Hi Linda, I have an acre lot with poor soil. My grass will die each year and I then need to reseed yearly. The entire neighborhood has this problem because all the topsoil was taken away prior to construction and poor soil was brought in. I do use fertilizer and do aeration and thatching, but without watering daily through July and August the ground turns hard as concrete and the grass burns and dies. The only people with good lawns in the neighborhood have irrigation and spend 2-3 thousand dollars on water each summer to keep the ground soft during hot months. I would like to switch to Zoysia grass. I know several people that have it and they love it. I do not mind the brown color in winter. They say it will grow in poor soil and needs minimal fertilizer and water once established. This would be perfect if true. The questions I have is, what type of Zoysia is the best for the area we live and where can I get it? Thank you in advance. David
Answer
Hello David
We are strongly against using Zoysia grass. Zoysia is a warm season grass, which means it is green during hot months and brown in late fall, winter and early spring. Other than the brown look for many months, it is extremely invasive. I guarantee you it will be all around your neighborhood and your garden beds in a few years. I have seen neighborhoods where it has taken over after one person planted it, much to the chagrin of the neighbors. It is impossible to stop unless you install root barriers around your lawn to stop it from spreading. Even then, the barrier may not work very well.
We are Organic Lawn Care Specialists. From your description of your lawn, it sounds like you need much more organic matter in your soil. We recommend 5% organic matter (which holds 10's of thousands of gallons of water per acre). The pH of you soil could be of as well, which would cause the grass to struggle. Before you do anything, I'd recommend that you have your soil tested, which Sprigs & Twigs can do. We would analyze the results and send you a report with recommendations for corrective actions.
Thank you for your question.
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About Linda Lillie
Linda K. Lillie is the President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc, the premier
landscape design and maintenance, tree care, lawn care, stonework, and carpentry
service provider in southeastern Connecticut since 1997. She is a graduate of
Connecticut College in Botany, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national
award winning landscape designer for her landscape design and landscape installation work.
