- Zoysia grass grows slowly compared to other warm-season lawn grasses but demonstrates good drought and wear tolerances. It spreads into a dense carpet through both horizontal stems called stolons and by spreading root rhizomes. When temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, growth slows, or zoysia grass becomes dormant. Once it warms up again in the spring, after the soil becomes warmer than 65 degrees F, plants reveal new green foliage that remains across the summer and early fall.
- Fertilize zoysia grass lawns two to four times a year, but always when the grasses are showing green and temperatures are adequately warm. A typical fertilizer regimen includes one feeding in late spring and another in midsummer. In regions with long growing seasons, feedings occur about once every seven to eight weeks up until early to mid-September. Do not fertilize in the fall, as you encourage new growth that is tender to cold and may prevent the plants from going dormant as they head into the coldest time of year.
- Always conduct a soil test to know exactly which nutrients exist naturally in the soil under the zoysia grass lawn. Clay soils tend to retain nutrients better than sandy types. The basic nutrient formula for an acceptable zoysia grass lawn is 10:1:3, meaning 10 parts nitrogen, one part phosphorus and three parts potassium. Various lawn fertilizer products will be rich in nitrogen and have formulations such as 30-3-9 or 29-3-4. During the last feeding around Labor Day, a fertilizer with a bit more potassium helps zoysia grass become more winter-hardy.
- Always follow product label directions before applying fertilizer to zoysia lawns. This is especially important in terms of the amount of fertilizer to spread, as well as soil moisture and air temperatures. Typically, 2 to 3 lbs. of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of zoysia grass is all that is needed during any 12-month period. That means approximately 1 lb. of nitrogen applied at each feeding. Zoysia grass is not a "fertilizer hungry" turfgrass. Over-fertilizing increases chances of improper growth, disease instances, the need for more frequent mowing and a faster accumulation of thatch that leads to lawn decline.
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