Hey guys, new member here. I got a bunch of Royal Zoysia sod installed in my yard 6 weeks ago and I love it. Overall I think the landscapers did a great job - they removed all of the existing turf, dug out tree roots, added a bunch of topsoil and graded everything prior to laying the sod. They put down starter fertilizer and laid the sod pieces very quickly and efficiently, using irrigation throughout the process to make sure that none of the turf dried out. The end result is that 6 weeks later, almost all areas of my lawn are green and healthy.
However, it's also very lumpy. Even though the ground they installed it on was nicely graded, the sod pieces themselves were not all the same height. I asked the landscaper about this and he said that because the ground was graded, it will level out over time as the grass takes root. This has happened to some degree but it's still very lumpy and I have a hard time believing that it will magically level itself over time.
Right now I am using a rotary mower set at 2" HOC. Any lower and I scalp in some areas; in fact I need to be pretty careful not to scalp at 2". Because of the height difference between slabs of sod, the thicker slabs are effectively getting a shorter cut than the thinner pieces.
You can sort of see what I mean in the second picture. It shows two slabs of sod next to each other, recently mowed. The slab on the right is a thinner piece - it feels very firm underneath and the grass leaves are long and healthy. My mower cuts it pretty cleanly and it feels great to walk on. The slab on the left is a thicker piece - I am cutting it closer to the crown and leaving a shorter blade of grass behind. It's harder on my mower and feels squishier and more prickly to walk on. I'm sure it's also more stressful on the grass.
Is this normal? What can I do to fix it?
However, it's also very lumpy. Even though the ground they installed it on was nicely graded, the sod pieces themselves were not all the same height. I asked the landscaper about this and he said that because the ground was graded, it will level out over time as the grass takes root. This has happened to some degree but it's still very lumpy and I have a hard time believing that it will magically level itself over time.
Right now I am using a rotary mower set at 2" HOC. Any lower and I scalp in some areas; in fact I need to be pretty careful not to scalp at 2". Because of the height difference between slabs of sod, the thicker slabs are effectively getting a shorter cut than the thinner pieces.
You can sort of see what I mean in the second picture. It shows two slabs of sod next to each other, recently mowed. The slab on the right is a thinner piece - it feels very firm underneath and the grass leaves are long and healthy. My mower cuts it pretty cleanly and it feels great to walk on. The slab on the left is a thicker piece - I am cutting it closer to the crown and leaving a shorter blade of grass behind. It's harder on my mower and feels squishier and more prickly to walk on. I'm sure it's also more stressful on the grass.
Is this normal? What can I do to fix it?
