Zoysia grass plugs - yay or nay?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Zoysia grass plugs - yay or nay? (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 3/25/2009 6:45:59 AM EDT

I got a deal in the mail yesterday about zoysia grass plugs. I have some spots in my yard where grass doesn't grow well because it's shaded nearly 100% of the time. Basically you plant a plug every foot or so, and it's supposed to "choke out" your old grass and spread to cover your whole yard. Apparently it's very resistant to weeds and stuff and stays green even in the dry hot summer.

Anyone have experience with it? I think it would cost ~$100 to plug my front/back yard. I had contemplated throwing down grass seed in a few weeks on the thin areas, but if this is more effective, I may go that way instead.

Posted: 3/25/2009 6:48:39 AM EDT

[#1]

Isn't this how KV started?

Posted: 3/25/2009 6:49:37 AM EDT

[#2]

I've seen the ads. I'm planning on getting some to try out.

Posted: 3/25/2009 6:50:44 AM EDT

[#3]

When I was a kid, my dad and I spent one weekend in the spring plugging the lawn with zoysia, now the lawn is gorgeous. Every time I go home, I steal about 2 square yards of sod and plug it into my yard. It really is a good grass. I look forward to the day that my lawn is as soft as carpet.

Posted: 3/25/2009 6:56:51 AM EDT

[#4]

I keep eyeballing those zoysia ads, but I have serious doubts about the ability of ANYTHING to choke out Bermuda. I think what I might wind up with is a polka dot lawn.

ETA:

I just found this on Dirt Doctor.com:

Zoysia Grass

Zoysia should only be purchased from local growers and retail suppliers. It shouldn't be planted any way but solid sod. Any other way will be a weedy mess. Zoysia is a beautiful, lush grass that needs little mowing or edging compared to other summer grasses. It's a grass to look at rather than use. Because of its slow growth, it does not rebound well from wear and tear.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:01:25 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
I keep eyeballing those zoysia ads, but I have serious doubts about the ability of ANYTHING to choke out Bermuda. I think what I might wind up with is a polka dot lawn.

ETA:

I just found this on Dirt Doctor.com:

Zoysia Grass

Zoysia should only be purchased from local growers and retail suppliers. It shouldn't be planted any way but solid sod. Any other way will be a weedy mess. Zoysia is a beautiful, lush grass that needs little mowing or edging compared to other summer grasses. It's a grass to look at rather than use. Because of its slow growth, it does not rebound well from wear and tear.

FWIW golf courses use zoysia as a barrier against faster growing bermuda so as to prevent bermuda from taking over areas around the green that are planted with other types of grass that would otherwise succumb to the more aggressive growing bermuda.

I actually plant it into the ground as a 3" plug and I have not had any issues with a "weedy mess".

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:03:27 AM EDT

[#6]

The way things are now, you don't have to water or mow that part of your yard.

Are you sure you want to change that?

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:04:22 AM EDT

[#7]

From the description it sounds like zoysia is a weed, and if it wasn't aesthetically pleasing you'd want to kill it.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:05:25 AM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
From the description it sounds like zoysia is a weed, and if it wasn't aesthetically pleasing you'd want to kill it.

It's not anything of the sort. It is the most desirable grass I have ever encountered, my dad's lawn is the envy of the neighborhood.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:07:27 AM EDT

[#9]

Does it turn brown in the winter?

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:09:32 AM EDT

[#10]

My yard is 1/4 acre of zoysia. It definitely will choke out native bermuda. It's not immediate but over a season the zoysia will win. I sodded it 3 years ago and it has performed very well. I had to adjust my habits and not mow it every week.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:12:35 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Does it turn brown in the winter?

Yes. Looks like crap.

It's a pain in the ass to mow, too. I had a neighbor plug some at my first house. I killed it when it encroached on my yard.

I'll take diverse and green all year any time.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:12:55 AM EDT

[#12]

If you were able to locate zoysia sod, how would you go about planting that over an existing Bermuda lawn? Would you just scalp the Bermuda down, put down a layer of compost and install the sod?

