Manilagrass

What is manilagrass?

Manilagrass is the common name UF/IFAS and Clemson use for Zoysia matrella, the fine-textured zoysia. It spreads by stolons and rhizomes like other zoysias, but its blades are narrower and the turf is denser and slower growing than Zoysia japonica.

Cultivars include Zeon, Geo, Zorro, Cashmere, Diamond, Taccoa Green and Trinity. UF/IFAS also lists hybrids with matrella parentage, such as CitraZoy and Innovation (Z. matrella × Z. japonica).

Manilagrass gives a showpiece lawn in sun or partial shade, but it takes work. Texas A&M notes zoysias are harder to mow than many grasses, and that fine-textured types need dethatching more often and look best cut with a reel mower. For the coarser, more cold-hardy zoysia, see our zoysiagrass page.

How to identify manilagrass

Pull up a few shoots and look closely where the leaf blade meets the stem. Here is what to check on manilagrass:

• Vernation: Rolled in the bud.
• Ligule: A fringe of hairs.
• Auricles: None.
• Collar: Broad to narrow depending on the zoysia species; some have long hairs (UF/IFAS).
• Leaf blade: Very fine and stiff with a pointed tip; can have fine hairs on the upper surface (UF/IFAS).
• Sheath: Smooth (UF/IFAS).
• Seedhead: A short spikelet-type head (UF/IFAS).
• Growth habit: Stolons and rhizomes; leaf spacing more even than bermudagrass (UF/IFAS).

Where manilagrass is grown in the US

Manilagrass is the fine-bladed zoysia. UF/IFAS describes Zoysia matrella as finer, denser and slower growing than Zoysia japonica, with good to excellent shade and salt tolerance, and recommends it for high-quality, high-maintenance turf where slow establishment is not a problem.

Its cultivars split into two groups in Florida. Very fine types such as Cashmere, Diamond, Taccoa Green and Trinity go on golf courses and high-end landscapes. Geo, Zeon and Zorro are fine, dark green lawn types with good shade tolerance (UF/IFAS).

It is less winter-hardy than Zoysia japonica. Oklahoma State advises against matrella types north of US Highway 412 in that state until more is known, and Clemson notes Cashmere is best kept to the southern South Carolina coast.

Manilagrass pros and cons

Pros

• Fine, very dense, high-quality turf
• Good to excellent shade tolerance
• Good to excellent salt tolerance
• Dense growth resists weeds
• Tolerates many pre- and postemergence herbicides; UF/IFAS says most broadleaf herbicides are safe on zoysia but many damage St. Augustinegrass and centipedegrass (any such work is for a licensed applicator using labeled products; the label is the law)

Cons

• Very slow to establish
• Sod, plugs or sprigs only; no seed
• Hard to mow; best with a reel mower
• Needs frequent dethatching
• Less cold-hardy than Zoysia japonica
• Dollar spot and large patch are concerns on some cultivars

Grasses that look like manilagrass

How and when to plant manilagrass

Ways to plant: Sod, plugs or sprigs. Not sold as seed; UF/IFAS says only Zoysia japonica is available as seed.

Seeding rate: Not seeded. Plugs 8 to 12 in. apart in rows 8 to 12 in. apart; sprigs with 2 to 4 nodes in rows 6 in. apart (UF/IFAS).

Germination: No seed. Clemson calls Z. matrella very slow to establish; plugs take at least one season to cover (UF/IFAS).

When to plant: Late spring to early summer, when air temperatures run about 80 to 95 F (Texas A&M). Late fall sodding lowers success, and dormant sodding can lead to winter kill in north Texas.

Seeding dates change from state to state. See when to plant grass seed by state, or our Pennsylvania grass seed guide if you are in PA.

How to care for manilagrass

Mowing: Fine zoysia lawns: 1 to 2 in. (Texas A&M). A reel mower gives the cleanest cut, and below 1 in. it usually needs one. Rotary blades dull fast on zoysia. Clemson lists Geo at 1 in. with a reel or 2 in. with a rotary mower. Never remove more than one-third of the height.

Watering: Water deeply and only as needed, early in the morning (Texas A&M) so the turf dries before night (UF/IFAS). Apply 1/2 to 3/4 in. when leaves fold, wilt or turn blue-gray, and cut back how often (not how much) in fall and winter (UF/IFAS).

Fertilizing: 1 to 3 lb N per 1,000 sq ft per year, no more than 1 lb quick-release N at once; first feeding after two spring mowings, last 4 to 6 weeks before first frost (Texas A&M). UF/IFAS adds potassium at rates equal to nitrogen and warns against early-spring and late-fall nitrogen because of large patch.

Nitrogen per year: 1 to 3 lb N per 1,000 sq ft per year for zoysia lawns (Texas A&M). Florida: 2 to 3 lb (north), 2 to 4 lb (central), 2.5 to 4.5 lb (south) (UF/IFAS).

Overseeding: Not seeded. Repair with sod or plugs and keep weeds out of the gaps while they fill.

Thatch: Needs dethatching more often than Zoysia japonica (Texas A&M). Dethatch when thatch passes 1/2 in., in spring or early summer.

Common manilagrass problems

If a pesticide is needed, use only products labeled for that use; the label is the law. If you hire someone to treat a lawn, make sure they hold your state’s pesticide applicator license; see our pesticide applicator license guide. To put a name to a lawn weed, use our weed identification guide.

Questions we get about manilagrass

Similar lawn grasses

ZoysiagrassZoysia japonicaBermudagrassCynodon dactylonHybrid bermudagrassCynodon dactylon × Cynodon transvaalensis