[OhioBuckeye]

Well I always say if it’s not broke don’t fix it. If you fertilize it & it looks good why try to fix it! Mine looks good & I’ve never had mine thatched or anything else.

[greendrake]

It’s too late to dethatch but aeration is always an immediate alternative.
Dethatch from October til may. I’ve used Adam’s earth several times and it’s been great. Local guy not pushy. We are very happy with him
(352) 342-1384

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by bowlingal

two Bills...if you read the directions on the Scotts bag of zoysia seed, it tells you to scape the soil first, put the seed down, then cover with top soil and water. So, it is not on the surface. Also, they do germinate in the sun/shade as I can attest to.

As I said, I am not familiar with Zoysia, more a Rye grass, Fescue, and Bent grass man myself, so I looked up germinating Zoysia from seed, and both the sites I read, advised loosening top soil/sand, fertilizing, scattering seed seed on surface, rolling/treading seed in, and watering.
Likes sun, and not best for shady areas.
So there you go. Always more than one way of skinning a cat.

[Happydaz]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

As I said, I am not familiar with Zoysia, more a Rye grass, Fescue, and Bent grass man myself, so I looked up germinating Zoysia from seed, and both the sites I read, advised loosening top soil/sand, fertilizing, scattering seed seed on surface, rolling/treading seed in, and watering.
Likes sun, and not best for shady areas.
So there you go. Always more than one way of skinning a cat.

There are a number of zoysia varieties. The zoysia grass planted in many parts of the Villages is Empire Zoysia, a patented variety, from Sod Solutions. Empire Zoysia cannot be planted as seed so you need to use sod or plugs for replanting. The zoysia seed that is sold in stores or on line is another variety and may not give a uniform appearance to your lawn. I usually just cut out some large plugs (3-4 inches in diameter and 4-5 inches deep) out of my Empire lawn in the back yard and replant in the bare spots out in the front lawn. Big plugs planted six inches apart can fill in very quickly here in Florida. I mistakenly grabbed the “wrong weed killer”, i.e. a grass killer, and destroyed a sizable area of my lawn. I planted these large plugs into my front lawn in February and they have almost completely filled in already. You can buy plugs from Sod Solutions but they are small and expensive. Just harvest your back yard, refill holes back there with the dirt you dig out of the front yard and both areas will eventually fill in. You need to stay on top of frequent watering and fertilizing until the plugs start to take off growing.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by bowlingal

two Bills...if you read the directions on the Scotts bag of zoysia seed, it tells you to scape the soil first, put the seed down, then cover with top soil and water. So, it is not on the surface. Also, they do germinate in the sun/shade as I can attest to.

There are many varieties of zoysia grass. In the villages they have plated Empire Zoysia. It is planted by plugs or actually sprigs-one grass plant. It does not produce a viable seed. The zoysia seed that you can purchase is not the same as what you have. A grower produces sod, and we lay it down. The problem is there is no preparation of the,"soil," that they lay the sod on top of.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by gbs317

I have St. Augustine grass on sandy soil…. what are the needs for this type regarding thatching and aerating…Thx

Care of St Augustine is actually a different animal. Empire Zoysia spreads by under ground runners. St. Augustine has it's runners above ground. Dethatching it with the machine set low will tear out live grass. Chemistry. We all with Empire Zoysia and using, "professional," mowers who do both commonly found lawn types end up with intrusions of St Augustine grass. An easy solution broadleaf weed killer 24d will kill St Augustine at lower levels than will kill empire zoysia.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by greendrake

It’s too late to dethatch but aeration is always an immediate alternative.
Dethatch from October til may. I’ve used Adam’s earth several times and it’s been great. Local guy not pushy. We are very happy with him
(352) 342-1384

No shortage of OPINIONS. Am proud to declare my lawn can't read. Dethatching opens up the soil and can allow weeds to grow. Empire Zoysia a hot weather grass starts to grow around April. We all suffer from spring fever BUT, you should put down your first application of fertilzer in last week of march first week or two in April. Too early and you are encouraging the early growing weeds. The pros are not busy in October so looking for income will do it too early.

[NoMoSno]

Originally Posted by DAVES

No shortage of OPINIONS. Am proud to declare my lawn can't read. Dethatching opens up the soil and can allow weeds to grow. Empire Zoysia a hot weather grass starts to grow around April. We all suffer from spring fever BUT, you should put down your first application of fertilzer in last week of march first week or two in April. Too early and you are encouraging the early growing weeds. The pros are not busy in October so looking for income will do it too early.

Should also put down pre-emergent in Feb. when soil temp reaches 50-55 deg.