorry for diving into the original post but I figured anyone monitoring it would have Zoysia experience and possibly I could benefit from this.

Zoysia Grass - Need advice

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weed_cutter

BonesD

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