I live in the metroplex and part of my lawn gets moderate shade. Two local landscapers have recommended different types of zoysia- one said "Emerald" and the other recommended "Zeon." Zeon is apparently more expensive. Any thoughts for which is best for an area with 4 hours of sun, and equally important, even if I pay for the more expensive Zeon grass, will I be able to tell which variety is actually delivered?

I'm not familiar with Zeon but if it's a fine bladed zoysia like Emerald is, then I don't think the difference is going to be too big. Emerald is one of the more common types of zoysia, it's fairly average in all respects (shade tolerance, drought resistance, recovery, etc). One type that was big back in the day when I worked for SOSC that you might look at is Zorro, it's also a fine bladed zoysia that supposedly has better shade tolerance than your average zoysia and can take more of a beating when it comes to temperature and water needs. I'm not sure how the costs compare to the other two though.

You said 4 hours of sunlight which can be a little iffy with zoysia, it's not as shade tolerant as like a St Augustine would be, but I'm sure someone else more knowledgeable than I will chime in and let you know if 4 hours is too little or enough to keep it growing.

Thanks AgFan. Yes lack of sun is one of my concerns because St. Augustine was there and basically died out due to not enough light. I was told that Zoysia was MORE shade tolerant by the sodfarmers so I am not sure what to believe on this point. I sure don't want to spend big bucks on zoysia just to watch it fade away like the St. Augustine did.

I hate my Zoysia. I got the Palisades variety based on the landscaper telling me how it was both drought and shade tolerant. The grass under the trees is thinning or dying and the areas that get full sun need 90% of the water St Augustine needs. Once you lose an area it is slooooooow to grow back. This is our 3rd year with our lawn and our Bermuda in the back yard is far better looking.

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Yes lack of sun is one of my concerns because St. Augustine was there and basically died out due to not enough light. I was told that Zoysia was MORE shade tolerant

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Unless they've made some advancements over the past 2 or 3 years, I'm not aware of any type of zoysia grass that would be more shade tolerant than St Augustine. St Aug has always been the flat out best option if not getting a lot of sun, so the fact that a type of St Aug was already there and died out definitely concerns me. And as Fido said, Bermuda and St Aug will grow back faster if the grass gets damaged by something, zoysia has a very slow recovery rate.

Maybe someone else on the board can point you in a better direction than I can, but with what you've been told, I would strongly suggest contacting one of the turf extension guys or maybe even a county extension agent who might know his grass types. You're obviously trying to avoid spending money on grass twice which is good, but it might take having a turf guy come out and see exactly what your situation is. I'm sure there are plenty of knowledgeable lawn guys, but I'd bet they just more want to make a sale vs caring what's best for you in the long run.

I have the exact same experience as Fido. Completely and thoroughly disappointed with the lack of growth in the shade, and the failure to thrive during drought conditions. And yes, I water and maintain it. I would never plant this stuff again.

We had a company come out and suggest / quote zoysia and SA for the back (50yo trees, very little sun). After some research, we had them install the SA and it's turned out great. I had to remove several branches to let in morning / afternoon sun, but it's really doing well with only a few hours of direct sunlight.

I've been told Zoysia is what I need too. Mine gets too much sun if anything, but the main problem is dog traffic. I have two Akitas and a German Shepherd romping around and they destroy the St. A...even though they're inside 90% of the time, they still seem to trample it enough most everywhere. Thoughts on this one?

Palisades is an Aggie engineered breed. I hear it is excellent. I've been looking at Jamur zoysia. It's hard to get. Apparently the guy that bred it is using it for golf courses every year. He's sold out in every location.

I put in Palisades Zoysia in Austin last fall. I really like it for the look, feel, and drought tolerance. However, my yard is mostly sun, and the few areas I have with heavy shade did not establish as quickly or densely.

It also holds up to our dogs 100% better than SA, but they did wear it down some over the winter where they run, but it is coming back well.

Thanks dlance...very helpful info! Is the lawnmower requirements a big deal (i.e. am I going to hurt anything mowing it with my usually dull lawnmower blade on mulch instead of bag because I'm lazy)?

Where are you located? My company installs about 85 pallets of zoysia per year, and we have installed Zeon, Diamond, Palisades, Jamur, and Emerald with different levels of success. Not trying to get your business, but shoot me a message, and I'll let you know if you are getting a fair price. We are seeing an unbelievable amount of St Augustine decimated over the past 3 years due to winter kill, grub damage, and just general decline from the reduced watering brought on by the water restrictions.

Celebration Bermuda

I put down palisades last spring and it has been fantastic, but my yard gets plenty of sun. It holds up much better than st. aug to the traffic from my boxer. It is pristine.

Thanks all, the comments are very helpful. So my key question is, is anyone keeping zoysia looking decent in an area that gets like 2 hours of good sun and 2 - 3 hours of filtered sun?

I have Palmetto St Augustine in my very high shade areas

I got Palisade Zoysia installed two years ago, I did something bad to burn the grass and there are now lots of patches. I am trying to purchase seeds for Palisades but can't seem to find seeds. Is there any place/online where I can purchase Zoysia Palisades seeds?

I've got Zoysia Palisades and it's awesome. Only complaint is it does burn pretty decent from dog urine.

We've got cavalier zoysia in an area very similar to what you are looking for as far as sunlight is concerned. It's done well. It has been slow to recover from damage, about a year to refill to normal under high shade conditions. We cut a tree down that was shading most of the area and it has taken off! Very quick to recover bald spots from dog pee and yard work. It feels great to walk on barefoot.
In summary. Will look good but grow slowly in 3 hours sunlight per day but will be lush and quickly fill into 5 hours + per day.

This is a 5 year old thread

No zoysia seed, it's grown from plugs or strips left over in the fields. Buy some pieces or a half pallet if you can.