Thanks for your response. I do have a couple more questions.

Follow up question #1
Based on the image, would you say I'm keeping lawn at about 3"? I'm assuming that's the height from the tip of the tape measure to the top of the rootball.

Follow up question #2:
I've tried to go lower, but my mower bogs down and stalls. It's like trying to cut large chunks of carpet with a pair of scissors! As such, I'm considering buying riding lawn mower/tractor with a little more horsepower to help. Would that be ok?

Follow up question #3:
I didn't scalp the lawn this year for the same reason as mentioned above. When you look at the grass from the top, it's green mostly), but from the side, it's all brown. Is that because I didn't scalp it?

This post was edited by FL_74 on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 12:11

From the photo, you are keeping it a bit shy of 3", but I will say that it is hard to say without seeing where your soil level is.

The issue with the mower bogging down is caused by the thatch you have allowed to build up. Just about any zoysia grass will get some degree of thatch when the grass is not mowed peoperly, but Empire gets it to a much less degree. That thatch layer is controlled by that first scalping that we recommend in early spring. I would recommend either hiring a company to dethatch your lawn or getting a thatch rake and cleaning it out next spring and you will see a huge difference in your turf quality. Getting a riding mower will help with the bogging down with the bigger HP, but a standard push mower is adequate for most Empire lawns once you get it to the proper height. Best of luck and let us know if you have any other questions. We have a full homeowner's guide on both the Empire and Sod Solutions website for Empire as well as seasonal maintenance videos.

Drew Wagner
Sod Solutions

Thank you so much for your help.

The lawn was sodded in March 2010, so it's about 1.5 years old now. After killing off the old lawn and tilling/raking it up, they put the sod right on top, so it's still roughly the same thickness as the sod they installed.

At the time, they told us to keep it wet and let it grow roots. It took very well.

I agree it needs to be dethatched. Considering we did not scalp this year and have not dethatched, it's a good idea.

Can we dethatch at any time of year or should we do it in the spring?

I know we should avoid scalping until spring since the heat (we're in west/central FL) will likely burn it out.

I would recommend waiting until the spring because detaching now will put a lot of stress on the grass with the heat, and doing it in the fall will not leave enough time for the grass to fully recover prior to going into the winter.

Sounds like your installation was done correctly and you should not have any problems with waiting until spring. Just slowly take your height down to 1.5" to 2" as the weather begins to cool down and everything should be great come spring. Also, when you scalp it in the spring, you will be thinking to yourself that there is no way this grass will recover, but trust me that in a week or two you won't believe your eyes. Be sure to bag all of the old thatch when you take it down and get it off the lawn. Have some faith and you will be amazed with your Empire. It is an excellent grass for your area when cared for properly that should be the last lawn you ever buy.

Drew Wagner
Sod Solutions

Hello. I'm keeping this in the same thread as the one I started in August last year to keep the information in the same place.

Drew @ SodSolutions: I'm preparing to scalp my zoysia lawn for the first time. Do you happen to have any photos on what a properly scalped lawn looks like?

I'm concerned about going too low. I do have a lot of straw-colored leaves and the lower I go the more of that color appears. It would seem like I'd have to go all the way to the dirt in order to get rid of them entirely. However, if I go to the dirt, I'm worried about completely killing the lawn.

Thanks for your continued help and advice!

You will want to take your mower down to the point where the thatch layer is cut. For most residential mowers that will be at the lowest or second to lowest setting. A thatch rake from your local lawn & garden shop will also do wonders, although it requires some pretty tough manual labor. You pretty much can't kill your grass by cutting it too low (within reason) because Empire has both stolons and rhizomes so it can actually regrow from the ground. Be sure to bag or rake out everything. The goal is to give the grass room to grow as the weather warms up and soil temperatures rise.

Thanks for your reply. I'm using a riding mower and have been taking it down and bagging everything. I've removed quite a bit of old material since I hadn't scalped it last year and was cutting it too high. It's all being bagged and so far I've filled ~10 42 gallon lawn bags with material. I know I've got more to go.

My riding mower has 6 levels, and I had been cutting it way too high at #6. Those ~10 bags of material is what it took to get it from #6 down to #4.

Most of the linked photos show the lawn at level 4. I've included a measuring tape pressed to the dirt to provide perspective. There's one exception -

To help suck up some of the grass from my driveway, I dropped my mower to the lowest level. In trying to avoid the car, I ran over the grass and really...really scalped it. It looks pretty bad and I hadn't planned on going that low.

Maybe it was dumb luck though as it might help my scalping question.

Question 1: Should a properly scalped lawn look like the level 1 pictures?

Question 2: Once I get it scalped, should I have my lawn care company come out and apply iron, fertilizer, or weed control? Or should that wait until I see the grass come back?

