According to Mike Hills who is with Seed Research, Zoysia is only moderately adapted to use in the southwestern deserts. Actually prefers more acidic soil and water conditions than our typically alkaline pH. If you really want to try zoysia grass, try planting zoysia seed instead. The initial plant population is higher from direct seeding, the plants develop their root system directly in the turf area soil base, using our local water and weed encroachment is reduced. The common zoysiagrass from seed is coarser textured, but is much more adapted to borderline conditions like the SW USA. You will still need to add soil sulphur, iron, etc. but will be more successful than with the plugged types of zoysia. Additionally, zoysias are more prone to thatch buildup in our growing conditions, yet they do not tolerate much de- thatching activity - de-thatching actually harms the turf. The built up thatch makes the turf area more prone to insect and fungal disease problems, as well as creating problems with water penetration at the soil surface. Also, zoysia will go dormant and brown in winter usually before Bermuda and come back green in spring after Bermuda - it will not tolerate overseeding with ryegrass as this damages the zoysia crowns. Thus you can plan on a brown zoysia lawn for 4-6 months each year during winter.

@jlcjlr - “decided to try the Fireglow…I’ll be planting one in full sun and one in afternoon shade”. That was back in 2010…13 years ago…curious to know how your Fireglow JM’s are doing now? I’m considering a Fireglow for my property, but I don’t have any mature trees so it would be getting full sun the majority of the day in zone 7A in the mid-Atlantic region. Worried that the leaves would scorch. Also, how is the fall color on them? I’m looking for really bright scarlet red fall color…the kind of red that stops you in your tracks with the sun setting behind it! Thanks…would love to get an update!

I think it was me that mentioned vinca and your point is well taken. Vinca is a major problem in many woods. In my own 1/2 acre woods, vinca minor, pachysandra terminalis, and galium odoratum were planted by a previous owner 40-50 years near the woodland edge (but in the woods) and they haven't been a problem in that they form about 100 square foot patches each, separated by paths, and there is no sign of any of them across paths. Perhaps it is the colder climate (US zone 5), rocky soil or greedy maples. Probably the latter as the woods in this area are almost all maple (sugar and norway, which have interbred). I welcome those patches as reprieve from the garlic mustard. In fact, for some reason in my woods, the vinca coexists with trout lilies, jack-in-pulpits and other natives, while I've had almost no garlic mustard in that area. On the other hand, as I remove garlic mustard from other areas, I've planted/propagated native species (trillium, bloodroot, mayapple, mertensia, and many others) although, unfortunately, none of these are really ground-covering in my woods so battling GM is ongoing. I am also slowly trying to reduce the norway canopy, planting hemlocks and red oaks, and if this is ultimately successful, perhaps that patch of vinca which seems fine now will become a problem.

I can't think of any specific grass that resembles Hakonechloe, though the Carex family might be a good place to start looking. Santa Rosa Gardens has a large selection of Carex to browse which could get you started. I'm not sure how many are sun and drought tolerant, but might be worth checking out. That site slso has s lot of other grasses and I can recommend them as an excellent mail order source. I live near several really good nurseries, but I get a lot of plants mailorder when I'm looking for something different. If you are housebound that is certainly a good reason too. I can recommend a handsome grass that grows a little larger, is very drought tolerant and I think it's also a Texas native, Muhlenbergia Dubia. Also, it's evergreen in many climates. It doesn't look like Hakonechloe though!