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:14:18 AM EDT

[#13]

Friend has it. It is hardy. It does spread and invade other grasses. It does brown in the winter. But in the spring, summer and fall, he has the nicest lawn in the subdivision. He's offered me some plugs and I may take him up on it.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:14:42 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Does it turn brown in the winter?

Yes, at least it does in the NYC area.

My parents have zoysia in their front yard and it goes dormant in the winter. But, it does come back to a full, lush green in the spring.

I've been contemplating getting some too.

What prices have you guys seen for plugs?

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:15:47 AM EDT

[#15]

I has to be good, it's banned in the state of Washington

And Oregon IIRC

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:17:28 AM EDT

[#16]

I'm buying about 1000 2" plugs this year. I don't know how it will do in WI winters, but hopefully a blanket of snow will keep it insulated enough to survive. My grass always ends up brown by August because of dry summers, and I can't water 2 freaking acres.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:19:22 AM EDT

[#17]

How do you keep it from encroaching on your neighbors' yards?

I've thought about doing this for a couple years but don't want the stuff assimilating everything around it.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:21:53 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
How do you keep it from encroaching on your neighbors' yards?

I've thought about doing this for a couple years but don't want the stuff assimilating everything around it.

My dad keeps it from encroaching his neighbor's lawn by giving the encroaching grass to me.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:54:49 AM EDT

[#19]

Some folks love their lawns. I just think it's grass. I have a lawn, not a freaking golf course.

Posted: 3/25/2009 7:56:23 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
If you were able to locate zoysia sod, how would you go about planting that over an existing Bermuda lawn? Would you just scalp the Bermuda down, put down a layer of compost and install the sod?

Ideally you'd rent a sod cutter, cut out all the old sod, amend the remaining soil, till that in, level/rake/settle the soil, and *then* lay the sod. This is the best, especially if you need to keep the grass at the existing grade - raising your entire yard an inch or two can have a negative impact on drainage in some cases.

If the grade wasn't a concern, and I wanted to do it down & dirty, I'd kill of the existing grass with roundup, wait a week or two, then amend the area and till it all up. Level that soil, then lay the sod.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:07:26 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Friend has it. It is hardy. It does spread and invade other grasses. It does brown in the winter. But in the spring, summer and fall, he has the nicest lawn in the subdivision. He's offered me some plugs and I may take him up on it.

The grass I have already browns in the winter. I haven't seen a green lawn in the winter - ever - in Missouri.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:10:21 AM EDT

[#22]

My neighbor installed Zoysia when he moved in, and it's awesome.

So awesome, in fact, that I bought the plugs.

I installed half the plugs all over the front yard, and half in one big patch in the back.

4 years later, there is no evidence whatsoever that they ever existed.

This is with St. Augustine grass.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:31:19 AM EDT

[#23]

I have a 1/2 acre of it....I hate it with a passion...it is green for about four months and dirt brown the rest of the year.

It grows like a weed during the growing season so it needs to be mowed constantly....

At this point I would rather pave my yard and paint it green

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:34:51 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
I have a 1/2 acre of it....I hate it with a passion...it is green for about four months and dirt brown the rest of the year.

It grows like a weed during the growing season so it needs to be mowed constantly....

At this point I would rather pave my yard and paint it green

You're the only one i've ever heard say that. The two major attractions to Zoysia are that it stays green longer than most grass varities, and that it doesn't need much mowing.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:36:16 AM EDT

[#25]

FWIW mine is already turning green, and it didn't go dormant until mid-October or right around the first hard freeze. Around here, all lawns go brown from Oct. through March.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:40:36 AM EDT

[#26]

I have Kentucky Blue Grass, and it is green from april/may until november. No way I would put that weed in.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:43:57 AM EDT

[#27]

Unless the strains are different now Zoysia is really itchy. When I was a kid our neighbor had a beautiful lawn but none of us would play on it. If you fell or got tackled any skin that hit the grass hard, would itch like crazy and get lots of little bumps. It did clear up quickly but for 8-10 year olds it was not fun.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:45:12 AM EDT

[#28]

Yup, ain't going to happen. To high, Dry and cold I would guess.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:50:10 AM EDT

[#29]

It looks like hell in the winter.

