[big guy]

There was a time that zoysia looked like the answer to all the problems with grass here in Florida (and everywhere else as well) but we have all learned that is not the case. ENH979/EP236: Homeowner Best Management Practices for the Home Lawn (care of zoysia)

The Villages is no longer using zoysia in their new builds because of extensive problems south of 466a and other areas in The Villages. They are using St Augustine floratam. This is not to say that St Augustine has no problems. There are 2 problems with St Augustine that are rather large. One being chinch bugs. They like it hot and start chewing the grass usually along the cement driveway, the sidewalk or street. The problem can be successfully treated. Ask at Lowes, Home Depot or Ace Hdwre for something to eradicate cinch bug. (Chinch Bug Identification and Treatment - YouTube) I got very upset when we first moved here and there were so many turf problems. I no longer sweat it. I just pick up the phone and call Massey.

The other problem is large patch (formerly called brown patch). That is a fungus and starts when the nights are cool and the days are warm. It can be exacerbated if the lawn is watered too early in the evening and the grass is wet all night. Once the lawn gets large patch, it will always have it so that it has to be treated proactively with the appropriate fungicide. Use plugs of St Augustine floratam after you clear up active large patch (spring). SS-PLP-5/LH044: Large Patch

The other 'sometimes' problem with both zoysia and St Augustine is mole crickets. It seems that some neighborhoods have more problems with them than others. The mole crickets are attracted to lawns with heavy thatch. Imdacloprid controls mole crickets. Mole Cricket Control – Tips For Mole Cricket Elimination

[rubicon]

Grass is grass, and thankfully I am on the right-side (upside of it)

I pay Massey to keep it green and clean of weeds and bugs and another guy to keep it trimmed.

We had Kentucky Blue up North, Bermuda in Memphis and Saint Augustine here.

My favorite was Bermuda and the more sand you gave it the healthier it got. It would not start growing until the temps hit 80 degrees and mowing it was not the struggle you have with Saint Augustine.

I could not find a lawnmower front wheel or rear wheel drive that would not require an extra effort by me to get it moving. its why I finally hired a guy to mow it.

Two of my neighbors removed Saint Augustine and replaced it with Empire Zoysia . I recall the cost to them was $2,000. My brother also has Zoysia. I do
not like zoysia because it turns a god- awful brown

[MorTech]

TV went to Empire Zoysia becuase it is more drought tolerant and requires less water. People are complaining about how s-l-o-w it comes out of the awful yellow-color dormancy, especially in the Spring when people want their lawn to green up soonest. No matter what you do, it will stay yellow into May. It seems like Zoysia will go into dormancy and stay there if you yell "Boo" at it TV went back to St. Augustine at Fenney and south of 44.

I use Lesco 16-4-8 fertilizer at the end of May and the lawn greens up nicely in early June.

Got critters eating your lawn? Demand CS and Bifen XTS will stop that. It doesn't take much.

[tuccillo]

Bermuda and Centipede also turn brown in the winter, usually after a couple of frosts. I have had Zoysia, Bermuda, and Centipede and of those three I preferred Centipede; drought resistant, low fertilizer requirements, slow growing, and any bare spots fill in quickly.

Originally Posted by rubicon

Grass is grass, and thankfully I am on the right-side (upside of it)

I pay Massey to keep it green and clean of weeds and bugs and another guy to keep it trimmed.

We had Kentucky Blue up North, Bermuda in Memphis and Saint Augustine here.

My favorite was Bermuda and the more sand you gave it the healthier it got. It would not start growing until the temps hit 80 degrees and mowing it was not the struggle you have with Saint Augustine.

I could not find a lawnmower front wheel or rear wheel drive that would not require an extra effort by me to get it moving. its why I finally hired a guy to mow it.

Two of my neighbors removed Saint Augustine and replaced it with Empire Zoysia . I recall the cost to them was $2,000. My brother also has Zoysia. I do
not like zoysia because it turns a god- awful brown

[graciegirl]

The villages put in Zoyzia sod in our yard. It cannot be removed from bushes, and it grows under things such as deeply embedded walls and it finds your foundation plantings covered with rocks. . You cannot remove it unless you get down on your hands and knees and follow it back to it's roots which are several miles from where you are kneeling on a bed of fire ants.............................................. BUT

It is more expensive than St. Augustine and The Villages are NOT cheap.

[Meboko]

We're in Phillips Villas, too, and I'm pretty sure we were told its zoyzia.
Seems to really like water - its at its greenest right alongside the AC drip line.

[Mrs. Robinson]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

The villages put in Zoyzia sod in our yard. It cannot be removed from bushes, and it grows under things such as deeply embedded walls and it finds your foundation plantings covered with rocks. . You cannot remove it unless you get down on your hands and knees and follow it back to it's roots which are several miles from where you are kneeling on a bed of fire ants.

