Zoysia Grass: How to Overseed and Maintain It

Zoysia grass is a warm-season turf from Asia product of a number of species. This coarse grass— which thrives in central and southern states — will not be shade-loving and prefers the solar.

Nonetheless, even with the perfect care, drought and pest harm may cause grass blades to show brown or go dormant. If in depth harm happens, and naked spots kind, overseeding zoysia grass within the fall may also help restore the turf.

To that finish, right here’s what makes zoysia develop patchy, the best way to overseed your zoysia garden, and the way to make sure the perfect outcomes.

What Makes Zoysia Grass Patchy?

Earlier than overseeding zoysia grass, you’ll have to establish the basis reason for the harm. Drought is the customarily main issue, however pests comparable to Chinch bugs, Looking billbugs, and fungal pathogens like Rhizoctonia solani may be culprits.

Right here’s a breakdown of how pests and pathogens have an effect on zoysia lawns:

Chinch Bugs

Chinch bugs — the commonest pests of zoysia grass — unfold quickly to destroy main garden areas. These bugs inflict harm throughout the scorching and dry summer time months, and it’s powerful to tell apart their visits from drought results. Nonetheless, their patterns are predictable. Chinch bugs start damaging grass from one aspect and broaden as populations improve. In consequence, harm is essentially the most extreme alongside garden boundaries, like sidewalks and driveways.

Looking Billbugs

Looking billbugs are most lively throughout the night time and early morning. Their harm is extra widespread in mid- to late spring and early summer time, when billbug larvae bore into the zoysia’s decrease leaf stem and flourish. The turning level comes when rising larvae feed on stolons within the early summer time, and grass exhibits signs of yellow areas that finally brown and die out.  

Rhizoctonia Solani – Fungal Pathogen

The third most typical zoysia grass nuisance is Rhizoctonia solani, a soil-borne fungal pathogen. The big-patch signs seem within the fall and are most extreme as zoysia grass progress slows resulting from cool temperature. This fungal pathogen can have an effect on patches starting from 6 inches to many ft in diameter.

The right way to Overseed Zoysia Grass — Straightforward Steps

Overseeding zoysia grass is important to cowl bald garden patches and create a wholesome garden. It is best to overseed lawns within the late spring or early fall as temperatures are favorable for seed germination. For those who overseed within the fall, unfold seeds at the very least 60 days earlier than the primary frost.

To arrange a zoysia garden for overseeding, observe these steps:

Gather particles. Step one of seedbed preparation is eradicating particles, stones, rocks, pinecones, straws or some other floor cowl. Use a rake to gather and take away smaller items of particles. For those who’re seeding a naked spot, take away any useless grass to show the soil.

Mow. Minimize the grass to about 1-inch tall, guaranteeing acceptable seed-to-soil contact. When grass is excessive, seeds get caught within the blades and will not attain the soil. Sustaining low blade peak is necessary for the profitable overseeding of zoysia grass.

Aerate. This entails punching holes into the bottom to loosen compacted soil. Ample air circulation permits water to penetrate deeper to succeed in roots, and aerated soils can permit for higher seed-to-soil contact.

Dethatch. Whereas aeration prepares the soil, dethatching prepares current turf. Thatch— consisting of useless grass beneath actively rising turf — accumulates over time. It limits water, fertilizer and grass seed from reaching the soil. Even when the lawns are mowed and aerated, don’t overlook dethatching earlier than overseeding zoysia.

Fertilize. Earlier than distributing seeds, examine the soil for nutrient deficiencies and apply a fertilizer based mostly on suggestions from a soil take a look at.

Zoysia wants extra nitrogen, little to no phosphorous and fewer potassium. All the time remember that the perfect Zoysia grass fertilizers can have excessive nitrogen content material. 

Distribute seeds. Zoysia wants 2 kilos of seed per 1,000 sq. ft for optimum overseeding. Calculate the quantity of seed wanted by dividing your garden space by the advisable seeding charge. 

Sometimes, a hand spreader or push spreader is the perfect device to unfold seed. Both one will assist make sure that seeds are dispersed uniformly, in order that revived garden is equally lined.

So, you’ve overseeded your zoysia grass—now what? Listed below are some pointers.

• Overseeded zoysia lawns want good moisture to sprout seed. Initially, water every day till germination. The advisable charge is 1 inch of water per week, together with rainfall.
• Bear in mind: Overwatering attracts pests to the garden. Take common measurements of water for optimum outcomes.
• Fertilization helps lawns thrive and not directly helps to cut back the chance of insect harm. Correct fertilization makes grass blades thick and offers denser progress. When there’s a thick layer of grass above the soil floor, bugs have much less entry to the vitamins discovered within the roots of the turf, and the garden is extra more likely to develop insect-free.
• Mow the overseeded garden when grass will get to a peak of two inches or extra. Below supreme circumstances, you’ll begin to see progress in 14 to 21 days.

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