Mowing, watering, feeding and protecting your lawn through spring, summer and fall.
If you have a mature, established Emerald Zoysia lawn, drop your mower a notch and give your lawn a "buzz-cut" for the first mow of the spring with a rotary mower that has a sharpened blade. Bag up all the material to keep excess clippings from clumping or causing disease.
After your initial buzz-cut, begin mowing your Emerald Zoysia at a height of 0.5–1.5 inches. You can return to spreading your mower clippings on the lawn at this time.
Don't overwater. Zoysia needs about 1 inch of water a week, counting rainfall. If you apply any granular fertilizer or control product, you will need to water it in — this is a sufficient amount of water for the week. Overwatering may promote disease outbreak. Conduct an irrigation audit to evaluate how much water is being delivered to different areas of your lawn.
For optimal results, feed your lawn during the spring season by applying a granular fertilizer.
Apply a pre-emergent herbicide when soil temperatures reach 55°F. This will prevent summer annual weeds like crabgrass and goosegrass from plaguing your lawn and garden. Apply post-emergent herbicides in May as needed to control summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds like white clover, knotweed, spurge and lespedeza. Products containing multiple broadleaf active ingredients are more effective in controlling broadleaf weeds.
Apply a broad-spectrum insecticide to prevent spring insects from appearing or to control any current spring insects like billbugs or white grubs. If you see any white grubs, apply a systemic insecticide like Scotts GrubEx or Dylox 6.2 Granular Insecticide.
Apply a systemic fungicide at a preventive rate to keep disease from taking hold of your lawn. You may begin to see disease outbreaks as your Emerald Zoysia begins to green up. Do not apply fertilizer until you've applied a systemic fungicide at a curative rate and your grass has recovered.
Emerald Zoysia mowing heights during the summer generally range from about 0.5–1.5 inches. Never remove more than ⅓ of the leaf blade at a time. If you remove more than that, you will stress the grass and it may go brown for a short time. Taller blades provide more shade for your root system to stay cool and retain moisture during hot summer days. If you are returning from vacation, you may have to mow multiple times to get the grass back to the desired height. Wait about three to five days between each mowing.
Do not overwater the grass. Emerald Zoysia only needs about 1 inch of water weekly. Water for longer periods of time, less frequently, and in the early morning hours. Take rainfall into consideration.
For optimal results, feed your lawn during the summer season by applying fertilizer once every three months.
It is not recommended that you apply an herbicide at this time. Once temperatures exceed 85°F, the herbicide will damage the grass. Common weeds to look out for include crabgrass, goosegrass, nutsedge, knotweed, lespedeza, spurge and sandspur.
Check for and control any hunting billbugs. Apply Merit 0.5G, Bifen XTS or Bifen L/P to treat them if they are currently an issue. If you use a granular product, water the lawn immediately after application to help soil absorption, and count that watering toward your weekly amount. Other insects to look out for include mole crickets, grub worms and spittlebugs.
Disease outbreaks in Emerald Zoysia are uncommon at this time. Treat with a broad-spectrum fungicide like Heritage if needed. If you use a granular product, water the lawn immediately after application to help soil absorption, and count that watering toward your weekly amount.
During the fall, mowing will occur less often. Keeping your Emerald Zoysia slightly higher than the regular 0.5–1.5 inch height will encourage deeper root growth, which helps it survive colder temperatures and winter dormancy.
Water less as temperatures drop — too much water will lead to disease. Water to prevent drought stress while grass is actively growing and after the beginning stages of dormancy to prevent dehydration.
For optimal results, feed your lawn during the fall season by applying fertilizer once every three months.
Apply pre-emergent herbicides to control winter annual and perennial weeds like chickweed, henbit, Poa annua, sedge, crabgrass or goosegrass. Apply post-emergent herbicides only when weeds are present.
Check for and control any white grubs. Treat with an insecticide if needed. If you use a granular product, water the lawn immediately after application to help soil absorption.
If large patch disease is a common problem in your Emerald Zoysia, apply a fungicide at a preventive rate. If you use a granular product, water the lawn immediately after application to help soil absorption. Consider mapping those areas, because fungicide treatment can be expensive.
Our team and consulting agronomist are happy to help diagnose problems or recommend products — many are available at Sodmasters Landscape Center.
