Found out any idea what grass u had ? I'm in the same boat

I just realized this is an ancient post that went unanswered. Well I answered it anyway. Maybe it will help Benjamin. If you could post pictures of your lawn it would help.

I'm going to suggest it is a variety of zoysia. It could be a variety of bermuda, but I have not studied the differences between the two.

I'm also going to guess that you water it every day and likely fertilize it more than 3x per year. The build up of thatch is often the result of watering too frequently. The fastest way to develop a layer like that is to water lightly every day and fertilize with liquid fertilizer every week. I've seen grass growing entirely above the ground because they watered and fertilized like this. This time of year in Corona you should be watering it deeply once a month.

Fescue, including all the varieties of Marathon, or bluegrass would be inappropriate for Corona. In your area they take so much more water than the southern grasses it's criminal. As soon as you get through the canyon from the beach area, it's too hot for cool season grasses. In fact I do not recommend fescue or Kentucky bluegrass east of I-5. It works at the beach because of the "late night and early morning low clouds" they get so often along with the cool 2 o'clock sea breeze.

As for warm season grasses I'm a fan of St Augustine, but many people don't like the coarse blade appearance. Hybrid bermuda would be the second choice. It's fine bladed but takes more work than St Aug. Zoysia can be good, but many varieties are temperamental and can look bad most of the season if something happens.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

If you are watering daily right now, I would ease into the deep and infrequent ritual. First I would spray the yard with shampoo at a rate of 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. This will help the water go deeper into the soil. If you have been watering daily then the soil will be bone dry down where you want the roots to be. The shampoo will help. Spray the shampoo (any clear shampoo will do - I use generic baby shampoo) and follow up with 1/2 to 1 inch of water. If you get runoff before the water soaks in, then stop watering and let the soil soak for 15 minutes. Then resume watering until you get the full inch or 1/2.

Fertilizer for zoysia should be applied on Memorial Day, Labor Day, and around Thanksgiving. Don't get tempted by the TV commercials suggesting you fertilize now. Wait until the end of May. If you are not already using organic fertilizer, I would make at least one application organic.

I did some studying as well to identity this grass and mine is the exact same as the picture. That's why I responded to this post late since I'm digging into this type of grass. Based on what I found, the grass might be called kikuyu grass which is grown in Southern California. Let me know your thoughts if it might b a possibility.

I've never seen kikuyu in person. Back in the 70s the California
Highway Department was hydroseeding/sprigging kikuyu alongside the
highways to stop erosion. The problem with it was it grew aggressively
out into the roadway and caused a slippery surface. So a different
department in the highway department went around spraying the kikuyu to
kill it. I believe there is a better behaved variety for use in lawns.
Here's a picture of it under a guardrail.

If you can take some pictures, the best pictures are taken on a cloudy day or in the shade. If you can get close (3 inches) that helps. Also let us know where you live.

This is what my grass looks like