Zoysiagrass forms a lawn that feels like a thick, prickly carpet. Zoysia is found mostly in and from the middle part of the U.S. and east toward the Carolinas. It can be found in the north, but will turn brown once the weather turns cold. It is a very slow-growing grass, and it can take more than a year to establish a lawn of zoysiagrass. It has stiff leaf blades and will produce numerous seed heads if it isn't mowed.
Zoysiagrasses are sod-forming perennial species that possess both stolons and rhizomes. The grasses turn brown after the first hard frost and are among the first warm season grasses to green up in the spring. The species vary from extremely fine textured to coarse textured types and the leaf blades are very stiff due to a high silica content.
- Tip/blade: narrow, needle-like tip
- Feel: prickly, stiff blades
- Growth: slow growth
- Additional: prickly feel when walked on barefoot; stolons are often covered with tan-colored "husks"
