A number of years ago, my next
door neighbor (who had never spent much on water for his lawn nor had
any good will towards his fellow man) abruptly decided to sell his
house. His side yard had been bare dirt with just a smattering of
Bermuda grass. Suddenly, there was thick grass sprouting up where it'd
been bare dirt before. After a while, I could see that it was an unusual
kind of grass. And, at first, it looked a lot like the Zoysia sod that
another neighbor down the street had laid down.
A year later, the
neighbor was ten months gone when I spotted Zoysia sprouting up in my
yard where I'd filled in a low spot in my front yard with top soil. It
has now been several years since and it has now spread to other parts of
my yard where shade had thinned my carpet grass. My former neighbor had
planted Zoysia japonica by seed and it
was now spreading itself around. [On-line it says that the only kind
of Zoysia that spreads by seed is Zoysia japonica. The other neighbor
must have installed Zoysia that spread only vegetatively because it
never shows any seed heads and looks significantly different than what's
invaded my yard.]
Note: At this point in time, I'm now beginning
to rather like the Zoysia japonica. I have observed that it takes a lot
less water than St. Augustine (but only a bit more than Bermuda grass).
It tolerates both shade and full sun. These three grasses are now
battling it out in my front yard. Each has a portion of the yard that
each is best suited for -- but the Zoysia will be the eventual victor in
another twenty years (from the looks of it).
Note: The Japonica
only spreads by seed to where there is bare dirt. Where it is
established, it sends out runners. My other next door neighbor has good
solid St. Augustine sod and there's been no
encroachment at all (there's a driveway between our two yards).
He also has high water bills / mine is diminishing due to the Zoysia japonica.
Note:
I only water by hand late in the evening. By experimenting, I've found
that the Zoysia japonica comes back fast from water neglect -- but the
St. Augustine does not. The 2011 summer (drought and high temperatures)
further proved that only the Bermuda grass and the Zoysia japonica can
be considered durable with low watering levels.
Note: The Zoysia is also more tolerant of fallen Live Oak leaves than the St. Augustine.
The
only thing I do not know is the variety of Zoysia japonica that my
first neighbor used. On-line, it says there are four varieties and that
they are all strains of Meyer Zoysia.
So, if you're looking to
replicate this, talk to a grass specialist first. Also, talk to your
neighbors. I myself would rather have had a choice in the matter.
[This stuff is tough stuff. Whether or not that is good or not depends
on your situation.]