Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Yes. It is very drought resistant. It does very well in the summer. The only drawback to it is that is turns brown in the winter and it doesn't grow tall blades of grass like fescue does.
Isn't it actually a member of a very invasive weed family, that sends out long underground shoots (rhizomes), like Bermuda grass, and is impossible to get rid of without using Round-up?
Isn't it actually a member of a very invasive weed family, that sends out long underground shoots (rhizomes), like Bermuda grass, and is impossible to get rid of without using Round-up?
Yes. Better hope your neighbors like it too because in 5-10 years it will take over their lawns as well.
I had Bermuda grass at my last house, and my neighbor had St Augustine. Once a month I had to yank up all the runners from his lawn that were growing into mine. Then, twice a summer, I had to spray that area with a weak MSMA solution. That would kill the St Augustine, while preserving the Bermuda. Not sure if Zoysia has similar behavior.
Keeping Bermuda out of my planting beds was a pain. It burrows under the edging and up into the nice rich flower bed soil. Then it is impossible to get rid of unless you use Roundup. I used to spray Roundup around my planting beds twice each summer and create bare "demilatarized zone" of about 3"-4" at the edge of the planting beds.
One other thing to also check on. . . . .Bermuda does not do well in shade. It likes full sun. I'm not sure how Zoysia is in this respect. If you have trees in your yard, you may end up with bald spots in these areas.
I had bermuda in my old house, and a neighbor/friend replaced his fescue with zoysia. We were the only two houses on the street that had a green lawn last summer. Both grasses love it hot and dry. The browning in the winter never bothered me, although some people will overseed with fescue or bluegrass to stay green thru the winter.
Zoysia and Bermuda require completely different mowing/fertilizing approaches than the methods used on Fescue. The NCSU "Turf Files" site is VERY helpful.
Both Zoysia and Bermuda grow horizontally as opposed to vertically. It is a constant battle to keep your beds and edges looking clean, not to mention out of your neighbor's yards. It's especially difficult in smaller lot situations where sod is laid right up to the property lines and you have a Warm-Season Grass (Zoysia, Bermuda, St. Augustine) butting up against a Cool-Season one (Tall Fescue being the most common around these parts). The Warm-Season grass wins the fight every time.
Would it be an expensive fix to replace it? I'm considering a house which has zoysia grass in the front and back. Not a huge yard though.
Why would you want to replace it? Water is a limited and expensive commodity here in the Triangle. Having a grass which does not require much water is desirable--at least for me. We successfully persuaded our homeowners association to allow warm-season grasses (previously tall fescue was required). We will be replacing all of our scraggly tall fescue with zoysia in the spring and look forward to a green lawn this year and a much lower water bill.
My neighbors on both sides are putting it in this Spring. We have healthy fescue. The neighbor on one side said the creep is only 2" per year. I'm not sure if that's true though. We might put planting areas on both sides to serve as a barrier. It is very ugly in the winter and I'm not too excited about having it on both sides of our house, but I understand why people are looking for an alternative to fescue.
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