If you lawn was 100% zoysia, it would look wonderful.

If you throw a few patches here and there it'll take like 25 years for it to fill in. In the meantime, your lawn will look like a patchwork mess.

It is a pain to mow because of its density of growth.

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:54:59 AM EDT

[#30]

I've wondered about this stuff, too. In Az, you have both winter and summer grass... I'd love one that would do both...

Doesn't look like this is it, though...

Posted: 3/25/2009 8:59:50 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Friend has it. It is hardy. It does spread and invade other grasses. It does brown in the winter. But in the spring, summer and fall, he has the nicest lawn in the subdivision. He's offered me some plugs and I may take him up on it.

The grass I have already browns in the winter. I haven't seen a green lawn in the winter - ever - in Missouri.

Come on. At the end of August after a drought year the grass turns brown, but even at that there is still plenty of green at the surface. When the weather eases, practically every lawn is far more green than brown. Go to to SW Kansas and points West into the desert to see brown lawns.

Posted: 3/25/2009 9:03:07 AM EDT

[#32]

Dad has it in the front and back yard. Had it sodded.

Turns brown in the winter.

Doesn't like full shade.

Doesn't grow crazy fast.

Very nice to walk on, very springy, so dense it's like carpet.

If you pushmow your front yard, be prepared to hate it. The same density that makes it nice to walk on and gives it aesthetic appeal also makes it a real pain in the ass to push a mower through.

It will choke out Bermuda over time, but you'll need to take care of it to ensure it does. It will not choke out waterweed and a few types of invasive clover.

Overall I love it and intend on sodding my front yeard next year.

Posted: 3/25/2009 10:57:37 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
Unless the strains are different now Zoysia is really itchy. When I was a kid our neighbor had a beautiful lawn but none of us would play on it. If you fell or got tackled any skin that hit the grass hard, would itch like crazy and get lots of little bumps. It did clear up quickly but for 8-10 year olds it was not fun.

Perfect!

That will keep those damn kids off my lawn!!

Posted: 3/25/2009 11:09:28 AM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Unless the strains are different now Zoysia is really itchy. When I was a kid our neighbor had a beautiful lawn but none of us would play on it. If you fell or got tackled any skin that hit the grass hard, would itch like crazy and get lots of little bumps. It did clear up quickly but for 8-10 year olds it was not fun.

That's surprising to hear. I sodded the Palisades variety and, while I can't stand the way St. Augustine feels, I love to sit in my zoysia. No itch at all.

Posted: 3/26/2009 1:04:07 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Friend has it. It is hardy. It does spread and invade other grasses. It does brown in the winter. But in the spring, summer and fall, he has the nicest lawn in the subdivision. He's offered me some plugs and I may take him up on it.

The grass I have already browns in the winter. I haven't seen a green lawn in the winter - ever - in Missouri.

Come on. At the end of August after a drought year the grass turns brown, but even at that there is still plenty of green at the surface. When the weather eases, practically every lawn is far more green than brown. Go to to SW Kansas and points West into the desert to see brown lawns.

In January?

Posted: 3/26/2009 3:28:42 PM EDT

[#36]

Tag........ I've been considering plugs for my lawn for a few years now.

Posted: 3/26/2009 3:31:06 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Friend has it. It is hardy. It does spread and invade other grasses. It does brown in the winter. But in the spring, summer and fall, he has the nicest lawn in the subdivision. He's offered me some plugs and I may take him up on it.

The grass I have already browns in the winter. I haven't seen a green lawn in the winter - ever - in Missouri.

Come on. At the end of August after a drought year the grass turns brown, but even at that there is still plenty of green at the surface. When the weather eases, practically every lawn is far more green than brown. Go to to SW Kansas and points West into the desert to see brown lawns.

In January?

Yes.

