Stressed Zoysia Lawn

[Chatbrat]

Have several brown spots on our lawn, & the lawn looks lumpy--looking for solutions

[GoPacers]

Have several brown spots on our lawn, & the lawn looks lumpy--looking for solutions

I'd be interested in what you find. We've had the same problem for years and have replaced several sections of the yard with new sod, have tried different lawn companies and nothing seems to solve the problem. In some of the sections of new sod, the sod goes dormant. We've even had the soil tested and nothing is obvious.

[fromct]

You might find this helpful..........

Is Zoysia Grass Right for My Lawn? | Massey Services, Inc. (https://www.masseyservices.com/zoysia-grass-right-for-my-lawn/)

[billethkid]

Keeping a good looking lawn here is akin to trying to grow grass on a sand dune.

[raynan]

We found grubs in our lawn.

[Bogie Shooter]

Brown patch fungus? Look it up.

[Joe V.]

Brown patch in St. Augustine clears up as the weather gets hotter. Not sure about zoysia though.

[JoMar]

Had the same issue, Deans tried everything. I then switched to Greensmith for lawn care and Showtime for mowing. It has taken almost 14 months but both of them have brought the lawn back to about 90% of where it needs to be. Still have some bare spots but we agreed to fix that in Spring. Both those companies talk to each other and work with each other. I'm convinced that having the right folks work on the problem is important, finding who they are is difficult. Some of our neighbors also use Orkin and they are very happy with the results.

[villagetinker]

You might have mole crickets, I had these in my lawn, Deans treated, and still waiting for full recovery of the grass, but the lawn in general is much better.

[chriskean82]

Hi, Chris from Kean Landscaping & Design. Without inspecting it, sounds like brown spot. Make sure your mowing at 2”-2.5” and catch the clippings. Zoysia doesn’t like to be cut high. It’s a little late but treat with a fungicide, either granular (water in) or liquid. You can’t cure brown spot but you can treat it. If you pull the deadish grass, it releases easily and is blackish at the base, its brown spot.
Any questions call or email,
Keanlandscaping@yahoo.com
727-593-0253

[tjlee500]

t is a common misconception that "acid" in a dog’s urine is what causes the brown spots left behind on our lawns. However, the culprit causing lawn burn is actually the high nitrogen content of the dog's urine. Nitrogen is “the waste” in the urine and is the result of protein breakdown through normal body processes. Because a canine diet is very high in protein, there will be high levels of nitrogen, and you’ll be battling blemishes for as long as your pet uses the lawn for its place of business. Best treatment is to hose spot right after. Grass can eventually come back. I have 2 dogs and brown spots becausey they want to go as soon as they are out. I am away for the summer and upon return, no brown spots.

[Rzepecki]

Our dog doesn’t create brown spots. Maybe it’s their diet?

[mrf6969]

Put down Talstar that you can buy at ACE Hardware. I did and it always works. It will kill Mole Crickets and any lawn bug. Best Pesticide out there. These very expensive lawn companies are all the same, Terrible!!! I do my own and have the best lawn (Zoysia) in the area.

[Doro22]

Put in St. Augustine. Remove the Zosia. St. Augustine is glossy and has wide blades & beautiful. We did it. A little expensive and lots of work, but we couldn’t deal with that scrawny thin bladed Zoysia any more. The Villages is now putting in St. Augustine in all new areas.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Have several brown spots on our lawn, & the lawn looks lumpy--looking for solutions

Could be a fungus.

[JimJohnson]

Zoysia is very sensitive to cold or even cool weather. It should grow in just fine in March.

[champion6]

Put in St. Augustine. Remove the Zosia. St. Augustine is glossy and has wide blades & beautiful. We did it. A little expensive and lots of work, but we couldn’t deal with that scrawny thin bladed Zoysia any more. The Villages is now putting in St. Augustine in all new areas.Are you in TV?

If you had Zoysia, then your neighbors on both sides had Zoysia. When you replaced your Zoysia with St. Augustine, how were you (and they) able to prevent infiltration going in both directions. Sounds like a lot of cost and work for what?

[RalphM]

Hello VT...

