Zoysia

Have you ever noticed some lawns appear to turn almost straw-like once the cooler weather rolls around? It is quite common to see varietal turf differences in our area, and in this case, you could be seeing Zoysia.

Zoysia is a type of warm-weather grass that is seen most often in the southern region of the country due to its ability to remain green in hot temperatures. Unfortunately for New England, this means Zoysia remains dormant a little longer in the spring compared to other, cool-season grass types. This results in large patches of bright yellow lawn sticking out like sore thumbs.

Zoysia is great for lawns without irrigation because it can withstand summer heat more than typical grass types found in Massachusetts like Kentucky Blue, Rye, etc. That is, as long as you don’t mind yellow grass starting as early as October stemming as late as May. It’s also great for summer homes, because owners won’t feel the need to see a perfectly green lawn until it’s warm enough to spend time there, after which the Zoysia will be out of dormancy.

A lot of people commonly mistake Zoysia grass for a type of weed or disease in the lawn that needs killing. Other people think it will green right up with one dose of fertilizer. Unfortunately, neither is the case. As Zoysia is a type of grass and not a weed, weed controls will have no effect on it. Fertilizer won’t do anything until after it’s out of the dormant state. If waiting for Zoysia in your lawn to turn green is an issue, we recommend removing those sections of lawn and seeding it with a cool-season grass type like fescue, rye or bluegrass. Otherwise, don’t worry! Once the weather is consistently warm, the Zoysia will wake up out of dormancy and green right up once more.