YOUR FLORIDA ECO-ENVIRONMENT White Paper Topic

EMPIRE ZOYSIA GRASS BACKROUND INFORMATION Empire Zoysia Grass was imported from Brazil in 1999 for use primarily in the southeastern and southwestern United States due to its fine texture, drought tolerance, heat and cold tolerance and pest resistance. Interestingly, the foundation material that would be used to distribute this new variety throughout the U.S. was established at Bethel Turf farms in Manatee County and the same farm manager that handled the initial growing and distribution of Empire is still employed at Bethel today in the same capacity and has visited Esplanade several times to check on our progress. Shortly after Empire’s introduction, SMR (the developer of Lakewood Ranch) began using Empire to replace areas of St. Augustine Grass (the longstanding standard for quality turf in this area) that were devastated by Chinch Bug activity whenever drought stress coupled with water restrictions and limited watering capabilities created the perfect storm that predictably resulted in complete turf loss. In this strategy, Empire delivered and continues to deliver to this day complete resistance to Chinch Bugs, one of Florida’s most devastating turf pests. This strategy proved so successful that by the time Taylor Morrison began planning for the initial phases for Esplanade, SMR had adopted a policy of requiring that Empire be used in all irrigated turf areas as the best way to insure sustainable high quality turf with the least amount of turf loss and the lowest amount of pesticide and water use over the long haul. Unfortunately, in 2012 Manatee County along with Sarasota County in an effort to minimize factors contributing to Red Tide, enacted a summer fertility ban that in essence eliminated the ability to fertilize Zoysia Grass during the time of year when nutritional feeding would benefit it the most. And while this ban is somewhat problematic for well-established turf it has proven to

be extremely problematic for the establishment of new turf in soils that have been excavated from newly constructed lakes that are lacking the type of soil soil chemistry and nutritional quality that is needed to support vigorous turf growth throughout the year. It is important to note that building fertile soils can take years with a well designed program with no limitations so the bottom line is that instead of being able to nurture the turf and soil throughout the year, we have been left with small windows in the late spring and fall to try and accomplish the goal of building turf and the type of soil nutrients and chemistry needed to sustain it. We are still optimistic, however, about the long term prospects for Empire to efficiently provide us with the high quality turf that is fitting for our community and are committed to do everything possible to accelerate the establishment period while working within the limitations imposed by government regulations.

ZOYSIA PROS Insect Resistance-Empire has proven to be completely resistant to Chinch Bugs that routinely devastates St. Augustine Grass lawns but it is susceptible to damage by other nondevastating insects like Billbugs, Grubs and Mole Crickets. Fortunately, careful timing of insecticide applications can significantly reduce the cosmetic damage these nuisance pest can do. Overall Empire is very manageable with regard to insects within an environment where many can be extremely problematic. Drought Tolerance-Once established it is nearly impossible to lose Empire due to lack of water even during protracted drought conditions with no water which could happen if there is a pump station failure especially during an extremely hot and dry period like we frequently experience. Heat and Cold Tolerance-Empire thrives in the extreme heat that we get each summer and is completely able to survive the coldest temperatures we would ever get with only temporary discoloration and no turf loss. Fine Texture-Empire is much finer textured than St. Augustine grass so it provides a much more refined look that more closely resembles the look and feel of northern lawn grasses. Reduced Mowing-Empire grows very little from December through May so it require less mowing than St. Augustine Grass. Weed Resistance-Once established Empire develops an extremely dense turf that makes weed development very difficult. Lower Height of Cut-Empires optimum range of cut is 1-2 inches which is half the optimum maintenance height that St. Augustine Grass requires. This provides a much more refined look and a far better surface to walk on.

ZOYSIA CONS Winter Dormancy/Brown Color-Empire is subject to a very lengthy dormancy period that starts as soil temperatures drop below 70 degrees(late November/early December) and does not begin to grow until soil temperatures rise above 70 degrees which usually occurs in May of each year. What this means is, once the grass turns brown from cool temperatures in the late fall, it takes a long time for it to green back up and there is nothing that can be done to get a green up until soil temperatures rise to the point where the grass begins to grow again. Seed Heads-Empire periodically produces seed heads that give the turf a very dark appearance that can be present until the seed heads grow to a height where they can be removed by mowing. Inability to Mask Imperfection-Empires fine texture and low mowing height does not allow it to mask the types of imperfections that hide very easily in taller St. Augustine Turf. This includes everything from weeds, to minor insect damage, to damage from fungus and even damage from moles. Unfortunately, all it takes is a weed or two or an outbreak of fungal disease to create imperfections that stand out like a sore thumb which puts tremendous pressure on our landscape maintenance company to quickly control and even prevent nearly every type of problem that can arise. Fungus- Empire is not alone in its susceptibility to fungus type diseases. Excessive irrigation plays a greater role in fungus development than it does with the diseases that affect St. Augustine Grass, making water management a very critical factor for success. Fortunately, the time of year in which diseases are active is quite predictable and there are effective fungicides available that will control the diseases when they appear. Very Specific Watering Needs-As stated above, water management is a critical factor in limiting fungus activity on turf which becomes problematic as residents that observe brown or off colored turf and immediately assume that their yard is not getting enough water and adjust their timers for increased watering times and events. Empire demands a different approach than just adding more water when the grass is not green which is why each controller has a label attached asking each resident to contact property management about watering issues instead of making adjustments on their own.

