FIRST OF A SERIES ~~ » 
Meet the Loysia Family lus 
By WILLIAM W. NORDAN 
Nordan’s Grass Farm 
Abbeville, Alabama 
A beautiful green lawn completes 
your landscape as a well selected ori- 
ental rug compliments the finest 
furnishings of your living room. Nev- 
er would it be feasible or even think- 
able to lavishly furnish your nicest 
room with the best of expensive 
period furniture, arranged and blend- 
ed with professional skill, then with- 
out thought, carpet your floor with 
a coarse straw mat. Yet, as we tour 
our cities, we see beautiful shrubs, 
carefully placed, only to have the 
desired effect completely ruined by 
the foreground carpet—a coarse tex- 
tured, pale lawn. 
Almost any grass can make a pretty 
lawn—if the observer is standing at 
sufficient distance to miss the inher- 
ent ugliness of some grasses. Even 
Crabgrass and Crowfootgrass appear 
pretty at a distance. Other broadleaf 
grasses which have been very popular _ 
are St. Augustine, Carpetgrass and 
if any, ~ 
Centipede. But, very few, 
of the people that know the true 
beauty of Zoysia Matrella lawns in 
the South and Meyer Zoysia in the 
North, can accept these broadleaf 
grasses as beautiful, especially at a 
close range view. 
A well established Zoysia lawn is 
a beautiful sight. The fine dark green 
leaves stand so compactly erect that 
to walk upon it gives one an unique 
sensation, suggesting possibly the 
extra thick pile of a Persian rug. 
This fine velvety textured mat is so 
nearly solid that it crowds out weeds 
and foreign grasses and in full sun- 
light, frequently smothers Bermuda- 
grass. Crabgrass, a sun-loving pest 
sprouting from seed, doesn’t stand a 
chance of germinating in the extra 
thick sod of the Zoysias. 
Of the many desirable character- 
istics of the Zoysia family, one of the 
most outstanding is its adaptability 
to different types of soil and climate. 
No other lawn grass can equal this 
diversifiability; yet, it requires less 
maintenance and care than most other 
lawn grasses. Although, Zoysia pre- 
fers a pH of around 6, it is prolific 
on the alkaline soil of Florida and 
will thrive on the extreme acid soil 
along the Connecticut shore line. The © 
Zoysias are extremely tolerant of 
salt water spray and have been suc- 
a * 
cessfully grown using brackish water 
which is too salty to use on other 
lawn grasses. Another welcomed 
characteristic of this marvelous fam- 
ily is the fact that they tolerate no 
interference from any insects or 
known diseases. Extensive experi- 
ments, under constant observation 
for a period of over 20 years, verify 
no signs of any of the fungi that are 
detrimental to less-hardy grasses. The 
common ‘“chinch bug” attacks, exper- 
ienced by many lawn owners, is a 
thing of the past when you own a 
Zoysia lawn. 
Now, let us become more familiar 
with this very popular family called 
Zoysia. It is well to know such a 
promising group. For our purposes, 
there are only four members. First, 
we have Zoysia Matrella, father of the 
family, referred to'as “King of the - 
lawn grasses”. Then we have Zoysia 
Japonica, who is the mother of Meyer 
Zoysia. 
Meyer.is a newcomer to the 
family but its fame is rapidly spread- 
ing far and wide. The last and least 
important member is Zoysia Tenufolia, 
the black sheep of the fold. 
First, let us discuss the head of 
the family. Zoysia Matrella is the 
best known and best dressed of the 
Zoysia. It is commonly called Jap- 
anese or Manilagrass, deriving the 
names from its native homes. How- 
ever, strains of matrella have been 
found in Malaya and the Gilbert 
Islands. Because of its ability to sur- 
vive and do well where other grasses 
fail, it is frequently known as “mir- 
acle” or “wondergrass”. The spongy 
thick turf of matrella is one of its 
most desirable and exclusive features. 
Matrella is a warm season grass 
and does especially well in the South- 
ern states. In parts of Florida along 
the coast, it remains green through- 
out the winter. In the Northeastern 
states, it has proven very successful 
and does not winter kill. However, 
there it does not turn green until 
May and, in order to keep a perman- 
ent green lawn all year, it is neces- 
sary to overseed with a temporary 
wintergrass. In the South, it turns 
green somewhat earlier and remains 
green later in the fall than the well- 
known Bermuda. 
Like most good things, it also has 
some undesirable features. Because 
of its poor seeding ability, it must 
be propagated by sprigs or plugs. 
For sometime, matrella has been clas- 
sified as an extremely slow grower. 
It required two or more years to cover 
when plugged from old sod. However, 
recent experiments prove that by 
using sprigs from young sod, planted 
on 10-inch centers, and forced with 
frequent applications of nitrogen 
fertilizer, a complete coverage can be 
obtained in a six-month growing 
season. It seems conclusive from my 
years of observation that the smaller 
the sprigs, the faster the spread. Al- 
though, this method does require more 
water. 
The “King” demands much atten- 
tion during the covering period. It 
must be kept totally free of competi- 
tive plants and should be fertilized 
lightly and often. Once established, 
it withstands an amazing degree of 
rough usage. Matrella is similar to 
the world-renowned English lawns in 
beauty and quality and it continues to 
improve with age becoming thicker, 
tougher, and requiring less care. 
In most Southern areas, there are 
only a few months of the year that a 
Zoysia lawn isn’t green. This short 
period can be easily breeched by 
overseeding with a temporary winter- 
grass such as Bluegrass or Ryegrass. 
Even though the grass will be in com- 
plete dormancy during the cold winter 
season, the thick carpet feeling is 
with your lawn the year around. 
The question is frequently asked: 
“How will this grass do on my shady 
spots?” Under light and semi-shade, 
matrella produces a very good mat 
though not quite as thick as in full 
sun and if properly fertilized, it will 
do well even in full shade. 
After considering the many ad- 
vantages of this beautiful grass, one 
can readily see why it is known as 
the “king of all lawn grasses” and 
“father of the family”. This refined 
grass deserves full consideration for 
number-one place as the foreground 
carpet on the most exacting land- 
scape planting. 
Next issue of GREEN THUMB, we 
would like to introduce another mem- 
ber of the family, “Mother Zoysia 
from Korea”. 
