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Zoysia DMZ

**Love thy neighbor AND his Zoysia???**

When we talk about former battle fronts, there's another DMZ in Homelawn America that we'll call the "Zoysia DMZ." From our experience, this zone is anything but demilitarized. In fact, many of these DMZ's are battles brewing, court battles to be precise.

While Zoysia may have its place, that place doesn't seem to be Pennsylvania. Don't get me wrong, some homeowners still love Zoysia, but my informal poll indicates they are in the underwhelming minority. What is there to hate about Zoysia? After all, the ads make it look like the hottest thing since sliced bread.

While Zoysia will do what the advertisements claim (reduce mowing frequency, choke out weeds, and form a dense carpet) the big problem comes with its exceedingly long dormant season. During late fall, winter and early spring, it really looks DEAD, a color we'll call "straw brown." Sure, the ads mention this fact, but until you see it in person, for 6 months out of the year, this "minor detail" really doesn't hit home.

Another feature that makes Zoysia desirable to fans, and so undesirable to Zoysia-haters, is the way it spreads -- with great VIGOR! It all starts with such a humble beginning..... an existing lawn is interplanted with Zoysia "plugs" and the vigorous stolons do the rest, spreading to choke-out everything in its path. (Note: We have noticed it has a problem competing with wild onions, which is why you often see them growing together)

The tough, vigorous spreading stolons of Zoysia grass

So then, what if you live next to a Zoysia lawn and want to keep your traditional northeastern US lawn of Kentucky Bluegrass, Red Fescue and Perennial Rye? You need to create a Zoysia DMZ! We recently photographed this DMZ just south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Zoysia-Survivor is working hard to keep this vigorous invader out of his traditional lawn. His weapons include plastic edging, a sharp hatchet to cut down the invader like a machine gun, and a glyphosate spray that acts as his flame thrower.

Zoysia lawn in March (top) and traditional Pennsylvania lawn (bottom)

DEE-FENSE! DEE-FENSE!
The best offense is a strong defense.

The neighbor on the opposite side of this Zoysia lawn isn't thwarting the invasion. But the straw brown color, so evident in early spring, reveals the invader's every move. These two front lawns will soon be Zoysia-Brothers, experiencing true brotherhood. Or maybe NOT!

The biggest problem we've seen with Zoysia-Invasions, something even worse than the winter brown, is the potential litigation it creates. We haven't researched any case law on this topic, but from the calls we've received, we would guess it won't be long until some "offender" is taken to court. It would make for an interesting case, to be sure. And Zoysia surely gives new meaning to the psychological term Passive-Aggressive.

The silent invader: Zoysia is spreading from the lawn on the left into the lawn on the right

These two front lawns will soon be "Zoysia Brothers"

Most of the calls we received over the years have been to help clients get rid of Zoysia grass. Our "big guns" have included glyphosate and a sod cutter (Zoysia is so tough that even a commercial grade sod cutter with sharp blades has a hard time cutting through it). Our strategy has been to wait until it greens-up, then spray it with glyphosate (this has usually been in late-summer, just before fall lawn planting time in September). We allow the glyphosate 7-days to work before bringing in the sod cutter, so the herbicide has time to translocate throughout the grass. If a small patch of Zoysia reappears the following year, we spot-spray it, remove the dead sod, and replant the area with desirable grass.

This enemy is formidable, so follow your battle plan closely!

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