Zoysiagrass

The zoysiagrasses form dense, thick sods of high quality. They have more shade tolerance than bermudagrass and form a finer, more attractive lawn than St. Augustinegrass or centipedegrass.

Zoysiagrasses have good drought tolerance. Their ability to form a very thick sod makes weed control easy, and they do not produce objectionable seedheads. The zoysiagrasses are relatively free of disease problems, but they do suffer from rust, unlike most of the other turf species.

Stems and leaves of zoysiagrasses are tough and difficult to mow with a rotary mower unless the blades are kept very sharp and the grass is not allowed to get tall. Motors have been ruined on rotary mowers trying to cut a too-tall zoysiagrass turf. For these reasons, you should mow zoysiagrass with a reel mower.