Tiger-Striped-Bass

Disclaimer: In the preview, my pics aren't showing up. Maybe they're too big. If they don't show up after I submit, I'll work on it.

Sorry to do this, but links are the only thing working for me...


I have Emerald Zoysia, so this may not be directly applicable to you, as it spreads very slowly and has very high maintenance requirements. But I did punch and plug about 2500 plugs from existing area to create new area. It took two full growing seasons to establish. I lost a lot of dirt to erosion, and fought a lot of weed battles during that time. But yes, it can be done.

This is what I punched with. It's a hole punch for piping flange gasket bolt holes. I hit it so many times and mushroomed the top out so much I had to grind it down several times. So it's shorter than it started out.

Punch

This is what the plugs looked like. I did not refill the holes I made in the existing area. I just spread out where I pulled from. I also used a piece of EMT conduit to punch holes in the new bedding area, and pushed each plug down in each. You can see the mushrooming of the conduit. I went through several of those.

Plugs

In this pic you can see the early stages of growth. I had dethatched my yard and scattered thatch over the planted area in hopes of controlling erosion, and possibly getting some sprigs to grow too. Neither of those ideas panned out.

Growing

This is a pic of the transplant area; most of it anyway. From this view, left of the driveway is Emerald, and about 10' of the right side is too. Beyond that, I had planted Zenith seeds, which took really well and was great for years. But after the construction of my shop, I had to haul in dirt to repair all the ground damage, so it's a big mixed up mess, but improving.

Most of area

I plugged in June of 2020. This is from August of 2021


14 months growth June-August of next year

Edit: I'll work on it

Bought the $600 to $150 front tine Champion.

Thanks!

Would you drink it?

Yes, I would. And I would hold off re-sodding for a while, as the new sod probably wouldn't tolerate it for a while unless you remove dirt and replace it with fresh dirt. It's hard to know how big of an area you're dealing with. But it looks to be well-flourishing in those small pics posted. And I know this won't sound appealing, but if it were me, I'd write off having good grass there this year. I'd make the initial application as described, repeat a month later even if it hasn't come back, and wait an extended period of time after the second round to see if any comes back before re-sodding, or you risk starting all over. That timeline takes you to fall. Maybe even let less difficult weeds fill in the area until next year. Then work on those easier weeds first thing in the spring before re-sodding, even if it takes round up at that point. Then re-sod. If it's too big of an area to do that, I don't know what to say. It cannot be overstated how difficult torpedo grass is to deal with, and how resilient it is. I'd compare it to cancer, but it's more like gangrene. I wish you the best. It's going to take ridiculous effort and diligence to cure.

And is not open

Agreed. And I forget which game it was, but it was called eventually. This is worse imo.

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If you do in fact have torpedo, my condolences.

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True. If it's just a small spot here or there (not likely if it was a pasture with it), I have found success spraying with quinlorac or Drive XLR8 to get the leaves wet, then put a light dusting of the quinlorac granules over and around the area (apply like scattering pinches of salt), followed by a light spritz of the quinclorac to partly dissolve the granules. It took me over 15 yrs on a couple really small spots i had, to figure out that remedy. My thinking was to have that application kill what's above ground, and future rains to get it into the soil and roots. I finally got rid of it after all that time. It weakened the zoysia, but didn't kill it and leave bare spots like roundup would have, which doesn't work btw. Not practical for large areas though. Before that I had tried everything including straight 41% roundup. For a large area, I would probably try spraying with double or triple concentration quinclorac and be willing to sacrifice everything. It'll come back with round up alone.

Mockingbirds fledge before fully being able to fly. It's just the normal process. The parents will stay close and protect it until it can fly. That's probably what you found. Just leave it alone

I put down 28 pallets of Emerald Zoysia in 2005. I also planted zenith zoysia seed on the other side of my driveway that I couldn’t afford to sod too. Emerald cannot be had from seed. There are new varieties that may be improved. But in 2005, Emerald was the Cadillac of zoysias. I still have it, but I would not recommend it. From all my research before getting it, the one thing that didn’t surface was how quickly a reel mower dulls with Emerald. Emerald blades are thin and stiff/wiry. Uncut, the tips are prickly. I had a commercial 26” reel mower. It would cost $100 to have it sharpened, and within a month, the grass blades would be fraying. Emerald is so dense, the yard would look frosted from the fraying, and really look bad. Thatch buildup is also extreme with emerald. I wound up selling my reel mower and buying a commercial power rake/Dethatcher. I Dethatch a minimum of two times each summer, sometimes three. I cut with a rotary riding mower and just accept the fraying. I usually cut on Sunday or Monday evening and by the weekend it will have healed and looks good. It should also be noted that the grass blades are somewhat waxy, and take a really long time to decompose, which also causes the excess thatch. I bag every cut and it’s still a problem. When it’s perfect, it’s a gorgeous grass. But the depth/darkness of the green is very much dependent on how much you fertilize and water. But the more you fertilize, the more you have to water, especially when rain is lacking, or it’ll really show heat distress. Do all of that, and the thatch problem grows. I’m ok with my current regimen. But I generally never have it as gorgeous as it can be, mostly because of the impossibility of a constantly sharp reel mower. I’ve just accepted it. You can bag every time, never fertilize, never water, and you’ll still build up thatch. Don’t dethatch and your yard will get spongy, start looking bad, and will result in scalping. The roots will also start rising from the dirt and into the thatch layer, making it sparse and very easily damaged. It feels like walking on a bed mattress when thatch becomes excessive.

Zenith on the other side of the driveway is a wider, softer blade. It’s similar to empire zoysia in blade appearance. Color isn’t quite as good, but not a great contrast with equal fertilizer and water. It isn’t as waxy/shiny as emerald, so it does lack some of the brilliant appearance emerald has in the sun. Know that you will need to keep zenith seed wet for good germination. I had sprinklers programmed to come on very frequently for short periods, to keep everything damp around the clock. That was very successful, but I don’t know how successful you can be without a good sprinkler system. Zenith cuts better with a rotary mower than emerald does. It will thatch up too, but not as bad as emerald. I hauled dirt in that area a few years ago, so I have a lot of weeds I’m fighting, mostly common Bermuda.

If you really rather sod, I don’t blame you. Establishing zenith from seed while suppressing weeds will be a challenge. But I wouldn’t recommend emerald. It’s a ton of work, very expensive to keep looking great. It’s constant. I’d try to find a lower maintenance variety from sod.

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Why the frick does that video even exist.

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I agree. However, I will say, I hate when some schmuck grips before the back of our hands meet, resulting in them having a hand full of my fingers only. Oddly enough, this is never done by women. I will invariably pull back and say, oh no, I'm gonna get a better grip on you than that. What is so hard about waiting for your index/thumb corners meeting together before closing?