Why Pick Palisades Zoysia Grass?

Why pick Palisades Zoysia grass for your Houston lawn? When people see the sample plots of grass at our office in Arcola, they almost always head for the Palisades Zoysia grass plot first.  Why is that and what are the advantages and disadvantages of Palisades Zoysia grass for Houston homeowners?  Houston Grass Owner Michael Romine answers those questions in this video.

We also sell Cavalier Zoysia grass and Emerald Zoysia grass, which combine shade tolerance with a beautiful dark-green color and a dense, fine-bladed appearance.  Any variety of Zoysia grass will make your lawn the best in your neighborhood.

Summary of Michael’s Palisades Zoysia Grass Video

Why pick Palisades Zoysia? I guess the number one reason, in my mind, to pick Palisades Zoysia is probably the appearance or aesthetics.

We have all these grasses growing out in front of our office for people to come up and look at and walk in. I have to say that nine out of 10 times, when people first pull up the Palisades Zoysia grass is the first one that they walk over to.

It may be because it’s something a little bit different than what everyone is used to. It looks different than the Bermuda grasses and the St. Augustine grasses. I think that it’s got a very good look to it. It’s probably the nicest grass to walk on. The blades themselves have a lot of give and it’s real thick and definitely has that carpet like feel. You leave those footprints in it when you walk across it.

People who move to Texas from the more Northern states like the Zoysia grasses because its growing habit looks more like they’re used to. Instead of having runners like the Bermuda grasses, it grows straight up. I guess the appearance and density and everything look a lot more like those cool-season grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass and fescue.

Palisades Zoysia Grass Costs More than Bermuda or St. Augustine Grasses

I guess about the only thing you could say negative about Palisades is that is costs a little bit more than St. Augustine. That’s really about it. It’s probably the one everyone would drive away with if it wasn’t more expensive than the St. Augustine grasses.

Note: Zoysia is more expensive because of its slow growth habit. The same field that yields two crops of St. Augustine or Bermuda grass each year can only produce one crop of Zoysia grass.

Palisades Zoysia Grass Needs More Sun than the Fine-Bladed Zoysia Grasses

If someone wants a Zoysia grass, the first question that we’re going to ask them is, “How much sunlight do you get?” If you get the Raleigh St. Augustine requirements for sun, which is six or seven hours of direct sunlight per day, I’m going to steer you to Palisades Zoysia every time. The Palisades Zoysia grass needs six or seven hours of direct sunlight per day.

The easiest way to measure how much sunlight you get is to go out on a sunny day and take a picture with your phone about every hour or two hours and then scroll through and look and see how much light you get in the different areas.

Michael Romine

The fine-bladed Zoysias we carry — Emerald and Cavalier — have some shade tolerance. They can survive on probably four or five hours of direct sunlight per day, which is more in line with the Palmetto St. Augustine kind of sun requirements.

Palisades Zoysia Has Good Traffic Tolerance

The Palisades Zoysia grass has really good traffic tolerance. I think it’s mainly due to the fact that it’s so dense. It’s not something that they use out on sports fields because it grows real slowly. So if divots are taken out of it, the Zoysia grass is going to grow back slowly.

Care Requirements Are Similar to St. Augustine Grass

The most desirable thing about Palisades, compared to Emerald and Cavalier Zoysia, is its easy care requirements. If you’ve ever taken care of a St. Augustine yard, then you can take care of Palisades. You can use the same type of mower, you can mow at the same frequency, and watering requirements are fairly similar.

The reason I mention ease of care with Palisades Zoysia grass, is because the fine-bladed Zoysias do best with more care. They really prefer to be mowed with a reel mower — the mower that kind of works like scissors. Most people who buy fine-bladed Zoysias from us do not end up using a rotary mower, but it definitely looks the best if you do. Palisades Zoysia grass does fine with the normal rotary mower we all have.

At the farm we use the same reel mowers that they use on golf courses to mow the fine-bladed Zoysias. That’s what it really takes to make them look their best.

Watering and Fertilization Requirements Are Similar

It does have a little more drought tolerance than some of the other grasses, but if you want a pretty green yard, we tell everybody it’s going to take an inch of water during the week. One inch of water per week during the growing season is needed for a pretty, green yard. I don’t care if it’s Palisades, St. Augustine, Bermuda grasses — that’s just what it’s going to take.

It’s watering requirements I would say are about the same as the rest of our grass varieties which is one inch of water per week during the growing season. We tell everybody to water twice a week. If you’re not getting one inch of water per week from the sky, you should make up the deficit with your sprinkler. Usually it takes two waterings of about two hours each out of a hose to put out an inch with average water pressure.

Ideally you would water the day after you mow your lawn, or as soon as you mow your lawn you water and then three or four days later do it again. Of course you would adjust your schedule if you get help from Mother Nature.

Fertilization requirements are similar to St. Augustine grass. Two to three times a year with the fertilizer is usually ample fertilization.

Palisades Zoysia Grass May Not Need to be Mowed as Frequently

One thing that should be noted about Palisades Zoysia and all Zoysias that we have is that it’s got a really slow growth habit. So we recommend mowing grass twice a week to make them look their best. It wouldn’t hurt to mow the Zoysia twice a week, but you certainly can get by with once every seven days. I’ve got all these grasses planted out here side by side in our sample plots at the office. The Zoysia certainly grows slower than the rest of them.

Call 281-431-7441 for a Quote for Palisades Zoysia Grass

So in summary, Palisades has got the ease of care — it’s just like taking care of St. Augustine. It’s very pretty and very, very plush and feels very nice under your feet. As long as you get that 6 or 7 hours of direct sunlight per day, I would say absolutely, without hesitation, I would go for the Palisades Zoysia grass.

At Houston Grass, we deliver the best grass sod direct from our family farm to your home at the most competitive prices in the Houston area.  For more information, please call us at 281-431-7441 or use our contact form to ask a question or receive a quote. Anytime is a great time to complete your grass sod project so call us today!

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