Florida Lawngrasses
by Dr. Robert Black, Consumer Horticultural Specialist

A healthy, well maintained lawn provides the ideal setting for a home. This "living carpet" provides the background for the landscape features around your home and should accentuate the beauty of your home, trees, shrubs, and flowers. But that is not all that a lawn provides. A lawn can serve as an area for entertainment and play. It prevents erosion, reduces glare, protects the home from dust and dirt, lowers temperatures, and increases the value of your property.

Everyone wants the perfect lawngrass, trouble-free and low in maintenance. There are thousands of grasses but only a few can take the harsh treatment a lawngrass must and still look presentable. A lawngrass must be adaptable to the climate and soil of the area, have good green color, fine texture, the ability to withstand frequent, close mowing, be tolerant to disease and insect attack, and be reasonably easy to maintain. There are six grasses that have enough of these qualities to make them useful in Florida. In order of statewide popularity they are St. Augustinegrass, bahiagrass, centipedegrass, Bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and carpetgrass. Each grass has its own advantages and disadvantages which make it adaptable to a particular situation.

Some of the things you should consider before you select your lawngrass is the amount of time and maintenance you wish to spend, its use, the soil and climate conditions, and personal preference. A tough grass is needed in areas where there is a lot of foot traffic or children play. If the grass is to be planted near the ocean salt tolerance is important. St. Augustinegrass is the most salt tolerant of the Florida lawngrasses. The amount of shade a grass receives is also important. St. Augustinegrass is more tolerant of shade than other Florida lawngrasses. There are numerous other climatic and soil conditions which should also be considered.

The grass that has the best combination of characteristics for the location is the one that should be planted. Different grasses also have different maintenance levels. The neighbors' bahiagrass lawn may look consistently better that your Bermudagrass, even though you spend twice the time and money. You may need to spend five to six times as much time and money on a Bermudagrass lawn.

To summarize the "best" lawngrass is that variety which is well adapted to your particular site, has the color, texture and density you desire, and can be kept in a healthy and attractive condition with the time, effort and money you are willing to spend.