Why Is Zoysia Being Kept Secret

Empire Zoysia
Photo courtesy of Hanceys Turf

Why Won't The Grass Companies Tell Us About Zoysia Being So Good

Every grass type we hear advertised on the radio, or see for sale with a brand name attached to it - is owned by a company under Plant Breeders Rights or other licensing privileges. The reason for the existence of these grass companies is to sell as much of their grass as possible, and there is nothing wrong with that - it's how all businesses operate.

But the problem here is also the fact that these same grass companies will not want Australian homeowners to know that there is such a high quality, low maintenance and environmentally friendly grass like Zoysia available. Because if they did, they would be putting themselves out of business!!!

Why Don't The Grass Companies Develop New Zoysia Types

When we think about the most heavily advertised grasses in Australia, Buffalo is the the first grass which comes to mind, followed by Couch and Kikuyu. The reason for this is because these are the grasses which have been most readily available grasses in Australia for the last 100 years, or longer! So when turf growers decide to develop a new grass type, they overwhelmingly look to the grasses which Australian's are most familiar with, Buffalo, Couch, Kikuyu, and Queensland Blue.

And this is not the same overseas in countries such as America.

The USA recognised the overwhelming and massive benefits of Zoysia a long time ago, and a lot of research and development has gone into producing some wonderful Zoysia types.

But due to the slow growth of Zoysia, it takes a long time to develop a new and worthwhile addition to the Zoysia family which can produce traits which aren't already available. Which seems to be just too much work for many…

In Australia, the only turf breeder who has had the fortitude and determination to develop our own native Zoysia grass for it's massive environmental benefits over other grasses is Todd Layt of Ozbreed, who spent nearly 10 years in pursuit and specialised selective breeding of a high quality Zoysia grass for Aussie homes - and this grass is called Nara - visit the Nara website here.

Turf Farmers in My Area Say That Zoysia is No Good

Some people have noted that when looking to purchase Zoysia from a turf farm, that the turf farmer has had some not nice things to say about Zoysia. So is this true, and if not, what is the reasoning behind this.

First of all, the turf farmer may be correct, Zoysia may be a poor lawn choice for your area and the turf farmer may have solid knowledge of this as being true. And this would be solely due to the preference of Zoysia for warmer regions.

But it may also not be true, and here's why.

Firstly, if a potential client has phoned a turf farm to buy a lawn type that the turf farmer doesn't grow - well of course the farmer will try and make a sale of the turf that he does grow rather than lose a sale. And that's normal, many businesses work in much the same way.

The next thing with turf farmers and Zoysia is the growth rate of this grass. Zoysia grows slower than other grasses, which makes it a brilliant environmentally friendly and low maintenance grass for the homeowner! But this is also a double edged sword for many turf growers, and means that growing a crop of Zoysia lawn takes longer than other grass types to grow. Which slows down turnover of turf sales on the farm. So growing Zoysia is a little more involved for the farmer, and the easier road is often just to grow a faster growing grass…

And we believe this needs to change.

Because Zoysia is just too good.

Some Turf Farms Are Owned By The Grass Companies

There are also some turf farms which are owned by the big grass companies, although this is NOT publicly advertised to their customers. On closer inspection of the grasses grown on some of these farms, there seems to be some environmentally irresponsible lawn choices, or choices of lawns which are generally unpopular. This would appear to be so that these turf farms do not make their grass company competition stronger by selling their competitors grass type.

And every popular type of Zoysia grass is licensed to their different competitors!

So expect these turf farms to yell the loudest in opposition to Zoysia as the best and most environmentally responsible lawn type for all the warmer regions of Australia.

Summary

With all these things in mind, we must never let anyone in the turf industry tell us that Zoysia is not a fantastic grass - for anyone who says this is either not well informed, or they are concerned more with their own financial interests as grass company owners, rather than telling Australians about such a low maintenance and environmentally friendly grass type as Zoysia.

Instead, we should listen to those good men and women in the turf industry who will readily admit all the benefits of Zoysia, but who will honestly and readily advise people if this lawn type is indeed a suitable grass to grow in the region where they live, or if a different grass may be more suitable.

We will never say that Zoysia is perfect for every home or every person, or for every situation where it is grown as a lawn - there is no such lawn which fits this profile. But we will always recommend that all Australians in the warmer regions should look first at Zoysia to consider it's suitability for their own homes and lifestyles before they look at all other grass types.

- Disclaimer: Nara advertise on The Lawn Guide