[dwells97]

I just had my lawn renovated this week. I removed centipede and replaced with Zorro Zoysia on house we recently purchased. It looks like a different house with the Zoysia. As a new member, I did have a few questions:

1. I know the sod was just laid, but when could it be top-dressed? I have some areas that are uneven as there was some variation in thickness of the sod from the farm. I guess some is expected as we had 5,000 square feet (10 pallets) installed. I assume I should wait until it is rooted. Should I do this before my first cut?

2. What HOC would people recommend? I was thinking of going a little higher, around 0.75 inches, as this is new installed grass. Ultimately, I would like to get HOC to 0.5 inches.

3. What are other Zorro owners cutting their grass with. I have yet to but a mower, but looking at a JD 220e. I had looked at a McLane at my local JD dealer but think the JD 220e is a better machine and it would be worth the extra money.

I will try and post some before and after renovation pictures later.

 

[Thor865]

I just put down Tifgrand sod about 6k sqft 3 weeks ago. Mowed first time today at .75. Probably gonna take it down to .5. I also mow with a JD 220 E. So far I'd say it's a great mower.

 

[gatormac2112]

I'm not sure I'm completely sold on my Zorro, but the I believe the sod they used was subpar from the beginning and I'm going to try to nurse it into quality turf. Right now the South end of the lawn is near death due to near constant shade, and the people that graded the lawn did a garbage job.

I was cutting with a rotary at 2.5-3 inches until this year, I recently cut it at 3/4 inch and am waiting for the lawn to come to life....this spring has been a bummer for so many reasons.

Anyway, it's nice to have another Zorro member, good luck with your lawn!

EDIT: I forgot you had questions

I would wait until the lawn is rooted in well and is in full growth, probably June before leveling and topdressing.

I think 1/2-3/4 inch is fine

I'm cutting with a Swardman, but any reel/greens mower will do fine. A JD 220E would be a great choice.

 

[jayhawk]

I bet! Is it in full sun?

Someone in Houston had it, looked great but after Harvey....had seen him.

 

[Txag12]

Here's a photo of Zorro my former boss and I planted at work. We opted to not maintain it and to just see how it would do. It got crazy dense but much tallee than about 8". That was until the property manager decided to have it cut and the lawn crew cut it with a string trimmer. Completely ruined it after that and took about 2 years to recover.

 

[dwells97]

Thanks for the replies.

I looked at other Zoysia varieties and thought Zorro was the best looking and had the best shade tolerance of the ones I researched and can obtain locally. I am luck that there are multiple sod farms locally and can easily visit them.

I will say it is starting to green up nicely. I have been irrigating and we got about 3 inches of rain over last 36 hours. One perk of my new house is it came with an irrigation well. Nothing like free water for the lawn.

I will probably start my HOC at 0.75 inches and then decrease to 0.5 inches after leveling and topdressing. I like the June suggestion as far as time frame.

I am still working the deal on the JD 220e but it looks like the choice. I do also like the Swardsman you have Gatormac. 2112

 

[dwells97]

Finally getting around to posting pictures. This post is useless without pictures. Here are some before pictures. Finally got the pictures to show up.

 

[dwells97]

During pictures:

 

[dwells97]

After Pictures:

 

[dwells97]

Finally got pictures corrected.

 

[Bunnysarefat]

:thumbup: Fine choice on the Zorro. It's going to look great in no time. I think you want to wait until the grass is growing vigorously before you top dress. But I know little about zoysia other than it looks cool and is soft.

 

[jayhawk]

I'd like to know what is different regarding Zorro and zeon according to pros, as an enthusist. I know zeon has a marketing machine. Looks like itd be hard to distinguish side by side.

Initial reaction to some of your questions ...lot of big trees and some amount of shade. Not that Zorro cant handle ....just realize growth correlates to sun. That includes rooting time.

I'd stay conservative year 1 (don't break 1/3 rule) and learn /observe it's growth rate - meaning forget about leveling.

Don't overdo N - focus on P&K for disease resistance and root Dev. It's not bermuda.

With the shade, fungal preventatives likely something to look into.

Don't over water after it roots....learn to notice the signs it needs some

 

[dwells97]

Jayhawk,

Thanks for the reply. I did some research on shade before I picked Zorro. It was the best shade tolerant Zoysia through the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program. So hopefully it works out. I had Compadre Zoysia at my previous house and it did not do that well in shade. Hoping for a better result.

I agree that leveling might be out this year. There are a few low spots but for most part not too bad. Plus getting it rooted and growing well is my top priority.

As far as fertilizeration, I usually use the NC State Turf files as a guide. It has worked well in the past for my grass. I have also had Bermuda in the past and you are right, it loved nitrogen. I gave it some nitrogen and could see it grow right before my eyes.

Any suggestion on fungal preventatives?

 

[SCGrassMan]

I'd give that a good rolling out with one of those rollers. A lot of that doesn't look stuck down too well in my opinion.

 

[dwells97]

I'd give that a good rolling out with one of those rollers. A lot of that doesn't look stuck down too well in my opinion.

Funny you say that. I said the same thing after it was completed and took the pictures. I had landscapers come back and I along with them, did some leveling of the pieces that did not look stuck down or were higher than others. Figured out one to two pallets of sod were thicker than other pallets. Poor quality control at the farm and laziness of landscapers to level out those pieces. After some work, the yard was rolled again and looks better to me.

 

[Txag12]

Looks great.

 

[dwells97]

Thanks.
After all the rain, it has greened up nicely. Got over 5 inches here yesterday.

 

[jayhawk]

Show us an update 😀

 

[Cman]

Second the update. Interested in seeing it.

 

[dwells97]

I'll get some pictures uploaded this evening after work