Thanks again for your patience and help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Level 4 Photos / A few at Level 1

This post was edited by FL_74 on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 13:53

When you scalp you Zoysia really low, it is going to look lik ea bunch of twigs and stems sticking up from the ground. Not much of a real problem assuming it is done early in the spring to give the grass time to recover and get thick and healthy again. So relax you did not hurt it.

Zoysia is a light feeder and over feeding it will just give you a heavy thatch problem. It only needs two fertilizer applications per.Well if you lice in say Florida 3 times a year.. Fist application after green up, and another 8 to 10 weeks later.

Hi texas-weed. Thanks for your response!

Since my last post I've taken it down to level 3 (from 4). This is half the height it was maintained at previously. It's all brown with patches of green here and there.

I could probably get it to level 2 (second lowest on my mower), but that's about it. We're hitting mid to high 70's on a regular basis now so I don't want it to dry out. I'm in Florida, so it's going to get hot soon.

According to my tape measure, it's about 3/4" high from the dirt to the top of what's left. Would you risk going lower?

Also, once it's short enough, should I be applying a pre-emergent or some fertilizer soon?

Thanks for your help!

(Edited on 3/23 to add a link to level 3 photos)

Here is a link that might be useful: Level 3 Empire Zoysia Cut (3/22/14)

This post was edited by FL_74 on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 13:52

(Capturing how this turns out for future reference for anyone that needs to scalp their Empire Zoysia. I will continue to update on progress).
---

Circling back with a summary:

- I took the lawn down to level 3 which, given various high and low spots was as low as I'm willing to go this year. Most of the lawn is 1" or less in height at that level.

- Started scalping in zone 9B in the first week or March. It took a long time and multiple attempt as I'd been maintaining it too high.

- Last scalped on March 22nd to level 3...12 days ago. The lawn has started greening up (maybe 20 - 30%). We've had torrential rains recently, and temps have been in the mid-70's with lots of sun most days.

- Will edit this post and link to updated pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: Level 3 - 12 days later (4/3/14)

This post was edited by FL_74 on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 13:51

Posting images of the lawn 20 days after cutting it down from level 6 (highest on my riding mower) to Level 3 (middle point).

The lawn has started to green up more. Temps have been in the mid to high 70's. We had a pretty good rain a few days ago.

Here is a link that might be useful: Level 3 - 20 days later (4/11/2014)

This post was edited by FL_74 on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 13:49

Posting images of the lawn that show what it looks like 65 days after scalping.

Maintaining at level 3. Temps have regularly been in high 80's to mid-90's. Lots of sun.

The lawn is mostly greened up (85-90%). There are a few brown spots still growing out, but the clippings have changed from dead material to almost entirely green grass. The lawn is definitely doing well.

I do have some bare spots though, and I suspect that's from cutting it too low and having a few high spots here and there on the lawn. Those aren't growing back very well so I'll wait a bit and see if maybe plugging those areas will help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Level 3 - 65 days after scalping (5/25/2014)

This post was edited by FL_74 on Mon, May 26, 14 at 9:01

I planted a pallet of empire on 3/13 in a full to part sun site. I have been cutting it at 1.75 -2 ". I have also been feeding mine 1 lb of n and 1 lb of k evy two months from mid april until early september. 30 percent slow release. I think you may need to feed it more. Uf guidelines are 4-6 lbs of n per season. How much fertilizer have you put down so far? Type of insecticide is also very important, not all are created equal. I will try to post a picture of my lawn. We just layed an additional pallet this saturday to complete the lawn, it is not very attractive now, cant wait to grow it out. Let me know how it is going.

I planted a pallet of empire on 3/13 in a full to part sun site. I have been cutting it at 1.75 -2 ". I have also been feeding mine 1 lb of n and 1 lb of k evy two months from mid april until early september. 30 percent slow release. I think you may need to feed it more. Uf guidelines are 4-6 lbs of n per season. How much fertilizer have you put down so far? Type of insecticide is also very important, not all are created equal. I will try to post a picture of my lawn. We just layed an additional pallet this saturday to complete the lawn, it is not very attractive now, cant wait to grow it out. Let me know how it is going.

Hi. I haven't put anything on it - my lawn service does that. I'm really not sure what they're using to be honest. They haven't put fertilizer on since the ban started for rainy season though I know they've put down insect control products.

The areas that were high and scalped seem to be slowly...very very slowly coming back. If they aren't better by next spring they will be dug out and replaced with sod. Problem is, I have a hard time finding Empire Zoysia sod in my area.

I will say this - the lawn looks better than ever. Healthy and easier to cut.

It's been 1.5 months since I posted my last set of images, so I'll repost now.