A Wonderful Time of the Year

Unlike most states to our north, we don’t have to worry about shoveling snow from our driveways, or putting on layers of clothes, boots, scarves and mittens just to walk Fido. Outdoor sports and activities, as well as preparing for and getting together over the holidays in our cooled-down climate is a joy and makes Florida the place to be in winter!

Winter is also a wonderful time to improve your lawn by installing EMPIRE® Zoysia sod.

“It’s a common misconception that if the grass is dormant, you can’t install the new lawn and expect it to root and get established,” said Justin Wallace, with Sod Solutions, the company that brought EMPIRE Zoysiagrass from Brazil, a breed that is perfect for the Florida climate. “This is false. EMPIRE Zoysia grass has a propagation system with both stolons and rhizomes which make it very durable and drought tolerant. EMPIRE Zoysia can be installed even if it’s in its brown, dormant stage, so by spring it will have been established and green up and be ready to enjoy.”

Drought tolerance is an especially important quality for Florida lawns because our winter months are our dry season. Getting a new EMPIRE lawn in the cooler time of year gives the added advantage of not needing as much water over the course of the first month or so to get the new sod installed. Over time, EMPIRE Zoysia lawns will look their best with just an inch of water each week (less in the winter months), so the savings on the water bill will really add up during the year!

Another great reason to install EMPIRE in the winter instead of waiting for the warmer weather, is that your newly installed lawn will be able to be properly fertilized yet stay in compliance with the fertilizer bans and regulations that many of our counties have in place to help protect our environment. Most of the bans take place in late spring or early summer and include warnings against fertilizing in rainy weather.

Sod Solutions makes taking care of your new EMPIRE Zoysia lawn so simple with its Lawnifi® starter box. This includes two bottles of Grow®, which contains nutrients like phosphorus, potassium and carbon that promote healthy root growth, and one bottle of Maintain®, which provides amino acids, microbes, iron and nitrogen to keep the soil healthy and provide your new lawn with all it needs to green up come spring. The Lawnifi new lawn starter box is good for any type of new grass you choose to install, and recommendations and instructions on its use are included in the packaging. 

For more information about how to find providers of EMPIRE Zoysia and how to maintain your new, softer, foot-friendly, quick recovery, water-saving, chinch-bug resistant, and beautiful blue-green carpet of a lawn, go to EMPIREinFlorida.com.