Hawai'i Gardens
Going for that lovely, lumpy zoysia look

By Heidi Bornhorst

Two readers had similar questions for our garden expert:

Dear Heidi: What is this grass? Its old-fashioned and I like it. I stand on it in my bare feet and it really gets your attention. How do we best maintain it? — Dan Cole, Lanikai

Dear Heidi: I am landscaping my new water feature. I am contemplating the edge. Some landscape expert told me to put "lumpy zoysia." What is lumpy zoysia? Where would I pick up something like this? — Grace Dixon, WahiawA

This old fashioned lawn grass that you describe as "getting your attention" is Zoysia tenufolia, also known as "Korean temple grass." As keiki, we called it "pokey pokey grass." My mom had this favorite oriental garden area with nice rocks and the temple grass (the "lumpy" form). It looked so nice and soft we wanted to sit there under the shade of the Chinese fan palm. As soon as we did, yikes! We were poked in the soft spot and reminded not to sit there on the prize grass.

This zoysia has been around Hawai'i gardens for years. It can look like a very nice fine bladed "golf course-type" grass if you mow it all the time.

Regular mowing at a set height, watering and fertilizing with turf fertilizer are the basic maintenance requirements for zoysia grass. It is an ideal warm-season turf grass that does well for us here in Hawai'i.

If you mow it less often, or neglect mowing altogether, it will start to build up a thatch layer and form lumpy tussocks. Some people like this look, some prefer the manicured golf course appearance in a fine, frequently mowed lawn.

I had a favorite garden in Manoa that had lumpy temple grass. The people were old and had stopped mowing all the time. Maybe they liked the lumpy look, too. I always looked for menehune in that garden. It looked like a place where they would hang out in the evening. As I got older and read fairly tale stories, I would look for elves, and fairies in that misty Manoa garden.

This kind of lumpy unmanicured zoysia is perfect in certain garden settings (and think of all the time you'll save on mowing)! A pond edge will be very well suited to lumpy zoysia. This will soften the hard masonry edges, enhance the boulders and the velvety green color will be in nice contrast to your bright orange koi, and colorful water plants and blooming water lilies.

You can purchase zoysia in small amounts from your favorite garden shop. They sell flats and pots of various grasses. If you need a large quantity, visit one of the larger turf grass farms. There are also new zoysia hybrids that have been developed and have become available in Hawai'i, in recent years: zoysia "El Toro" and Z3 are some of the better new hybrids.

I particularly like El Toro. It has soft, nice blades, and grows thick and lush with few problems. It's hard to recognize the pokey grass parent in this soft, thick grass.

Heidi Bornhorst is director of Honolulu's five botanical gardens. Write to her care of The Advertiser Homestyle section, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Or e-mail islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com