I live in Pennsylvania and have a lawn consisting entirely of a
broad-leaf grass called Zoysia. It has lengthy roots and remains
beautifully green during spring, summer and early fall. Unfortunately,
however, in late fall it becomes dormant and changes color to an ugly
light brown, about the color of wheat. I'm tryng to locate a green
dye, such as those used on football fields, to make this dormant
Zoysia look like green grass throughout the winter. I have tried a
product called Greenzit. It helped, but looks very fake. It might not
be possible, but could you locate a green dye that I can spray onto
the Zoysia to provide a reasonably good looking grass? Or can you
recommend a better solution to the problem? Thank you.

Dear nicko-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.

Without a doubt the healthiest, most economical and most
environmentally conscious thing you can do is to ?overseed? your lawn.
Overseeding is sowing grass seed into an already established and
growing lawn so that the lawn looks full and also stays green during
the winter months. You can achieve this by sowing in a winter green
grass such as Winter Rye or Fescue. At about the time that your
primary occupant grass becomes dormant and brown the Winter Rye begins
to flourish. The texture of your lawn may appear change a bit during
this period when the Rye takes over (rye grass blades tend to be
thinner) but it will remain nice and green through the winter months
until your Zoysia wakes back up and begins anew in the spring. Rye
grass also grows slowly and not to great length which also keeps you
from having to mow over the winter months.

Overseeding is relatively inexpensive compared to turf dyes and always
looks natural without running the risk of achieving a wrong color and
inconsistent tinting from one side of the law to the other, not to
mention the misery of tracking it into your house and having to mask
off your curbs, driveway and sidewalks for obvious reasons before
applying it (otherwise you?ll accidentally color your sidewalks or
risk having that ugly brown stripe down the side where you tried
stayed clear of the surface ? literally a ?dead? giveaway that defeats
the purpose of dying entirely).

If you are head strong about turf dye and insist that this is the way
you want to go, there are some professional treatments that appear to
work to come extent (when properly applied) but they are not
inexpensive. In order to achieve a convincing look it may be best to
stick with a professional material rather than an over-the-counter
retail product. Professional football field maintainers often use some
of these types of products, as do some tennis and golf course
maintenance personnel.

Here?s one that, in the photograph at least, appears to look very natural:

US SPECIALTY COATINGS, INC
http://www.usspecialtycoatings.com/
1-800-278-7473 or 1-800-2-STRIPE

LESCO is a company that specializes in golf course maintenance and
they too sell a turf dye for that purpose:

LESCO
http://www.lesco.com/default.aspx?PageID=28&Keywords=DYE

GREEN LAWNGER by BECKER UNDERWOOD is another highly regarded product.
This is a convincing looking ?turf paint? that lasts 10-14 weeks. It
won't wash or wear off after application but can be removed simply by
mowing.

BECKER UNDERWOOD: GREEN LAWNGER
http://www.beckerunderwood.com/products/greenlawnger-Tu.shtml

These are not the least expensive but from what I can tell are some of
the most convincing and professional products available. If
overseeding is not something you want to do one of these may just be
the answer to your problem.


I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



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SEARCH TERMS USED:

Turf dying (dye)

Turf coloring (color)

Turf painting (paint)

Turf tinting (tint)

Overseeding sounds like the answer. Thanks for a fresh idea! I'll get
the ball rolling on this and will keep you advised of my progress. I
thank you. And my neighbors thank you, as well!

Nicko, have you tried Dogonit Lawn Colorant? 

Dogonit Lawn Colorant is a permanent, water soluble green pigment (not
a dye) which contains no hazardous chemicals, heavy metals, or other
inert ingredients harmful to turf or evergreens.
http://store.yahoo.com/rbartelt2002-store/dolaco.html

Bobbie7
Google Answers Researcher

Why not just put in Astroturf - it wouldn't look any more fake than
green grass in the winter in Pennsylvania

Tutuzdad hit the nail square on the head.  I live in Ohio, similar
climate zone, and have green lawn all year.  I simply overseed with
winter rye as he suggests.

When the warm weather grasses return in the spring, the rye vanishes. 
A single mowing, about mid-January, keeps it in trim.

Digs

P.S. - I'm also popping pots of pansies and daffodiles in the ground
all winter as well.  When they freeze, I just pop in some more.  I
flat refuse to live with the winter 'drabs.'