Why We Believe Zoysia Is The Best Lawn For Australia

The Lawn Guide is putting a new focus onto Zoysia grass as the best lawn type for use in all the warmer regions of Australia. Here are all the reasons why we believe Zoysia should become the future dominant grass type in Australia.

We also recognise that Zoysia will not be the preferred lawn for many people, and we always encourage everyone to carefully look into the lawns they are considering, which may also include having a look at a Zoysia lawn prior to choosing this or any other lawn type for possible purchase. Because at the end of the day, the homeowner should be both fully informed and happy that they not only like the new grass they are purchasing for their home, but that it is also most highly suitable for their needs.

Zoysia Grass Is Soft

Coming in first place is the softness of the Zoysia lawn. Zoysia is a lovely soft lawn to both walk across barefoot, or for children to play on. Zoysia has no irritating qualities to children, adults or pets.

Zoysia Slow Growth Rates

One of the very best traits in favour of Zoysia is its slow growth rate. Slower growth equates to less lawn mowing than some other grasses. Less lawn mowing means less time spent mowing the lawn, or a saving in lawn mowing fees when using a contractor for lawn care. Finally, less lawn mowing means far less carbon emissions from using the lawn mower.

This slower growth will also mean far less invading of the lawn into surrounding garden beds, which means less garden edging, and almost none of those big garden cleanups which require us to pull up or poison large amounts of grass from out of our gardens.

Slower growth rates also make Zoysia a very low risk to the Australian environment, where the grass almost never escapes into the wild, and if it ever does, it is very easy and quick to control.

Zoysia also has very low levels of thatch, requiring almost no de-thatching whatsoever throughout its life.

Zoysia Is A Tough Guy

Zoysia is tough, it tolerates wear and tear very well, and can even tolerate the rigours of many sporting fields. This trait means Zoysia will not damage as quickly from rigorous activity as some other grasses can.

However, this resistance to wear and tear is balanced out by its slower growth rate. Once Zoysia does become damaged, it will be slightly slower to repair than a more aggressive growing lawn type.

So for most Aussie homes and businesses, Zoysia will suit perfectly and tolerate the wear and tear from these environments with ease.

Zoysia Shade Tolerance

Zoysia has very good tolerance to shade. Shade tolerance will be less than Buffalo and Durban Grass, but Zoysia has much greater shade tolerance than Couch and Kikuyu. So if shade is of moderate concern – then Zoysia is a worthwhile consideration.

Zoysia Low Fertiliser Use

Zoysia is also renowned for its very low need for fertiliser throughout the year. For the average homeowner who wants the lowest maintenance lawn possible, fertilising once (or perhaps twice) a year is often enough to keep the lawn looking good.

For those people who want a more manicured style lawn, then fertilising rates can be bumped up ever so slightly to achieve this desired outcome. Even with this increase, Zoysia will still need less fertiliser than other lawn grasses.

Less fertiliser usage makes Zoysia a great choice for an environmentally responsible lawn.

Zoysia Low Water Use

Zoysia is a low water use grass. In fact, the best way to water Zoysia is to turn off all reticulation and only ever give Zoysia a drink of water when it shows signs of deteriorating from water loss. It’s at this time we can give Zoysia a nice deep drink of water until next time it tells us it needs a drink.

Zoysia Drought Tolerance

Along with most warm season grasses, Zoysia tolerates and recovers from drought very well.

Zoysia appears to brown off quicker than other warm season grasses when drought conditions arrive, but has equally excellent recovery from drought when compared to other grasses.

Studies in this area often show Zoysia to recover more slowly than other grasses, and that’s OK. This simply shows Zoysia as a slower growing grass – which it is, and as such it will not grow and repair at the enormous speeds that a more aggressive grass like Couch will. While drought repair may be slower, the chances of full repair are equal to other grasses, and after drought – Zoysia will continue to provide a far lower maintenance lawn over the years.

Zoysia Weed Pest and Disease Resistant

The Zoysia family of grasses are naturally resistant to many common weeds, pests and diseases. However, this does not mean Zoysia is immune to these problems, it just means Zoysia is less prone to these problems when compared to other lawn types.

When it does become necessary to treat lawn problems, Zoysia has excellent tolerance to all weed, pest and disease treatments, which is on par with Couch grass tolerance to these products.

For these reasons, Zoysia is both low maintenance, and is environmentally friendly.

Weeds
Zoysia has a very thick, dense and tightly woven layer of stolons (above ground runners) which will effectively choke out new growth of invading weeds. This mat of stolons will continue to thicken over the first 3 years of the lawn being established.

Zoysia is not completely immune to weeds or invading grasses, but instead has a high resistance to being invaded. As a result, Zoysia will require less weeding maintenance, including the use of weed sprays than many other lawn types.

Lawn Pests
Zoysia has brilliant natural resistance to lawn pests such as grubs and armyworm. Studies have shown that many lawn pests will often avoid a Zoysia lawn whenever there is an alternative lawn type such as Couch nearby, which the pests will invade in preference over the Zoysia.

Zoysia lawns are not immune to lawn pests, but they are significantly less prone to experiencing these problems.

Less lawn pest problems means less maintenance work and less use of chemical pesticides to treat pests. This makes Zoysia low maintenance and environmentally friendly.

Lawn Disease
Zoysia is also less prone to lawn diseases than other grass types, which also reduces the use of chemical sprays and homeowner maintenance. Making Zoysia an easy care lawn which is environmentally friendly due to the highly reduced use of lawn chemicals.

Zoysia Grass The Way You Like It

The last great Zoysia characteristic is its ability to be the lawn we all want – and with less effort.

Zoysia can be neglected with almost no watering whatsoever, no fertilising, and no mowing for months, and it will never become out of control or grow to the heights and weediness and thatch levels of other commonly used lawn grasses. We simply give the grass another mow, and it all looks pretty good again, and can be easily repaired again.

For almost all lawn owners in Australia who want a nice looking lawn with minimum effort, minimum lawn mowing, low lawn problems, lower costs, and is most environmentally friendly, then Zoysia is a grass well worth consideration. Fertilise and water the lawn minimally, and mow when required – is often all that’s required to keep Zoysia up to a good standard for most homes in Australia.

For those of us who like a manicured lawn, it’s simply a case of increasing fertilising, increasing water, and increasing mowing frequency, and Zoysia will develop into a beautifully crafted lawn. Just remember to never over-fertilise or over-water a Zoysia lawn – as Zoysia lawns can react badly to being over-cared for. And even with all of this, Zoysia will still maintain at a high standard with less work, and at less cost than many other grasses.

This Is Why We Love Zoysia

And these are all the reasons we believe Zoysia should become the standard grass for use in all the warmer regions of Australia from now on.

In our opinion, Zoysia is the lowest maintenance lawn available, requiring the least watering, least pesticide use, least fertiliser use, experiences the least problems and requires the least lawn mowing. On top of this, Zoysia is tough and hard wearing, drought tolerant, and looks good under many different conditions.

Zoysia has the lowest maintenance costs, with the least effort, and with the lowest negative impacts to the environment, and this is why we love Zoysia.

Just be sure to check Zoysia out for yourself before you buy. We all have different tastes and preferences – so like anything else – be sure that Zoysia is a lawn you’ll love too – before you buy.