Zoysia grass

[johnjrval424]

I just ordered 1000 plugs from a farm in Carroll County. Has anyone had any experience with planting/growing/maintaining zoysia grass in this area? Did it work for you?

We need to do something with our front yard and/or back yard soon. Our yard looks awful! Of course, cutting trees last year and digging up the yard installing various things didn't help...

 

[flomaster]

I have heard that zoysia is awesome. They say once it takes hold of the yard it takes over and no other grass lives. It looks great in the spring and summer but it turns a nasty crap brown in the winter months.

 

[Kyle]

<img src="http://a1259.g.akamai.net/f/1259/5586/5d/images.art.com/images/-/Sowa/Joint-Smoking--C11769675.jpeg"/>

 

[johnjrval424]

That doesn't look like zoysia grass to me...

 

[CMC122]

My old neighbor in Bowie had it and he had the prettiest yard in the hood! Looks fabulous and I believe it requires nothing special to keep it up, just looks great on it's own Atleast that's what he told me

 

[johnjrval424]

My husband's uncle lives in Huntingtown and he has it (in patches) in his yard. It really doesn't require much maintenance and he doesn't cut his grass anywhere near as much as we do. He said it does need to be de-thatched every now and then because it grows so thick but that isn't a problem for us.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it takes in our yard. I just wish it grew faster - according to the information, it will take a couple seasons for it to take hold.

 

[bohman]

It does take some time to set in, but once it does there's no stopping it. My parents neighbors planted it a long time ago, and over the last 20 years it has spread over 2/3 of my parent's yard. I think it's ugly as hell, brown all winter and also turns brown at the first hint of a summer drought.

A word of advice - get a lawn mower with a few extra horsepower than what you think you need, and sharpen the blades well. That crap is really tough. Slow-growing, though, so you won't be mowing as often.

 

[huntr1]

I just ordered 1000 plugs from a farm in Carroll County. Has anyone had any experience with planting/growing/maintaining zoysia grass in this area? Did it work for you?

We need to do something with our front yard and/or back yard soon. Our yard looks awful! Of course, cutting trees last year and digging up the yard installing various things didn't help...

Buddy of mine is switching his yard over to zoisia grass. He buys from the same place you did. First he bought it off of eBay, then called them up and went and picked up additional plugs later on. It is taking well in his yard.

If you have any shady areas, it won't grow there. It is VERY thick once fully in. It gets so thich that no weeds can get established. It will spread everywhere. Make sure you have good borders on your flowerbeds. Bohman is correct, you will need very sharp blades and a more powerfull mower for it than for fescue. However, you will cut your grass about 1/3 as much as with fescue. I am thinking about putting it in my front yard. I'd use it in the back too, except I have trees and doubt it'd take.

 

[birdman]

I just took a look at some pictures of Zoysia grass, looks exactly like what I have in my lawn, which I've heard people call "wire grass". If that is the same thing, then I highly suggest you avoid it! It will take over your whole lawn, along with everything else in its path. It will bore its way through pavement, (it is crumbling the edges of my driveway), it'll compete with roots of any trees or plants it can get to, it'll creep its way up into any flower beds that it borders. It grows both under ground and above, in long wirey pieces. It is awful, I wish I could figure out how to kill it but it just keeps coming back.

 

[ylexot]

I just took a look at some pictures of Zoysia grass, looks exactly like what I have in my lawn, which I've heard people call "wire grass". If that is the same thing, then I highly suggest you avoid it! It will take over your whole lawn, along with everything else in its path. It will bore its way through pavement, (it is crumbling the edges of my driveway), it'll compete with roots of any trees or plants it can get to, it'll creep its way up into any flower beds that it borders. It grows both under ground and above, in long wirey pieces. It is awful, I wish I could figure out how to kill it but it just keeps coming back.

Zoysia is not wire grass (aka bermudagrass). However, zoysia can take over. That's one of it's selling points. It takes over so completely that weeds can't survive.

 

[crabcake]

I had zoysia sod put in the front yard and the leftover put in some dry spots in the back in the fall. I'm anxious to see how it works out this spring/summer.