Selecting the Perfect Grass
for your lawn

BAHIAGRASS LAWNS - ARGENTINE

Good Aspects: Best of the Bahia's for lawn use. Has a nice medium green wide leaf. Wider blade than the Pensacola Bahia variety. Requires minimum maintenance attention. Very well developed root systems make it great for soil erosion requirements and for drought tolerance. Both seeds and sod are commercially available.

Bad Aspects: Creates a coarse, open lawn. Aggressive growth of seed stalks during summer growth requires frequent mowing. Susceptible to mole crickets especially on highly fertilized lawns. Requires iron to prevent chlorosis. Not for use where soil temps drop below 15-20 degrees in winter, can be cold killed.

Fertilizer Requirements: About average - .5 to 1 LB N per 1000 sq. ft./per month, or 1-2 times year.
Water (Drought) Requirements: Very good. Performs best with plentiful rain or irrigation. Will turn brown under drought stress, but recovers fast. Not usually killed by drought.
Traffic Wearability: Also Excellent
Mowing Requirements: Weekly 2-3 inches. Does not support low mowing. Is a lush full grass. Mowing can be required every 5 days during peak summer growth (July).
Shade Tolerance: Good shade tolerance. Needs some sun during the day
Disease & Insect Problems: Brown patch - Army worms, mole crickets.
Soil type Requirements: Best in wet acid soils. Grows generally anywhere.
Establishment Methods: Seeds, Sod, Sprigging- Fast establishment from seeds possible during summer plantings.

BAHIAGRASS LAWNS - PENSACOLA

Good Aspects: Finer leaf Bahia, great for pastures and erosion control areas. Has a nice narrow (med-fine) green leaf. Narrower blade than the Argentine Bahia variety. Requires minimum maintenance attention. Very well developed root systems make it great for soil erosion requirements and for drought tolerance. Used extensively in pastures and road-side grassing throughout the Southeast. Stands colder soil temps, thus can be planted further north in Southern States. Available from both seed and sod sources commercially. But usually planted using seeds.

Bad Aspects: Creates a coarse, open lawn. Aggressive growth of seed stalks during summer growth requires frequent mowing. Susceptible to mole crickets especially on highly fertilized lawns. Requires iron to prevent chlorosis. Not for use where soil temps have extended freezing temps.

Fertilizer Requirements: About average - .5 to 1 LB N per 1000 sq. ft./per month, or 1-2 times year.
Water (Drought) Requirements: Very good. Performs best with plentiful rain or irrigation. Will turn brown under drought stress, but recovers fast. Not usually killed by drought.
Traffic Wearability: Also Excellent
Mowing Requirements: Weekly 2-3 inches. Does not support low mowing. Is a lush full grass. Mowing can be required every 5 days during peak summer growth (July).
Shade Tolerance: Good shade tolerance. Needs some sun during the day.
Disease & Insect Problems: Brown patch - Army worms, mole crickets. Generally less susceptible than Argentine.
Soil type Requirements: Best in acid soils. Grows generally anywhere.
Establishment Methods: Seeds, Sod, Sprigging- Fast establishment from seeds possible during summer plantings. Preferred method is seeds. Note there are improved varieties of Pensacola available for pasture use known as Tifton 9 Bahiagrass. Most plantings are still of the common Pensacola Bahia variety.

CENTIPEDE LAWNS

Good Aspects: This is a good-low maintenance lawn grass for homeowners who want a general purpose lawn they can forget about. Very low growth allows it to require less mowing that most other grasses. Crowds out weeds. Used in some areas as an alternative for St. Augustine. Commercially available either with seeds or sod or sprigs.

Bad Aspects: Coarse leaves. Doesn't handle high nitrogen fertilizers, thus doesn't have the dark green color that may homeowners want. Use of lots of nitrogen causes thatch buildup.

