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Tuesday - June 09, 2015

From: Dallas, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Green Roofs, Turf, Wildflowers
Title: Can you grow wildflowers on a Zoysia greenroof?
Answered by: Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

I have a 700 square foot zoysia grass roof with irrigation on a pool cabana that I would like to sprinkle with wildflower seeds (bluebonnets, indian paintbrush etc) Is this possible? What is the best time of year to do this?

ANSWER:

Your chances of success depend largely on what cultivar of Zoysia you have on your greenroof. If you have a healthy turf of a tightly growing cultiver such as Zoysia japonica 'Meyeri', your wildlflower seeds will have little chance of finding their way down to the necessary soil contact in order to germinate and then will not be able to compete with the thick sod there to grow and flower next year. On the other hand, if you have a more open-growing cultivar like Zoysia japonica 'Palisades', it might be worth a try.