CONCLUSION Empire Zoysia turf was introduced and marketed to the U.S. in warm season and transitional turf markets as a nearly perfect solution to many of the difficult turf problems that were problematic to the existing types of turf that were available for use at the time of introduction. And while Empire has lived up to most of its promises it has come with its own share of challenges to overcome especially in areas where governments in an attempt to solve other environmental problems have instituted fertility bans that give no consideration to the special needs that this grass has during its establishment period.

There have only been a couple of full growing seasons to work with since the ban was enacted in Manatee County. Industry professionals are still working on finding solutions that will accelerate establishment and improve the maintenance programs needed to manage around this most difficult challenge. Progress has been made at Esplanade as our site has been visited by the leading experts in the field and changes have been made to a maintenance vendor, with extensive experience with Empire that also has the capability and willingness to do what is necessary to carry out a program that gives us the best chance for success.

TURF FAQ’S

Q-Why is the grass on newly sodded yards so green? A-Sod farms do not operate under a fertility ban as we do and their fields have generally been under intense management for many years. Sod farms are typically perfect environments for turf development and structure fertilizer programs with the only goal being developing dense and vibrant green turf as quickly as possible with no regard for the long haul. During harvesting and planting, all roots of the turf are removed and it is then introduced to different soils that are not as nutrient rich as the perfect environment it was removed from. As the establishment period begins, the turf is forced to adjust to a much less optimum environment with many limitations that did not exist on the farm and typically results in a significant drop in turf quality until the turf can become completely established. Unless it is established in an equally perfect environment as the turf farm, which most home lawns do not have, the appearance of the turf will never be that same as I was the day the turf was installed.

Q- Why is most of Esplanade Blvd green throughout the winter months? A-Esplanade Blvd from the corner of Del Corso Loop to the pro shop parking lot is planted with Celebration Bermudagrass (the same grass as found on the golf course) that is mowed at a much lower height of cut (with the same mower as that used on the golf course) and overseeded with Perennial Ryegrass which provides the deep dark green color of this area. In addition, there are some areas of Empire Zoysia that have been cut at the lower height that have also been overseeded as well which has provided a little greener color than the non overseeded Zoysia cut at the normal height used throughout the community.

Q-Why don’t we overseed all yards and common areas so they will look greener in the winter. A-While this sounds easy enough on the surface, the results we have been able to achieve with overseeding Zoysia have been inconsistent at best even with unlimited watering capacity in wide open areas that are perfectly suited for this type of procedure. Home lawns with their small restricted spaces between open beds and paver sidewalks and driveways with every crack being a place for seed to germinate would create a very large clean up problem that would be hard to justify even if uniform spectacular results could be guaranteed, which they cannot. Add to that cost of seed, labor for application, additional mowing, and finally the fact that our irrigation system simply does not have the capacity to provide enough water to get the seed germinated and there really is no practical way to justify such a wide scale attempt. Q-Why is the grass cut so low? A-Empire’s optimum range of cut is somewhere between 1-2 inches with diminished quality the closer the height gets to 2 inches and above. Cutting at the lower range would require the use of reel type (think golf course) mowers which are not practical for us to use due to the nature of the small areas that we have to cut on home lawns and common areas. We are currently cutting all lawns and common areas as close to 2 inches as we can get without doing a lot of scalping and will continue this practice for the long term health of the turf. Q-Why can’t I set the times on my irrigation controller? A-Each home has a program developed for it that is designed to provide the right amount of supplemental irrigation for successful turf growth that fits with an overall community wide irrigation schedule that guarantees each home will have adequate pressure when it is its time to run. Each clock has a functional rain sensor on it that is designed to keep the clock from running for a period of time any time there is an event of ½ inch of rain or more. Rain sensors can be overridden by the controller which is not recommended because that will result in not only wasting water but supersaturating the soils in lawns and ornamental beds that need to dry out after a significant rain event. There is no question that the vast majority of our turf and plant problems have come from too much rather than not enough water so residents are encouraged to not increase run times if they are concerned about the health of their turf and ornamental plantings. Q-Why does the turf in my lawn look uneven? A-This is a look that is a very common characteristic of Empire as it becomes established and one we have seen all over the community for the past two years. Some of this may be caused by growth that has been stunted by disease, that once controlled takes longer to catch up with the turf not affected and would go away quicker if we had the capacity to cut the turf closer to 1 inch. With time, the turf will develop to a uniform level at the height at which we regularly mow.

Q-What conditions warrant turf replacement and what time of year is this done. A-A community wide evaluation of all turf is done each July and any turf that is determined to be dead or beyond reasonable recovery will be replaced at HOA expense after this evaluation is completed. Due to the subjective nature of this determination, all disputes with homeowners will be resolved by relying on the opinion of a horticulturist with extensive experience with the establishment and maintenance of Empire Zoysia in this region of the U.S. Homeowners may replace Empire Turf with Empire Turf only at their expense at any time of the year by going through the ARC approval process.