I had Deans come out and inspect the mounds along the edging of my lawn. They told me its moles and said they don't treat it. Thoughts please.

Thanks,
Ralph

[MorTech]

If you are growing Zoysia on top of 4 inches of thatch, you are going to have disease/bugs/root rot. Cut to 2.5 inches. I use a systemic insecticide called Dominion 2L to control those pesky bugs.

[laryb]

Hello VT...

I had Deans come out and inspect the mounds along the edging of my lawn. They told me its moles and said they don't treat it. Thoughts please.

Thanks,
Ralph
We had moles twice. First year we had professionals come out and trap them. They got 2 of them. While they're not cheap, they do a good job. They tell you up front that there are no guarantees that they will catch them, but they did come by to check the traps for a few weeks until they caught them. If you google "how to trap moles", you can do it yourself with the right traps. I did myself and got 2.

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[DAVES]

Have several brown spots on our lawn, & the lawn looks lumpy--looking for solutions

You are going to get tons of opinions. No one can properly analyze your real problem from your description.
The cooperative extension s a great resource. For your,"Brown spots," you want to remove a piece of sod at the boarder between where the problem is and where it is not. Take it into the cooperative extension so they can see it. If, you take it out, you can actually bring it back and replant it. You can and should take pictures of your lawn. "Brown spots," could be insects, fungus. Someone read your,"lumpy," description and thought moles. Perhaps? If you don't know how to recognize moles you can find it on the internet. Moles feed on insects by making tunnels. If, you have moles you also have an insect infestation.

It, could be that one of your sprinkler zones, heads, are plugged buried or cut off with a mower.

[DAVES]

If you are growing Zoysia on top of 4 inches of thatch, you are going to have disease/bugs/root rot. Cut to 2.5 inches. I use a systemic insecticide called Dominion 2L to control those pesky bugs.

If, I recall the instructions say to de-thatch every 3-4 years.
I bought an electric vertical rake ???? green??? avail at Walmart, Amazon etc for about $100. Out of my 5,000 sq foot lawn it pulled out about 10 of those paper trash bags we are forced to use
each bag packed down and filled to the top. It is a lot of work
to rake up all that material and put it in the bags. I believe a pro will charge you a little more than buying the machine.

As to zoysia, we have some st Augustine intrusion brought in by one of the mower guys. As St Augustine spreads by surface runners and zoysia runners are below ground, the rake set correctly will rip out the St Augustine without much damage to the zoysia.

Now is not a good time to de-thatch your lawn as you open it up for weeds. Best time is late April early May.

[DAVES]

Are you in TV?

If you had Zoysia, then your neighbors on both sides had Zoysia. When you replaced your Zoysia with St. Augustine, how were you (and they) able to prevent infiltration going in both directions. Sounds like a lot of cost and work for what?

I'm not sure what the rules are but would expect there are some.
Our lawns are all attached. If, one neighbor has Zoyzia and the other St Augustine there is nothing to stop them spreading into each
other. Both neighbors will eventually have patches of each.

There is no perfect grass. Every grass that is used in a lawn have pluses and minuses. St Augustine, particularly in hot times can be wiped out with common broad-leaf weed killer-24D and if you have it intruding into a zoysia lawn that is one solution. Another chemical control for St Augustine that will not kill Zoysia is sold as
Quin kill max

[Doro22]

Are you in TV?

If you had Zoysia, then your neighbors on both sides had Zoysia. When you replaced your Zoysia with St. Augustine, how were you (and they) able to prevent infiltration going in both directions. Sounds like a lot of cost and work for what?

Yes we live in The V. And yes neighbors on both sides have Zoysia. Our St Augustine is growing into their Zoysia and mixing in. Actually makes their lawns look better on each side of us. It was a lot of cost & work...and for what you ask. Well the lawn is now beautiful. It doesn’t look scrawny like the Zoysia grass. We are originally from S. Fl & missed our St. Augustine. It is a personal preference that gives us satisfaction.

[crispy1950]

We used to have one area that would mound up some and grass was almost dead. I would replace that section, but the following fall would experience the same problem. I noticed small round holes in the lawn (about the size of ball point pen barrel). I also noticed a few times a bug about the size of a small grasshopper with no wings on the lawn.

