Zoysia grass lawn care

Zoysia grass lawn care involves mowing with a sharp mower, watering, fertilizing and irrigating.

Zoysia grass lawn care is easier than other types. Zoysia grass lawn care involves mowing with a sharp mower, watering, fertilizing and irrigating. In general zoysia grass needs to be mowed often enough to keep it from looking like a field of weeds. Also, it grows very slowly and is not able to recover from damage as easily as other types of grasses. Sometimes if you walk on it too much in the same place you can kill the roots in that area because of its slow rate of growth.

Mowing manually or with a riding mower.

Use a sharp mower, as with any lawn.
Mow at the highest blade setting possible (Zoysia grows slower when mowed high). Mowing too short will lead to a shallow root system, which is vulnerable to disease and other pests including weeds. Most Zoysia grasses can be maintained between 1 to 2 inches year-round and will still look great.
Mow only when the grass is dry — never when wet (this can cause fungal diseases).
Mow less often in late spring/summer heat; more often in the spring and fall when growth rate picks up due to cooler temperatures and more rainfall. The more shade you have on your property, the more likely it is that you’ll need to mow more often during periods of slow growth in late spring/summer.

Watering by hand with a hose or sprinkler.

Zoysia grass needs a good deal of water to thrive, but the frequency and amount of your watering will depend on a number of factors. In general, zoysia grass needs about an inch of water per week, with more required during periods of drought. Watering is best done early in the morning, when it’s cooler outside and there is less wind. A sprinkler or hose is recommended to ensure uniform moisture distribution. Regardless of which method you choose, try to water your lawn every day for about an hour until you see runoff forming in the street or on sidewalks; after that point, water will begin to pool up in low-lying spots and soak into the soil rather than reaching your grass’s roots.

Fertilizing with a nitrogen fertilizer several times per year.

Fertilizing your lawn with a nitrogen fertilizer several times per year is one of the most important practices you can do to promote healthy grass growth. However, we don’t recommend doing this too late in the fall (September or October). Although it will make your lawn look dark green, it could also promote winter weed problems. A slow release nitrogen fertilizer that is applied to your lawn more than once during the growing season will be much more effective than applying a high-nitrogen granular fertilizer all at once. We recommend fertilizing zoysia grass 3-4 times per year, starting in late spring and ending around mid-summer.

Irrigating with a sprinkler system only when drought occurs in the summer months.

When drought occurs during the summer months it is a good practice to use your sprinkler system. How much supplemental irrigation you need will depend on local weather conditions, but as a general rule, anytime you are getting less than about one-half inch of rain per week, you should be watering. There are many types of sprinkler systems and each has advantages and disadvantages. When irrigating with a sprinkler system, it is best if you have your own well or other source of water supply and a good pressure pump. The size of the pump will vary depending on the size of the lawn area and how far away it is from your water source. A simple pressure gage can be attached to your hose line to tell you what kind of flow rate and gallon per minute rating that your pump is delivering to your sprinkler heads. Sprinkling at night can also cause fungus problems, so we recommend watering in the early morning hours when there will be less evaporation than during midday or afternoon hours.