Zoysia Grass is a warm season grass that was refined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Professional Golfer’s Association (PGA) in the 1950s. It is a grass cultivar that is thick, drought-resistant and loves heat. In our Midwestern climate, it turns brown in the Fall and Winter. It doesn’t need a lot of water to stay green in the Summer, so less sprinkling and irrigation is needed. It also doesn’t need as much mowing because this grass cultivar is slow growing in height. However, Zoysia propagates laterally, or creeps and is quick to spread out, often out competing weeds and other grasses. It does not spread quickly initially and usually is planted via sod rolls or small two inch by two inch sod “plugs'' instead of seeding. Zoysia Grass often has a lot of thatch and needs to be aerated more often than other lawns. It is frequently planted on golf courses, baseball fields and football fields, due to its high tolerance for high traffic.
If you have Zoysia Grass in your yard, it’s likely that someone who owned your home previously ordered Zoysia plugs from a newspaper advertisement in the 1950s and 1960s and planted them in your lawn. Zoysia is not native to the Midwest, but grows in the wild in Asia and Australia. It has been cultivated and planted in the United States.
Zoysia is notoriously hard to get rid of. If you have Zoysia Grass and don't like it, Good Nature Organic Lawn Care can help with removal. We can come and cut out your Zoysia and give it to someone who wants it! Then, Good Nature will be happy to plant a new lawn for you. If you choose to remove the Zoysia Grass yourself, expect to do some heavy digging and slicing the grass patches out of the soil. You will probably also need to add some more top soil, before establishing another grass variety.
If your neighbor has Zoysia, it’s likely you will have some creeping into your yard. You’ll need to be diligent about pulling it out, but it is slow growing, so you have time on your side! Again, expect to literally cut it out of your lawn.
Zoysia is considered invasive and is known to take over lawns, when given enough time. That includes crowding out other grasses that exist in your lawn or newly seeded grasses that you plant.
Zoysia Grass will not only crowd out other grass, but it will also out compete other plant species that are considered weeds.
If you are starting your Zoysia Grass lawn, you are going to have Bare Spots if you are using plugs. In the instance that you are using seeds, you will need another grass to fill in spots that is faster growing. Often, Zoysia is mixed with cool season grasses such as Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall fescue. At the start, your lawn will remain green into the Winter, but eventually, Zoysia will take over and your lawn will go dormant.
Our general Ohio recommendation is a mix of 5% Microclover, 90% Turf Type Tall Fescue, and 5% Kentucky Bluegrass for our region. For Grass Seed, our Tuff Turf Lawn Seed provides the Turf Type Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass recommended.
If you like Zoysia Grass and want to spread it throughout your lawn, you can order additional plugs online and plant them in the areas that do not have Zoysia Grass. The best practice is to plant a two inch plug every six inches. A good website to buy Zoysia Grass plugs is www.zoysiafarms.com. If you would like help with this project, Good Nature is happy to help plant the plugs as well.
Contact us to discuss your options and gather more information.