I told my lawn/termite people and they told me that those were
mole crickets. They lay about 150 eggs and the young eat the roots of the zoysia grass. This is why the grass almost dies and it feel soft and lumpy. The spraying for mole crickets have to be applied within a 1 1/2 month window during the summer.

Since they started this spraying regimen, I have not had a problem with my lawn.

[Two Bills]

Keeping a good looking lawn here is akin to trying to grow grass on a sand dune.

I thought that was what everone in TV was doing anyway!

[coffeebean]

. ...... I have 2 dogs and brown spots becausey they want to go as soon as they are out. I am away for the summer and upon return, no brown spots.

In NJ, I had a brick path leading to a "potty area" for our dog. I used about 3" of soft mulch in the area so it would be comfortable for his paws. Would it help to have a "potty area" for the dogs? Are we allowed to set aside a place like that for pets in the backs of our homes?

If I had a dog here in The Villages, I would carve out a small patch for the potty area and line the edge with small shrubs so it would not be visible to neighbors. Leave a small opening for entering the potty area. I used to turn over the mulch every couple of months and replenish the mulch when it started to break down. Worked out really well and did not have my lawn compromised in any way.

Now.....what do we do with dog owners who insist on walking their dogs and allowing them to pee on their neighbor's lawns? I was never guilty of that as I did not allow my leashed dog to walk on anyone's lawn. If he wanted to pee, the street was just fine for that.

[coffeebean]

Put in St. Augustine. Remove the Zosia. St. Augustine is glossy and has wide blades & beautiful. We did it. A little expensive and lots of work, but we couldn’t deal with that scrawny thin bladed Zoysia any more. The Villages is now putting in St. Augustine in all new areas.

When we purchased our home in 2013, 95% of the lawn on our property was Zoisia. There was a patch, about 5%, that was St. Augustine. The original owner of the home replace a bad patch of lawn, using the incorrect type of sod which was the St. Augustine. At the time, I had no idea the St. Augustine grass would kill off the Zoisia.

I have found that the St. Augustine is heartier than the Zoisia because nearly half of my lawn now is St. Augustine. The St. Augustine has killed off the Zoisia as it makes it's way around the property.

One thing I like about St. Augustine better than the Zoisia is that it is much heartier in cold weather. It does not go dormant. Another, very important feature of the St. Augustine is that is DOES NOT TUNNEL into the flower beds. I find the St. Augustine travels above ground into the flower beds and is so much easier to keep the beds clear of the grass. Actually while living in South Florida, someone once told me St. Augustine is not really a grass. It is a weed. I don't mind though as it is very hearty and very green and easy to maintain.

[coffeebean]

Are you in TV?

If you had Zoysia, then your neighbors on both sides had Zoysia. When you replaced your Zoysia with St. Augustine, how were you (and they) able to prevent infiltration going in both directions. Sounds like a lot of cost and work for what?

I just posted about this. Infiltration of the St. Augustine is inevitable. That small amount of sod which was planted by the original owner of our home has crept it's way and is not nearly the dominant grass on our property. My neighbor behind our home had St. Augustine on his property which infiltrated our Zoisia when we moved in. That Zoisia is now gone and the lawn in the back yard is pretty much solid St. Augustine.

The St. Augustine is stronger than the Zoisia. The Zoisia loses and St. Augustine wins. Not sure how the neighbors feel but there is nothing I can do about it. It is what it is.

[MorTech]

A neighbor on a bigger corner lot had about 4 inches of thatch and his yard looked like an old Scottish Links course because of crickets and webworms feasting on the roots. He bought a lawn mower and proceeded to dethatch but quit after just a few passes...He hired someone to dethatch and they took 2 large truckloads of thatch away, and the lawn still needed more dethatching.

I just buzzcut my Zoysia lawn to 1" mid-June when the rain season starts. I have a small lawn and I fill about 12 yard bags. I mow to 2" during rain season and 2.5" during dry season. Use high N and K w/ iron fertilizer during hot/dry season when the Zoysia is being stressed.