Fertilizer Requirements: less that 1/4 LB N per month / per 1000 sq. ft. or apply 1-2 times year.
Water (Drought) Requirements: Very sensitive to drought. Usually recovers. Can be killed by severe drought.
Traffic Wearability: Fair. Slow to recover from high traffic damage.
Mowing Requirements: 1-2 inches... about once week. Can go further between mowing without problems associated with other grasses.
Shade Tolerance: Medium. In some soil types responds well to shade.
Disease & Insect Problems: Ground Pearls, Army worms, Mole crickets can be serious problem, Brown patch.
Soil type Requirements: Acid soils.
Establishment Methods: Seeds, sod, sprigging.

BERMUDA GRASS LAWNS

Scientific Name: Cynodon dactylon (Warm Season Grass).

Good Aspects: Good warm season grass that likes heat. Fine leaves, grows with little maintenance. Good lawn grass with normal care. Also some varieties used for pasture and hay production. Nice fine blade look. Many varieties used on golf courses in the South. Common varieties available either seed or sod. Most improved varieties are only available with sod/sprigs.

Bad Aspects: Very invasive of plant / flower beds. Poor shade tolerance and brown color under drought and in cool fall weather.

Fertilizer Requirements: High rates 1/2 to 1 lb. Nitrogen per sq.ft. per month. - Generally 4 lbs. per year on high maintenance lawns and as little as 1 lb. N per year for lesser used lawns (1-2 times year). Read www.lawnfertilizers.com for more fertilization info.
Water (Drought) Requirements: Good.
Traffic Wearability: Very good.
Mowing Requirements: 1.2 to 1 inch - normal growth rates.
Shade Tolerance: Not good.
Disease & Insect Problems: Army worms, scale insects, mole crickets, dollar spot, brown spot, helminthosporium.
Soil type Requirements: wide range of soils.
Establishment Methods: seeds, sprigging, sod.

ST. AUGUSTINE LAWNS

Good Aspects: Fast growing, nice shade grass. Used extensively in areas of high salt content (beaches). Several varieties available.

Bad Aspects: Extremely damaged by chinch bugs. Also affected by SAD disease (St Augustine Decline). Some varieties are less affected. Seeds generally not commercially available.

Fertilizer Requirements: Responds to high rates - 1/2 to 1 lbs. per 1000 sq.ft. per growing month.
Water (Drought) Requirements: Does not handle drought well. Requires high water rates. Some varieties available with lower requirements.
Traffic Wearability: Not good.
Mowing Requirements: 2-3 inches. Does not support low mowing rates as can cause weed problems from low mowing.
Shade Tolerance: Very good.
Disease & Insect Problems: Chinch bugs, SAD, Army worms, mole crickets, brown patch, Grey leafspot.
Soil type Requirements: Wide range of soils.
Establishment Methods: Sod & Sprigging.

TRANSITION & OTHER GRASSES

Bluegrass (Kentucky & Rough): This is a COOL SEASON grass, not suitable for use in the hot south. Best suited for the upper South, and through the Rocky Mountain area. It is a transition zone grass, for wet and generally shaded sites. Not suitable for Florida. www.bluegrasses.com

Dichondra (Ground Cover): This is not really a grass per se, but is included because it is a WARM SEASON broadleaf plant that likes heat. More suited for looks, where there will be no traffic. Not for areas where temperatures drop below 25 degrees. More about Dichondra

Fescue (Cultivar types: Tall, Red, Creeping, Hard, Chewing): A major grass in the transition zone area of the South. Not really suitable south of Atlanta, Ga. Does not tolerate high summer temperatures, more suited for moderate temps. Is a COOL SEASON grass with excellent drought tolerance. Can be seeded. Though sometimes sold in stores in Florida in mixtures, it is not really suited for that temperate area, and will die out eventually due to diseases and heat. www.fescue.com

Zoysiagrass: This is also a WARM SEASON grass. It is planted in the deep south, including Florida, but is very slow to grow and generally requires installation from sod. Seeds are slow to establish. Good drought and heat tolerances, along with insect and disease resistance. Wears really good to high traffic. Has wiry leaf blades that are extremely tough to mow. Biggest drawback for the south is the long time to establish. www.zoysias.com