Th31 wrote:
> I did think I should use the regular schedule for my area and apply when zoysia was still dormant

Hi Th31. Please don't apply fertilizer to zoysia when it's dormant. Doing so can hurt your grass. I think that's true for cool season grasses too.

The following thread beginning with the March 4 posting onward will help answer your question about when to apply fertilizer to zoysia:

Jamur' Zoysia - In Atlanta GA

When you say your lawn is getting "weaker," what do you mean?

ZoysiaSod, thanks for the reply post.

I had a typo in my original post, I meant to say that I DIDN'T think I should use the normal schedule for my area. I do not fertilize while dormant. But I wasn't sure when I should fetilize and with what.

Also, when I say the lawn is getting "weaker", I mean that more and more northern climate grasses are growing it is less predominantly zoysia.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks again.

You are a Yankee and what you think is regular maintenance does not apply to a warm season grass like Zoysia. It is exactly opposite of what all your neighbors do.

Right now assuming your last chance of frost has past, you need to scalp mow the grass making several passes, and rake/bag the clippings up. You want to remove all the tan and straw colored dormant grass and all of last years dead grass clipping. When you are done it will look horrible with nothing but stems and dirt.

When it greens up and has been mowed once apply a good 100% SLOW RELEASES fertilizer. Wait 8 weeks and apply your last application of SLOW RELEASE FERTILIZER and you are done for the year. DO NOT OVER FERTILIZE your Zoysia and use SLOW RELEASE FERTILIZER

Do not forget to mow it on the 4th of July when it gets up to about 1-1/2 inches just before the frost hits and puts it back to sleep for the next 8 months. Also water it once in a while when it looks wilted.

Take it SLOWLY or you will kill it.