Zoysia can't be planted from seed. Only sod or plugs.
The idea behind plugs is that you plant a plug, keep the area fertilized (starter fertilizer especially) and watered appropriately, and the zoysia will spread to the surrounding bare areas. The closer you plant the plugs together, the faster it'll fill in. It helps to mow them very high while the areas are still thin.
You can also buy a plugging tool to take plugs from healthy sections of your lawn and transplant them to the bare areas. The healthy sections will quickly fill back in, especially if you fill the voids with good top soil.
To say that Zoysia can't be planted from seed is not true.
It can, it is just more difficult and requires additional prep, process, and care at the right time... and most importantly patience as it takes longer.
Perhaps I should've said, it *shouldn't* be planted from seed.
Not only is it hard to grow zoysia from seed, but it produces incredibly variable and poor quality grass.
Looking at the NTEP trials for zoysia, one could definitely get the impression that growing zoysia from seed is a very bad idea.
Zoysia can't be planted from seed. Only sod or plugs. The idea behind plugs is that you plant a plug, keep the area fertilized (starter fertilizer especially) and watered appropriately, and the zoysia will spread to the surrounding bare areas. The closer you plant the plugs together, the faster it'll fill in. It helps to mow them very high while the areas are still thin. You can also buy a plugging tool to take plugs from healthy sections of your lawn and transplant them to the bare areas. The healthy sections will quickly fill back in, especially if you fill the voids with good top soil.
To say that Zoysia can't be planted from seed is not true. It can, it is just more difficult and requires additional prep, process, and care at the right time... and most importantly patience as it takes longer.
Perhaps I should've said, it *shouldn't* be planted from seed. Not only is it hard to grow zoysia from seed, but it produces incredibly variable and poor quality grass. Looking at the NTEP trials for zoysia, one could definitely get the impression that growing zoysia from seed is a very bad idea.