Korean lawngrass, often simply called zoysia, is the most cold-hardy of the zoysiagrasses grown for lawns in the US. It's native to East Asia and makes a thick, low carpet that turns tan after fall frosts and greens up again when spring warms. It's also sold as Japanese lawngrass.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A short, creeping perennial grass that forms dense mats, spreading by both underground stems (rhizomes) and runners above ground ().
- Leaves
- The leaf blades are stiff, smooth, and upright. They're coarser than those of the other common lawn zoysias.
- Flowers
- It sends up short, spikelike seedheads in spring. On lawns these are usually seen as a cosmetic nuisance.
Look-alikes
Manila grassZoysia matrella
It's finer-textured and more tropical, and it browns after a few hard frosts. Korean lawngrass is coarser and more cold-hardy.
Why they get mixed upBoth are zoysiagrasses sold for lawns, and they're often just called "zoysia."
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Lawns
- Golf courses
- Parks and athletic fields
- Range
- Native to East Asia, including Korea, Japan, and China. In the US it's an introduced lawn grass, first brought in from Manchuria in 1895. Zoysiagrasses are grown across the warmer southern US and the "transition zone" in the middle of the country, where summers are too hot for cool-season grasses and winters too cold for bermudagrass. The Meyer cultivar of this species is especially suited to that zone.
- Preferred conditions
- It's very tolerant of drought, freezing, salt, and shade, but it needs a humid climate and doesn't like poorly drained soil. It goes dormant and turns brown after frost.
Growing it
- Care
- Most lawns are started from sod, sprigs, or plugs. It's the only zoysia that can be grown from seed, but seed takes a month or more to sprout and needs moist conditions and temperatures of at least 70°F (21°C). Lawns in full sun are typically mowed to about 1–2 in (2.5–5 cm). It tends to build up , and white grubs are its main insect pest.
Name and classification
- Varieties and forms
- 'Meyer' is the classic US cultivar, selected for winter hardiness and released by the USDA and USGA in 1951. It's named for USDA plant explorer Frank N. Meyer, who collected zoysia seed in Korea in 1905.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.