Originally Posted by Meboko

We're in Phillips Villas, too, and I'm pretty sure we were told its zoysia.
Seems to really like water - its at its greenest right alongside the AC drip line.

The word is Zoysia; there is no "z" in Zoysia and it absolutely can be removed from bushes.
If Zoysia is trimmed and edged, the chances are nil of having a problem with it travelling into plant beds or most certainly under deeply embedded walls.
There are other weeds that could do this such as torpedo grass, etc., however.

I have had many of the Florida grasses over the years, Seville, Floratam, Centipede, Bahia and the ever popular Zoysia, which I hate.

I have never found that Zoysia requires much less water than any of the St. Augustine types, although I have never tested how many days it would take for each variety to die, when going X amount of days without water.
I have only read that Zoysia requires less water but have never seen any test results.

I'm sure I could be proven wrong, but in my mind, it's bunk.
Give me St. Augustine any day!
As long as I'm alive, I want to see the green side up all year long.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

Bermuda and Centipede also turn brown in the winter, usually after a couple of frosts. I have had Zoysia, Bermuda, and Centipede and of those three I preferred Centipede; drought resistant, low fertilizer requirements, slow growing, and any bare spots fill in quickly.

True, bermuda needs 80 degree weather to grow.
In the summer when I traveled back home to New York I intentionally treated the lawn to let it go dormant for that 2 week period so mowing wasn't an issue and then upon my return to Memphis added various fertilizer etc and it greened up quickly

Neighbors would literally buy truckload filled with sand and have it spread across their lawns and they flourished, Admittedly never heard of Centipede

Personal Best Regards:

[Mrs. Robinson]

Originally Posted by rubicon

True, bermuda needs 80 degree weather to grow.
In the summer when I traveled back home to New York I intentionally treated the lawn to let it go dormant for that 2 week period so mowing wasn't an issue and then upon my return to Memphis added various fertilizer etc and it greened up quickly

Neighbors would literally buy truckload filled with sand and have it spread across their lawns and they flourished.
Admittedly never heard of Centipede.

Centipede is a slow growing grass that grows by runners.
It's a good Florida grass because is does well in sandy soils and as grasses go, is relatively low maintenance.
It's also pretty much drought tolerant and stays green all year -- a major plus, as far as I'm concerned!

[tuccillo]

Centipede will quickly go brown after a few frosts. While we don't have a lot of frost here, it will brown up if we do.

Originally Posted by Mrs. Robinson

Centipede is a slow growing grass that grows by runners.
It's a good Florida grass because is does well in sandy soils and as grasses go, is relatively low maintenance.
It's also pretty much drought tolerant and stays green all year -- a major plus, as far as I'm concerned!

[Ozzello]

TV started using Zoysia, (and pinestraw instead of mulch) at the same time. Unless you were privy to the deals at the time..who can say why? BUT I can say for sure... it was NEVER a good grass for this area.

Centipede hasn't gone dormant in this area since the early 80s. You can sod it or seed it. Mow it less than 6 times a year. Barely water it, and use only the cheapest low Nitrogen fertilizer once a year...if at all. There is no grass comparable to Centipede foe this area.

St Aug gets fungus some, bugs too, but it recovers easily and quickly while Zoysia is still pouting. And if we have a rainy winter..or any season..What Zoysia isn't dead from fungus will have fungus. St Aug handles our humidity and rainy seasons WAY better. Stop pouring the chemicals on Zoysia, and it would be all but extinct in this area in a year or two.

Escape the hype folks, just because someone claims to know, doesn't mean they do. ASK how long they lived here, what they were doing 10 years ago. Is the knowledge from the local garden club (of people from 'other' states)? Or did they actually go to college for agriculture..horticulture , botany ?
Learning from the guy cutting your grass? Don't. Asked a Landscape 'designer' from...Minnisota? No again... find you a cracker with 20 plus years horticulture experience in the local area or you are likely throwing money at a problem that will re-appear in a few months. The catch 22s caused by the wide spread mis-information in TV ... are expensive for YOU.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Sprinkler Buddy

I wonder why more people don't go with centipede grass. It looks great in my opinion and requires much less water and less mowing maintenance to keep looking great. Not to mention less needed fertilizer and pesticides.

Everything I've ever heard about southern grasses says that centipede is the best.

What I'd always heard about Zoysia is that it's best suited to the mid-Atlantic region. My understanding is that it really only does well in Delaware, Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia. Of course, new strains of grass are being developed all the time. It could be that a new strand of Zoysia was developed for sub-tropical climates.