Thermal convection dormancy on zoysia
View LargerJim Cato posted this image of a zoysia lawn in Gainesville in December, 2020. The pattern of zoysia dormancy is caused by porous convection. In short, warm air from the soil moves up the plants like a chimney and cold air flows down nearby inducing dormancy next to green grass. Mowing height controls the spacing between the green mottled areas. Lower mowed grass is unable to develop a significant amount of thermal convection and therefore remains uniform in entering dormancy. The appearance is similar to that observed in kikuyugrass and bermudagrass.