Renovating Your Zoysia Grass Lawn

If a beautiful, healthy zoysia grass lawn is an elegant, then a weak, struggling zoysia grass is nothing short of heart breaking. This is especially true if you began with a healthy lawn and have watched it suffer and fade from glory. The good news is that many zoysia grass lawns can be rehabilitated with a modest amount of effort. The bad news is that zoysia grass is slow to spread and it will probably take a good growing season for a troubled lawn to recover. The general rule is that an average square foot of lawn must have 60 to 70 percent zoysia grass coverage to renovate. The grass may be thin and weak, but it has to be there. Otherwise, you are better off reading the section entitled "Planting a New Zoysia Lawn".

There is always a reason that a zoysia grass lawn is struggling. Problems usually stem from one of two areas: maintenance problems and fundamental problems. Unfortunately, the results of both often appear the same. For instance, a thinning lawn can be the result of improper mowing or dense shade. Evaluate your particular situation and try to come up with the most logical culprit.

There is always room to improve your game. Before you rush out and order three pallets of new sod, read through the maintenance section and determine if you are skipping any critical steps. Are you fertilizing, mowing at the right height, mowing consistently, aerating, irrigating, and applying pre-emergence weed control? Do you have an insect or disease problem? If you address these problems accurately, you can stimulate your lawn to thicken, fill voids, and darken in color.

1. Rake: Rake the entire lawn vigorously with a metal tined rake to remove thatch, leaves, dead weeds, grass clippings, rocks, etc.
2. Kill Weeds: Spray weedy areas with a post-emergence weed control as soon as possible. Young weeds die faster than mature weeds (see "Weed Control").
3. Mow: Check your mowing height, mow frequently.
4. Bag: Bag and remove grass clippings
5. Irrigate: Water deeply once every week or so if there has been no rain. Don't drop the ball! Even short periods of drought can cause discoloration. Fertilize: Fertilize immediately (if you have not done so already) and again in late August/early September. DO NOT fertilize excessively.
6. Aerate: Consider core aerating to stimulate grass to grow and spread.
7. Do not top dress: unless you are trying to smooth your lawn surface. It will not stimulate growth.
8. Control Future Weeds: Apply pre-emergence weed control ON TIME in the fall (see "weed control").

1. Kill Weeds: Spray weedy areas with a post-emergence weed control as soon as possible, on a warm day. Young weeds die faster than mature weeds (see "Weed Control"). Pull problem weeds like bunches of fescue by hand.
2. Control Future Weeds: Apply pre-emergence weed control ON TIME in late winter (see "Weed Control").
3. Scalp and Rake: Be ready to scalp your lawn and rake it vigorously in late February/early March (see "Mowing").
4. Wait: until late April to fertilize and late May to core aerate (unless using Lazyman Aerator or Lazyman Gold this can be done at anytime).

There are times when growing a zoysia grass lawn that you are beaten before you start. These are the most frustrating of times and are especially painful if you have spend considerable sums of money oh installation and maintenance. The first thing to remember is that zoysia grass will not grow on every piece of ground. In fact, there may be situations where other plants like groundcovers or vines are more suitable. The most efficient and inexpensive approach might be to reconfigure or abandon areas that are not suitable for a zoysia grass lawn.

SHADE: Zoysia grass is tolerant of light to moderate amounts of shade. In heavy shade, however, even a zoysia grass lawn will become thin and weak. The only answer is to remove branches/trees, or reduce the size of your lawn to avoid the shade. Raising the mowing height to 2.5 inches in the shaded areas may alleviate some of the problem but is often impractical.

COMPACTED SOIL: Compacted soil is low in oxygen and will cause zoysia grass to thin and die. Consider aerating using Lazyman Gold or Lazyman Aerator once or twice during the growing season. Also, evaluate the cause of the compaction and correct continuing problems by creating walkways for people and pets.

POOR DRAINAGE: Zoysia grass will thin and die in wet, soggy soils. These are also some of the most difficult and expensive problems to correct. Before you begin, determine the source of the water and where it is trying to flow. Occasionally, you can correct poor drainage by diverting a water source (like a gutter outlet) or removing an obstruction (a clogged ditch). Other solutions include re-grading, French drains, and surface drains. Once the soil dries, aerate to help renovate the root zone.

Improper pH: Zoysia grass prefers a soil pH of 6-7. If pH levels stray from this range, your lawn will grow slowly, lose density, and be light green/yellow despite your best maintenance practices. Always consider maintenance problems first, however, before you blame soil pH. If you suspect soil pH, take a soil sample to your local Cooperative Extension Service for testing. They will recommend the needed lime or elemental sulfur to correct the problem.

• Mowing Zoysia Grass
• Irrigating Zoysia Grass
• Fertilizing Zoysia Grass
• Soil pH and Lime for Zoysia Grass
• Aerating Zoysia Grass
• Dethatching Zoysia Grass
• Weed Control for Zoysia Grass
• Insect and Pests problems in Zoysia Grass
• Diseases in Zoysia Grass
• Renovating a Zoysia Grass Lawn
• Planting a Zoysia Grass Lawn

Zoysia Grass Seed

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