Posted: 3/26/2009 3:35:00 PM EDT

[#38]

If I areate my yard, and put these plugs in the holes...what do you all think? I always see the ad's and I have a yard with mix shade, some dry areas and some damp areas....the last issue of American Rifleman really has me thinking of buying some..I have about 1/2 acre total.

Posted: 3/26/2009 3:51:32 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:
FWIW mine is already turning green, and it didn't go dormant until mid-October or right around the first hard freeze. Around here, all lawns go brown from Oct. through March.

What fertilizer do you use?

Posted: 3/26/2009 3:53:58 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:

If I areate my yard, and put these plugs in the holes...what do you all think? I always see the ad's and I have a yard with mix shade, some dry areas and some damp areas....the last issue of American Rifleman really has me thinking of buying some..I have about 1/2 acre total.

All of the plugs I've seen are 2" square. Don't think they'll fit in the holes.

Posted: 3/26/2009 3:57:38 PM EDT

[#41]

I have a yard, I don't want or need a golf course as a lawn.
My neighbor spends a lot of money making his grass the best on the street. I just want in green and keep it cut when I have too.
If I have the time and money to grow something like his lawn I will plant vegatables.
I for one have never picked up on the super green lawn is great show. I see it as a mark of a man who is not allowed to do man things like fish and hunt and shoot.

Posted: 3/26/2009 3:59:26 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:
If I areate my yard, and put these plugs in the holes...what do you all think? I always see the ad's and I have a yard with mix shade, some dry areas and some damp areas....the last issue of American Rifleman really has me thinking of buying some..I have about 1/2 acre total.

Like I said earlier, I tried out the plugs. I used the tool they give you to put them in the ground.

Not a single one ever took, and if they did, the St. Augustine killed them.

I wouldn't waste your money.

Posted: 3/26/2009 4:06:25 PM EDT

[#43]

why would you want to put the plugs in when you can just go buy the sod. it would look so much better. around here Lowe's has zoysia sod for sale.

if you use the plugs your lawn is going to look like the Hair Club For Men advertisement gone bad.

Posted: 3/26/2009 4:09:54 PM EDT

[#44]

its a lot of work, i say no

Posted: 3/26/2009 4:18:45 PM EDT

[#45]

Quoted:
My neighbor installed Zoysia when he moved in, and it's awesome.

So awesome, in fact, that I bought the plugs.

I installed half the plugs all over the front yard, and half in one big patch in the back.

4 years later, there is no evidence whatsoever that they ever existed.

This is with St. Augustine grass.

I have St,Augustine grass as well. Looks like the mighty Zoysia grass cant take that over.

St.Augustine stays green all year and take heavy traffic. I am keeping St.Augustine

Posted: 3/26/2009 4:48:04 PM EDT

[#46]

Quoted:
I has to be good, it's banned in the state of Washington

And Oregon IIRC

Why is that? The ads say that it won't grow here (yeah right), but I'm sure there's some other stupid reason.

Posted: 3/26/2009 4:57:25 PM EDT

[#47]

Yeah....I am going to pass on this stuff.

http://www.allaboutlawns.com/grass-types/some-thoughts-on-zoysia-grass.php

I need something good up here, I have some sand near my water that I need good roots to get going to help stop erosion....this zoysia stuff in Livonia, Mi won't cut it.

Posted: 3/26/2009 5:42:40 PM EDT

[#48]

Quoted:
If I areate my yard, and put these plugs in the holes...what do you all think? I always see the ad's and I have a yard with mix shade, some dry areas and some damp areas....the last issue of American Rifleman really has me thinking of buying some..I have about 1/2 acre total.

You saw an ad for miracle grass on the same page that usually has ads for Amish miracle fireplaces and a metric ton of ONCE IN A LIFETIME RAW EMERALDS/diamonds/sapphires at the low low price of $129.99 and it made you think of buying it?

Posted: 3/26/2009 6:50:00 PM EDT

[#49]

He is a fairly skeptical guy and if you look above your post. He researched it out more.

Posted: 3/26/2009 7:06:54 PM EDT

[#50]

Isn't Billy Mays selling this shit now?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Zoysia grass plugs - yay or nay? (Page 1 of 2)

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