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Mid-Atlantic Gardening
cfmuehling

Korean velvet grass or Mascarene grass

cfmuehling
17 years ago

or korai shiba, or Zoysia tenuifolia.

These are the names I've found for Korean Velvet Grass.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with it? I saw it on TV and it looked great (a California HGTV show). They said it was very, very expensive. I'm wondering if it might be worth it in areas where I have trouble, anyway. Here's what a blurb says, in case it's new to you, too:

The third species of Zoysia used for turf is called Korean velvet grass or Mascarene grass, Zoysia tenuifolia. It is a very fine textured species, but is the least cold tolerant of the three species. Zoysia tenuifolia is native to the Far East and was introduced in the U.S. from the Mascarene Islands. In the U.S. it is used in southern California as a low growing ground cover. Zoysia tenuifolia is the finest textured, least winter hardy of the zoysiagrasses. It has very fine, short, wiry leaf blades and forms a dense, fluffy turf. It is extremely slow to spread and is most often used as a ground cover. Emerald zoysiagrass is a hybrid between Zoysia japonica and Zoysia tenuifolia released by the U.S.D.A. and the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station in 1955. Emerald combines the fine texture of Zoysia tenuifolia with the cold tolerance and faster rate of spread of Zoysia japonica. Emerald is similar to Zoysia matrella in appearance and habit.

Any thoughts on this?

Christine

Featured Answer
  • mirka_g
    17 years ago

    Christine. Go to
    umd.edu
    Look up Peter Dernoden under faculty and fire him off an e-mail. He is the turf specialist on campus.
    He works hand-in-glove with Golf course specialists. Tell I sent you, Mary Sterrett

    Comments (6)

    • spanaval
      17 years ago

      Not sure this is the sort of info you're looking for, Christine. My neighbor has seeded part of his lawn with Zoysia japonica. I quite honestly don't like it, because it's brown 6 or 7 months of the year. It turns brown a lot faster than just about everything else I've seen, including all the weeds in my lawn that keep it looking nice and green well into the winter.

      You're due for a visit. Come on by, and you can see for yourself the Zoysia - non-Zoysia difference. I even cleaned my house, so it's perfectly safe to visit.

      Suja

    • mirka_g
      17 years ago

      Christine. Go to
      umd.edu
      Look up Peter Dernoden under faculty and fire him off an e-mail. He is the turf specialist on campus.
      He works hand-in-glove with Golf course specialists. Tell I sent you, Mary Sterrett

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    • karyn1
      17 years ago

      I'm not familiar with that variety of zoysia. We converted to a zoysia lawn about 12 years ago and I love it. We have a south western exposure in the front and got sick of having a burned lawn. Ours usually holds up through a few frosts and doesn't get brown until Dec. This year it stayed green until the end of Jan but it is slower than many varieties to green up in the spring. After the second year that we had the plugs put in we've never watered it and it's beautiful even during the bad summer droughts that we've had over the past 10 years. There's a turf farm on 198 near the intersection at New Hampshire Ave that carries different zoysia varieties. I have no idea if they have the kind you are talking about but they might at least know something about it. I'll look for the name the next time I drive by.
      Karyn

    • cfmuehling
      Original Author
      17 years ago

      Thanks, guys!

      I saw this grass on HGTV. It's a low growing grass, 3-6'' and these folks never mowed it. It looked green and rich, but the word "zoysia" = brown to me.

      I'm going to keep checking. I have so much to mow I'd do a lot to get rid of it. I was thinking of exploring areas with just varieties of thyme or oregano on them. I just don't know how to keep the weeds out until they're well established.

      C.

    • cdclw
      15 years ago

      how long does this grass stay brown in SOCAL, if at all? thought I saw some in Rancho Bernardo in Dec, was still green

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