I have used my manual reel mower on 1/2 acre lawn in KY. If I let the grass get too tall I need to do 2-3 passes usually one way then the other to get a decent job. They are alot of work too with this size yard. Takes at least twice as long as my Snapper. I would also say not quite as nice of job as the Snapper but that is my opinion & maybe it's because it is too tall. For small yards you will likely be fine be keep it cut regularly and keep the blades sharp. Learn to do it yourself as the cost of having someone else do it will add up usually between $5-10 a pop 2-3 times a season is helpful. If you are not used to these type you will get sore in areas that you did not know muscles existed on a larger lawn as well. My yard take 1.5-2 hrs with the Snapper but plan on 4 with the reel mower. So it depends on size and time you can dedicate.

Thanks TW. Doesn't matter if bermuda is greatly under fertilized? Hmm... In Houston at my mother's house, I *think* it's El Toro zoysia that is slowly winning the battle between st augustine and bermuda. Sure it's surrounded by some large mature trees but her lawn is rarely ever fertilized or even watered. Anyway, it is way more noticeable after this terrible drought that zoysia is much more widespread than I had thought. I guess that's why it got me thinking maybe zoysia can do fine in that type of situation considering that bermuda needs a lot of fertilizers to look good and zoysia doesn't. David - I'm sure you're aware of the drought covering the entire Texas and yes, I'm helping someone out. It's a big yard with Raleigh st augustine which I personally think stinks. Their backyard is too big (bigger than my entire lot) to water and there is massive die off so I am just thinking of ways to reduce cost of maintaining Raleigh st aug lawn. I had thought about a mixture of blue grama and buffalo for the backyard. Just exploring some ideas for next year...

You search "Zoysia Grass" on GOOGLE. What you do now? has already been answered: NOTHING NOW IT IS TOO LATE and YOU OVER FERTLIZED so all you can do is wait till next Spring. Next Spring when you start to see it green up, whack it down as low as you can, and rake up all the debris. Then you will need to de-thatch the lawn with a Vertical Mower (aka Power rake). After verti-cutting remove all the debris again. From this point you can top-dress with top soil or compost if you wish to further break down any remaining thatch. Once you see it about 75% green, apply a complete slow release urea fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio fertilizer like 15-5-10 or 20-5-10, at a rate of 1-pound of nitrogen per 1000/ft2. Repeat one more fertilizer application 8-weeks later with just plain ole straight slow release urea. After that you are done for the year until next spring with fertilizer. If you go to some place like Lesco and buy a 50-pound bag of 15-5-20 (product number 500258) and 39-0-0 (000777) will cost you about $50. With a 3000/ft2 lawn that should last you many years (7-years for the 15-5-10, and 19 years for 39-0-0), that works out to be less than $5 per year. How much does ScottÂs charge per year or a single application? What you use as a fertilizer; organic, synthetic, or synthesized organic (urea) is not near as important as proper fertilizer timing, mowing and watering. Get these three right and things will work out. If you go the organic route plain ole soybean meal is the best IMO in terms of effectiveness and economics. If you go the Soybean route it is about 300% more than the synthesized organic route of using slow release urea. Considering the size of your lawn of 3000/ft2 not a lot of money to consider. Using a commercial organic product will be considerably more and less effective than soybean meal. For 3000/ft2 lawn you will need 1 50-pound bag of soybean meal for each application which depending on local prices may be as high as $12 due to the ethanol hoax. Mowing is straight forward. For Z-52 it needs to be maintained between ¾ and 1-1/2 inches and no higher. The height you choose depends on what kind of mower you have. If you have a reel type you can go down to ¾-inch. Otherwise as low as you rotary mower will allow without scalping. Watering is simple. Z-52 is very drought and heat resistant. All you need to do is water when needed at a basic rate of 1-inch per application without run off. Sounds like you already are on track to know how much time it takes to apply 1-inch. Now all you need to do is figure out when by letting the grass tell you when it needs watering. Simple; you look at it and walk on it. That is all there is to it. Each spring check on the thatch build up as Zoysia is notorious for thatch build up especially when over-fertilized and allowed to grow too tall. General rule of thumb is Zoysia needs de-thatched every 2-years or every year if over-fertilized.

Hi Sandhills, I went with Palisades Zoysia, and LOVE it. A little about my method first, for anyone curious. I used the "broadcast sprigging" method I described in an earlier post. This method allows a pallet of 450 sf of sod to plant 4500 sf. Unfortunately, sod does quite a number on chipper/shredder blades, so I only made it a bit over 1/2 way through the job before the blades were useless. I ripped up quite a bit by hand, before finally giving up and plugging the last 20%. I would recommend the broadcast sprigging method ONLY to anyone who can get sprigs from the farm though, or has a better way to produce sprigs from sod. It turned out to be one of the hardest projects of my life. If I could get sprigs, I'd do my front yard that way -- Since I can't, I'm going to lay sod this spring. Regarding the Palisades Zoysia itself - it is AWESOME. Everything I had read and been advised about it is true. It is medium-wide blade, darker green (compared to other zoysia), and blends in well with the neighbor's fescue. It can be mowed with a regular mower (many require reel mowing) -- I use the second lowest setting on my troy bilt self propelled mower. And oh what a pleasure it is to mow! I put the link to the sod supplier (Carolina Green Sod) in a previous post, but will include here (below) again. I dealt with their salesman, Andy, who could not have been more helpful. I plan to put up a video of my project on Youtube as soon as I can figure out how to get my video to render properly :) If you want to see the grass first hand, the farm where they grow Palisades is in Cheraw, SC. They also supply to a new community (Brier Chapel) in Chapel Hill, if you're ever up that way. Actually, if you call Andy, he may let you know of somewhere in your area (that's how I found out about Brier Chapel). By the way, if anyone near the Chapel Hill/Durham/Burlington area is interested, let me know. I will be ordering a delivery in late May or early June and would love to combine shipping. Here is a link that might be useful: Carolina Green Sod