Palisades Zoysia Grass: Drought, Shade, Mowing and Care

What Palisades zoysia is, and where it came from

Palisades came out of the Texas A&M zoysiagrass breeding program at Dallas. A January 1997 Landscape Management article covered it as one of four zoysias the program had released the previous year, in cooperation with the USGA. UF/IFAS also dates the release to 1996. Its patent says it was tested under the experimental name DALZ8514.

The U.S. plant patent (PP11,515), granted in 2000 to the Texas A&M University System, names Milt Engelke as the breeder. According to the patent, Palisades is a chance hybrid. Its mother plant, a clone called Z44, came from Beltsville, Maryland, in 1981, and the pollen parent is unknown, from the Dallas germplasm nursery.

Which species is it?

UF/IFAS and the patent both call Palisades Zoysia japonica, the coarser Japanese lawngrass group that UF also puts Meyer and Empire in. Texas A&M AgriLife’s variety table lists it as a Z. japonica × Z. matrella hybrid, the same label it gives Zeon and Empire. Either way, it looks and behaves like a japonica: wider blades, an upright habit and a preference for a higher cut than the fine matrella zoysias.

Texture and look

Clemson describes Palisades as medium-coarse with an upright growth habit. Texas A&M AgriLife Dallas also says medium-coarse and adds that it keeps its color well into fall. UF calls it coarse, with more upright leaves than Empire or JaMur. NC State compares Palisades and Empire to newer tall fescues in texture. If you picture a fine, carpet-like zoysia, Palisades is not that. It is a sturdier, more open lawn.

Drought tolerance and water

Drought is where Palisades stands out in the extension ratings: UF/IFAS rates it excellent. The Texas A&M patent describes low supplemental water needs, similar to Crowne and El Toro, but that is the breeder’s own description. The 1997 trade article also listed low water use among its traits.

Drought tolerant doesn’t mean it never needs water. UF’s general zoysia advice is to water when leaf blades start folding, wilting or turning blue-gray, or when footprints stay visible, and to apply ½ to ¾ inch each time. UF also says that letting zoysia go off-color in a dry spell is an acceptable way to save water. In cool-season country, zoysia is rarely the answer; our drought tolerant grass guide for Northeast lawns covers the options there.

Shade tolerance

Palisades handles some shade, but it is not the zoysia to choose for shade. Clemson rates it for full sun to partial shade. Texas A&M AgriLife Dallas calls it shade tolerant, and UF puts its shade tolerance on par with JaMur. As a group, though, Texas A&M AgriLife says matrella varieties generally handle shade better than japonica varieties, and UF classes Palisades as a japonica. If shade is the main problem in your yard, a fine matrella-type cultivar or St. Augustine may suit it better; see zoysia vs St. Augustine and our grass for shade guide.

Cold hardiness and where it grows

• Texas A&M AgriLife Dallas describes Palisades as cold hardy and heat and salt tolerant, and lists home lawns, golf fairways and roughs, highway rights-of-way and airport grounds among its uses.
• The patent rates its winter hardiness good to excellent and expects it to persist as far north as Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. That is the breeder’s projection, not an extension rating.
• NC State is more cautious: it says Palisades and Empire are not as cold tolerant as Meyer. In the mountains or the colder edge of the transition zone, that comparison matters.

Mowing Palisades

Palisades takes a higher cut than the fine zoysias, which makes it friendlier to a rotary mower:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Dallas lists 3.5 to 5.0 cm, or roughly 1.4 to 2 inches.
• Clemson says it can be mowed from about 3 inches down to ½ inch. The low end is golf-tee territory, not a home-lawn target.
• UF/IFAS mows medium- and coarse-textured zoysias at 1.75 to 2.5 inches with a rotary, weekly or once the grass reaches 3 to 4 inches.
• NC State warns not to mow Palisades or Empire as short as Emerald or Meyer.

Somewhere around 2 inches with a sharp rotary blade satisfies all four sources for a home lawn. Clemson’s condition for any rotary on zoysia is a blade sharpened regularly.

Fertilizer needs

No source gives Palisades its own fertilizer rate, so use your state’s zoysia numbers. Texas A&M AgriLife puts zoysia at 1 to 3 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft a year, ½ to 1 lb at a time in summer. UGA uses about 2 to 3 lb for Georgia. In North Carolina, NC State groups non-Meyer, non-Emerald cultivars at 2 to 3 lb in the Piedmont and 2 to 4 lb on the Coastal Plain. Clemson says to wait for full spring green-up, feed potassium whenever you feed nitrogen, and make the last nitrogen application at least six weeks before your average first frost. UF warns that early-spring and late-fall nitrogen raises the risk of large patch, which Palisades is susceptible to.

Establishment: fast for a zoysia

Palisades is sold vegetatively. Texas A&M lists it as sod only, and UF notes that the only zoysia sold commercially as seed is Z. japonica from seeded cultivars, a group Palisades isn’t in. What sets it apart is speed. UF rates its establishment fast, NC State says the coarser cultivars establish quickly and recover well from injury, and Clemson points to its aggressive rhizomes.

The patent gives a number: 60 to 70% cover within 90 to 120 days of an early-May planting in Dallas, compared with 360 to 400 days for Meyer to reach full cover. That figure comes from the breeder’s own trials, so use it to compare cultivars rather than to plan your season.

• Sod: Clemson’s preferred method. UGA waters new sod daily, about ¼ inch, until it roots. See sod installation cost for budgeting.
• Plugs: Clemson uses 2-inch plugs on 6-inch centers. UGA puts the best Georgia planting window in May and June.

Palisades pros and cons

Palisades vs Zeon vs Empire

Here is how three popular zoysias compare. Every cell comes from the source named in its row or cell.

Clemson also credits Empire with excellent insect resistance, including against chinch bugs. In short: Zeon is the fine-bladed, shade-leaning pick. Empire and Palisades are the coarser, rotary-friendly picks, and Palisades leans hardest on drought tolerance and speed of cover.

Who Palisades suits

• Good fit: a sunny or lightly shaded lawn in Texas, the Southeast or the warmer transition zone, where summer dry spells and watering limits matter. It also suits owners who mow with a rotary and want a zoysia that fills in faster than most.
• Think twice: if you want the soft, fine zoysia look, if the lawn sits in shade most of the day, or if you garden at the cold edge of zoysia country.
• Full-sun yard and still deciding on species? Compare zoysia vs Bermuda first.

If you would rather hand off a Palisades install or a lawn renovation, LawnPhix’s lawn care services page connects you with a lawn care company serving your area.

Palisades zoysia FAQs

Related guides

Sources: UF/IFAS ENH11: Zoysiagrass for Florida Lawns · Clemson HGIC 1212: Zoysiagrass · Texas A&M AgriLife Dallas: Palisades Zoysiagrass · Texas A&M AgriLife AggieTurf: Zoysiagrass · NC State: Carolina Lawns · UGA Leaflet 395: Zoysiagrass Lawns · Landscape Management, Jan 1997: Zoysia’s new stars · U.S. Plant Patent PP11,515: Palisades (breeder’s description)