Lawn - False Advertisements

The advertisements are colorful and seductive: "Lush green lawn guaranteed!", "Miracle sod!", "Even grows in impossible spots!".

Is there any truth to the claims?

As with a lot of advertisements, there is usually some truth to be found. The four-color advertisements for zoysia plugs truthfully state that the grass is Meyers zoysia. But when the cost of the plugs plus shipping expenses are totaled, it is much cheaper to purchase zoysia sod from a local nursery and cut it into plugs manually. Typically, hundreds of plugs are promised at low cost. Indeed, hundreds are provided - but they are so tiny that a 50 percent failure rate could be expected.

"Amazing hybrid grass seed" is another common advertisement. Buyers are promised a "lush, green lawn in all four seasons, in every climate!" The claim is simply ludicrous. NO grass grows successfully in all parts of the country. This particular grass blend mostly contains creeping red fescue seed and Kentucky bluegrass. These two grasses grow fine in the cooler climes. But given the weeks of high temperatures and dry weather we had this summer, both would disappear rapidly.

There are NO miracle grasses. Fescue, bermuda, zoysia and centipede grasses can grow well in the Atlanta area. All of them can be lush and green for significant parts of the year. The key to success for any lawn is to choose the right grass for the site and to prepare the soil properly before planting.

Feb 22, 2001

NEW ZOYSIA GRASS? I recently received a question from a gardener in Cherokee County. She and her husband had seen an advertisement for a particular zoysiagrass that promised a wonderful appearance but little maintenance. "It sounds wonderful if it really works" she said. "Can you give us any information about this type of grass?"

There is a great deal of truth in the advertisement she saw. Zoysia is indeed an excellent grass, requiring little fertilizer or pest control once it is well-established.

So why doesn�t everyone in Atlanta enjoy a zoysiagrass lawn? Because zoysiagrass is slower to establish than other grasses and it cannot tolerate the shady sites many of us have. The advertisement Katherine saw offered quantities of one inch diameter zoysiagrass plugs. It recommended that they be planted twelve inches apart. My experience with zoysiagrass is that it spreads so slowly that it can be completely dominated by weeds while it is trying to become established. One inch plugs are very small and are difficult to keep alive once planted.

The nugget of information I pointed out is that the advertised zoysiagrass is exactly the same as the 'Meyer' zoysia available from any local nursery in late spring. If she wants to have a zoysia lawn, she can sod her lawn and have instant cover and weed control. To save money, she can plant zoysiagrass plugs - but three inch plugs cut from a fresh piece of healthy sod would be much more likely to survive than those a third as wide. In addition, planting the pieces eight inches apart in full sunshine would stimulate the plugs to grow together tightly by fall. Zoysiagrass makes a superb lawn, but buying it locally makes more sense than ordering it from afar.