‘Emerald’ zoysiagrass has a very fine leaf texture but is less cold-tolerant than other zoysiagrass varieties.

‘Meyer’ has a wider leaf than ‘Emerald’ and has good cold tolerance.

‘El Toro’ grows rapidly and has leaf width similar to ‘Meyer’.

‘Zenith’ zoysiagrass can be established from seed or sod. It grows rapidly, with a dense growth habit, and tolerates light shade. Slightly wider in leaf width than Meyer Zoysia

Compadre (Companion) can be established from seed or sod. It grows rapidly, with a dense growth habit, and tolerates light shade. Slightly wider in leaf width than Meyer Zoysia

UGA turf expert Clint Waltz says:

Emerald zoysiagrass doesn’t grow really strong in limited light conditions (i.e. shade). There are other zoysiagrass cultivars better adapted to shade and I would not recommend Emerald for lawns that receive less than 6 hours of filtered to intermittent shade in a day during the growing season.

If the site is shady, cultivars to consider would be:

El Toro (medium to coarse leaf texture),

JaMur (medium to coarse leaf texture),

Zeon (fine leaf texture), or

Zorro (fine leaf texture).

All four of these cultivars are grown and commercially available in Georgia.