Zoysia grass is loved by many people to plant in front of the house and create a green lawn. A healthy and well-developed Zoysia lawn is always what gardeners want.
However, Zoysia grass also faces many difficulties during its growth and development. Therefore, you need to learn about the basic properties as well as plans to care for this grass.
How to get Zoysia grass to spread faster in a short time. This process will depend on many factors from time, climate, humidity, nutrients, and so on. Let’s find out the details in this article.
How To Get Zoysia Grass To Spread Faster
For any grass, stimulating its growth also needs to be based on good factors from growth characteristics and nutritional requirements.
Zoysia grass too, to stimulate growth, you need to have a basic understanding of this grass.
1. What Properties Does Zoysia Have?
Zoysia grass is a warm season, tolerant of heat and high temperatures. It typically thrives in the late spring and summer months when temperatures are warm.
The ideal temperature for Zoysia grass to grow is between 80 and 95 degrees F. This grass is well suited to growing in the southern states of the United States.
Zoysia grass can grow and develop on many different types of soil such as sandy soil, partly clay. However, you still need to improve the soil by mulching with organic humus or soil mix to maintain moisture in the soil.
The ideal pH of Zoysia grass is slightly acidic between 6.0 and 6.5. If the pH is too high, you need to use sulfur to improve the soil. You can apply 5 pounds of sulfur fertilizer per 1000 square feet.
If the pH is low, you can use crushed agricultural lime to increase the pH. In addition, Zoysia grass will begin to hibernate when the temperature drops to 55 degrees F.
Zoysia grass will grow slowly at first, the stage from sowing to germination takes about 14 to 21 days. However, when the grass is mature, the growth rate is fast and durable. Zoysia grass is also known as perennial grass in the United States.
This grass will quickly become thicker due to underground root alignment and the extra roots above ground also sprout and grow.
Read also: Does Zoysia Grass Go Dormant?
2. How To Stimulate The Growth Of Zoysia Grass
After you have learned about the growth characteristics of this grass, favorable weather, and soil conditions, nutrition will be the basic factor for you to have a lush lawn.
Therefore, you need to ensure the most ideal conditions for Zoysia grass to grow and become thicker during the growing period. In addition, you also need to perform some of the following tasks to achieve the best effect.
Remove the old leaf layer: The old leaves or leaves, the excess material accumulated on the grass layer will prevent the plant from photosynthesis, and absorbing water and nutrients.
So, removing leaves and regular pruning is one way to give the lawn a space to photosynthesize and receive water and nutrients.
Aeration of the soil: One thing many gardeners overlook is the process of aerating the soil. Aeration for soil helps the soil to be aerated, has oxygen, and beneficial microorganisms work easily.
In addition, aeration of the soil is also important for the roots of the grass, as it will help the roots exchange oxygen and remove CO2. The soil to the porosity, with oxygen, will help roots grow easily and limit the appearance of fungi.
The cause of the lack of air is that when many people walk on the lawn, the surface of the soil is worn away and heavy rain makes the soil stick. Therefore, aeration is an extremely important job to stimulate Zoysia grass to grow faster and thicker.
Watering deeply and infrequently: This may sound ridiculous because Zoysia grass is a warm-season grass like Centipede and Bermuda grass, so it loves light and abundant water. Deep watering is especially important in areas prone to prolonged drought.
Deep watering is infrequent watering and watering large amounts in one go instead of daily watering in small amounts. Watering deeply and infrequently helps Zoysia’s roots to grow to get the water deep in the soil. From there, they will have stronger and stronger roots.
If you water it daily in small amounts, the surface of the soil will quickly dry out. Moreover, when the water is at the ground level, the roots of Zoysia grass will not have to grow long, but focus energy on the leaves, making the root system weak.
Limit the application of fertilizers with high phosphorus content: Many people often mistakenly believe that phosphorus-rich fertilizers will be good for Zoysia grass.
However, in reality, this is not the case, phosphorus-rich fertilizers will make it difficult for Zoysia grass to absorb other nutrients such as iron and zinc.
Weed control: For any type of grass, weeds are always an issue that you need to be concerned about. The more favorable the conditions for Zoysia grass to grow, the more ideal it is for weeds.
Weeds will also thrive if there is ample light, water, and nutrients. Therefore, controlling and eliminating weeds is an absolute necessity. You can use herbicides but need to carefully read the instructions for use and use.
Select herbicides that are selective to kill weeds without harming the Zoysia grass. Avoid using regular herbicides as they will destroy your entire lawn.
Read more: Should I Rototill My Lawn Before Seeding?
Conclusion
Zoysia grass is a favorite to grow in every home because of its adaptability and low maintenance costs. This grass has certain properties that you need to keep in mind to limit the cost of seeding, care, fertilizing, and pruning.
To stimulate the growth of Zoysia grass, you need to create favorable and ideal conditions for this grass to grow. At the same time, you need to use several methods such as removing old leaves, aeration, deep watering, fertilizing with high phosphorus, and removing weeds.
In addition, limiting stepping on the grass to avoid abrasion and sticky soil is essential to create an ideal soil environment.