So I have a problem. I re-sodded my yard almost 2 years ago with empire zoysia. I also added two sprinkler heads in the middle of the yard as I thought it was not getting enough water, this was one of the reasons I believe led to the destruction of the last sod and why I had to replace my sod in a two year old home. However I am no irrigation professional and I did not bother to lay cans out to measure how the water dispersed throughout my yard. From my perspective it looks as if the middle of the yard is still not receiving enough H20? I really don't know? At the beginning of the growing season (mid february) I cut my grass to about 2 inches to remove thatch build up! I have been cutting my yard during the growing season at 3 inches. I also fertilized my yard February 22, 2012 with a slow release nitrogen formula (lesco 16-4-8) at a rate of approximately 1.5-2 lbs per 1000 sq. feet. My yard looks great besides the middle section. Also my sprinkler zone in the front yard is a follows; basically the zone is a square. To the street the length =20 feet and from my driveway to the neighbors yard the width = 50 feet. I have 4 inch pop up heads (hunter). 4 each on the width side and 2 each on the length sides and the two i put in the center of the yard! I have not don't a soil sample test yet as I think the problem is with the watering. I just bought a sprinkler last week and placed it in the middle of the yard! I will take some pics tomorrow, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

why don't you ever provide any sources for your statements? Because this website does not require sources in order to post. This is a site to share personal experiences and helpful information we might have picked up elsewhere. I did some checking to see what Jeff Lowenfels had to say about RoundUp. I learned a couple things. One - I had always pronounced glyphosate wrong. Secondly, Lowenfels is an organic purist who hates anything he cannot pronounce. That is very well and good, but what do you use when you want to kill one invasive grass that is heading across the mulch toward the other invasive grass? I suppose on a small scale, you could put a little elbow grease into it and pull the invader out. But I wonder what Lowenfels would suggest to kill a yard full of bermuda, zoysia, or creeping charlie in preparation for a renovation back to a different turfgrass. Also if you want to learn a lot more about RoundUp check the wikipedia page. Then check the wikipedia page for glyphosate.

Blakeas wrote on February 25: > so just go to home depot and look for slow release granules in UREA 15-5-10 or 20-5-10? I looked at some other sites and it said to do it now - btwn feb and march.... You should wait to apply fertilizer to zoysia until 2 weeks after the zoysia greens up. Then you can apply fertilizer if you want to. But the best time to apply fertilizer is when the grass is actively growing the fastest, which for zoysia, is summer. So near summer, around May or June, is a great time to fertilize. But I have 80 pounds of alfalfa and corn gluten meal (CGM) I have to get rid of, so I will first fertilize 2 weeks after the zoysia greens up. I would have liked to have applied the CGM by now as a pre-emergent (lots of little henbits sprouting now in addition to last Fall's mature henbit plants now blooming purple--henbit is a cool-season weed), but I won't apply the CGM now because the zoysia hasn't yet greened up. If my lawn were mostly cool season grasses, I probably would have applied the CGM as a pre-emergent. As it is, I'll use the CGM on my zoysia as a fertilizer at the right time. From the University of Florida at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh011 : Since zoysiagrass is very slow to green-up in the spring, avoid applying fertilizer until after the turf has become fully green to avoid premature green-up, which is prone to frost injury. This is especially important in North Florida, where late spring frosts may damage the grass. Delaying spring fertilization until the turf is actively growing and can use the fertilizer also reduces the potential for nitrogen leaching from fertilizer. Likewise, don't fertilize too late in the year, as this can slow regrowth the following spring. An application of iron can enhance spring green-up. Applying nitrogen on zoysiagrass in early spring and late fall significantly increases the risk of large (brown) patch disease.

Dear Amy, Thank you very much for your inquiry. My suggestion for removing the zoysiagrass is to target a seeding for early September. In mid August apply Round up to the zoysiagrass (and about 3-5 feet outside and apparent area). Flag the area in the form of a square or rectangle for ease of operation. After seven days, cut the rectangle out with a sod cutter and perform any soil changes you need. In the week prior to seeding check the area for regrowth. If there is any, apply Round up again. (You can actually apply this up to and during the seeding process with no ill effect on the seed. The roundup only affects living tissue, the seed by definition is still dormant until it imbibes water and starts the germination process. This can be an effective way of controlling a difficult grass like zoysiagrass or bermudagrass.) Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more. Respectfully Trey Rogers, The Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor, YardDoctor.com