Aerate the soil in spring. This encourages better, deeper root growth and allows faster penetration of water when rain comes. Zoysiagrass lawns should be dethatched every spring to encourage vegetative growth and remove the dense accumulation of debris which prevents deep root development. Leave some clipping in place. These provide a kind of mulch which reduces soil evaporation of water and insulates the soil from the heat of summer.
Water lawns well every week or two.
More and more homes are equipped with automatic sprinkler systems, but unfortunately a majority of these are improperly adjusted. Many of these irrigation systems are adjusted to irrigate daily, applying only a small amount of water at a time. This encourages shallow root development which makes the grass more susceptible to heat and drought stress. On established lawns, watering more than once a week is seldom needed. Watering at night during droughts reduces the amount of water loss to evaporation.