Central Florida. This is what I did to my back yard that was mostly weeds (sedges, dollar weed, etc.) that came after a couple of hard freeze winters and poor service from commercial lawn companies. It again became a DIY routine for my yard. Formerly St. Augustine Floratam. 2/24/2011 First application of Roundup 3/12 Second application of Roundup 3/24 Applied starter fertilizer to area 3/25 Third application of roundup 3/29 First shipment and installation of Empire Zoysia plugs 4/15 Finished final planting of plugs 5/25 First mowing of Zoysia By late summer, Zoysia had covered area well but still not complete - perhaps 90% but still bumpy using the rider mower. Over time the bumpy should go away when the plugs do their job. Very few weeds growing in Zoysia. By November, no soil showing anywhere among the Zoysia. 2/20/2012 Zoysia slightly brown in some areas - from 2 not-to-hard freezes and very few weeds, primarily dollar weed. Those weeds are probably left-overs and should mostly disappear after I do the first herbicide. Laying strips of sod on top of the ground will, of course, create a very bumpy ride for a mower - perhaps an inch+ above the bare soil - scalping possible. Considering the amount of work involved with removing the old sod, leveling any spots, then laying new sod -- I would again readily choose killing the existing vegetation, buying and planting Zoysia plugs. If I were going to do 8000 sq ft, it would be done part now, remainder as I felt the urge.

I put in some Emprie turf this past winter and I am loving the grass. It has not spread yet so I cannot denie or confirm that. I have been told the Empire turf spreads slow compared to other zoysias. It has about the same width as St Aug but it is a darker green and soft as could be. You can mow from 3/4 inch up to 3 inches. At my house its thriving in the shady areas. I have nothing bad to say about empire turf except that it only comes in sod, no seeds.

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

I'm in NJ as well and when my house was completed my builder seeded grass with rye/fescue/kbg mix. It didnt fill in that well and I liked the way KBG looked so in the front of my house I kept reseeding with just KBG mixes and the back of my house with rye/fescue/kbg mix. So I think I was exactly in the same boat as you. My front looks great and it was a good thing that it was originally seeded with the mix because there is one area in the back that gets a lot of shade and KBG didnt take there but fescue did and it looks great. The rest where there is more sun fades from fescue to mostly KBG but the transformation from one to the other is unnoticable from the street. My neighbor across the street got his house built after mine and my front yard looks better then his $2000 sod. Now my backyard was originally seeded with rye/fescue/kbg mix and reseded with that as I'm still trying to get it as thick as my front yard. It looks fine but nowhere near as good as my front yard. It also doesnt require the amount of maintenance the front does and it seems to be more resistant to kid abuse. I guess what I'm trying to say its all relative to your situation and what you are trying to do. I wanted my front to be mostly KBG as it looks better but it took forever to establish and it takes more work to maintain. Not a problem for me as a like working on it. The existing mix that was seeded might not be a bad base as it will cover any places that are shaded where kbg wont grow (I dont know your yard so thats really up to you) but it wont be as uniform as the pictures posted by pure KBG owners. Tall fescue stands out in KBG and you will definitely notice it. Now my backyard didnt have to be nice but more drought and abuse resistant. Thats exactly what it is plus it doesnt require as much work. So it all worked out well for me and I got what I wanted. I have nice lawn in the front and decent but resistant and low maintenance lawn in the back. Everyones situation is different and you have to take it all with a grain of salt and decide on your own. I dont know what your lawn looks like now, how much time and money you want to spend and what kind of final quality are you looking for. Either way good luck and I hope it turns out good.