Cultivars of Coarse-textured Zoysiagrass
Diamond
Diamond.* Drought tolerant and highly durable. This coarse-textured cultivar has a low tolerance for shade, and is resistant to disease, insect damage, and wear. Its slow growth rate makes it a low-maintenance choice, while its stoloniferous growth habit allows it to spread.
El Toro
El Toro is a cultivar of Zoysia japonica that was discovered in 1957 in San Juan Capistrano, California. It is commonly used on golf courses and athletic fields in California and the southern U.S. El Toro has a distinctive leaf blade that is flat and wide for most of its length before tapering at the tip. It also has an upright growth habit and can reach heights of up to four feet tall.
El Toro zoysia grass has good salt tolerance (as do all zoysiagrasses), but it also has good shade tolerance, making it a great choice for yards with shade trees or surrounding buildings that cast shade part or all of the day. When compared with other zoysiagrass varieties, El Toro is slow to recover from damage: if your lawn suffers damage from heat stress or pets, it will take longer than other varieties to restore itself.
El Toro tolerates less frequent mowing than other warm-season grasses as well as other zoysiagrasses (like Meyer). It responds well to regular fertilization when mowed frequently but can still grow well when infrequently fertilized due to its extensive fibrous root system which allows it to store nutrients. While drought tolerant, El Toro does not tolerate wet conditions; over-watering can cause Pythium root rot which destroys the roots and kills the plant rapidly. Additionally, if you live in a humid environment you may experience symptoms of dollar spot fungus; this fungus causes brown patches that grow larger each day until they encompass large chunks of turfgrass requiring fungicide treatments for recovery.
Emerald
If you’re looking for a zoysiagrass cultivar that is highly tolerant of heat and drought, low maintenance, and disease resistant, Emerald is a good choice for you. This grass tolerates high wear conditions, making it ideal for large-scale commercial applications such as golf courses or sports fields. It prefers full sun to light shade and well-drained soils. Emerald does not tolerate wet conditions.
G-1
G-1: This cultivar is a fine-textured zoysiagrass that shows good resistance to gray leaf spot and brown patch. G-1 does not tolerate shade, making it better suited for low-maintenance lawns than others in the same family. The grass is slow to establish and spread, but it’s heat-tolerant and can be grown from seed or plugs.
Major
Major is a dark green, coarse-textured zoysiagrass. It spreads by stolons and rhizomes, so it can also be planted by sprigs (see Planting and Establishment). Major has good heat tolerance and tolerates shade much better than other Zoysia grasses. It is also more drought tolerant than other zoysiagrasses.
Meyer zoysia
Meyer zoysia is a low-maintenance, disease-resistant turfgrass. It is a fine-textured turfgrass.
Northbridge Z-52
- Northbridge Z-52 is a fine-textured cultivar with a dark green color.
- It has a slow growth rate, excellent winter color and is drought tolerant.
- It is resistant to chinch bugs but susceptible to dollar spot.
- Northbridge Z-52 has excellent shade and salt tolerance and is disease free.
- This cultivar has good heat tolerance.
Seville
Seville, a warm-season perennial grass, is characterized by its wide bladed, coarse texture. It grows slowly and is often used for traffic tolerant areas. Seville has a dense growth habit and grows best in full sun.
Coarse-textured zoysiagrass cultivars
Coarse-textured zoysiagrass cultivars are listed in Table 1. Cultivar characteristics and comparisons are given in Tables 2 through 7. Considerations for selecting cultivars include maintenance requirements, color, winter hardiness, drought tolerance, disease resistance and seedhead suppression (Table 8).