Common lawn turfgrasses
in our area
There are two basic types of turf grasses growing in the United States: cool season and warm season grasses. We have primarily warm season grasses. These turf grasses have gone through extensive refinement over the years to accommodate our specific climate.
While cool season grasses typically remain green throughout the year for our neighbors up north, the same cool season grasses are very difficult to maintain in the south where temperatures are much higher.
Warm season grasses thrive in our heat. Many varieties have been developed over the years and the three most common types of grasses in our area include: St. Augustine Grass, Centipede Grass, and Bermuda Grass.
St. Augustine Grasses
St. Augustine grass is often the most popular choice for lawns throughout southern United States. Especially in coastal regions where cold temperature extremes are moderated by oceanic climatic conditions.
St. Augustine grass is native to the Caribbean, Africa and Mediterranean regions, and best adapted to subtropical climates.
Good for coastal regions, thrives in heat, does poorly in cool climates. Excellent to fair under drought conditions. Moderately good to heavy traffic. Somewhat shade tolerant. Can be used in moist, semi-fertile soils. At the moment, most common installation method is sodding or plugs; seeds are very difficult to obtain if not impossible.
HIGHLIGHTS: St. Augustine grass is a big thatch producer, more so than other types of turf grass. It also requires plenty of moisture and is best suited to humid regions. Has good shade tolerance, except for Floratam. Susceptible to fungal diseases.
Texture: coarse
Cold Tolerance: Poor (damage possible below 20)
Shade Tolerance: tolerates moderate levels of shade, but will become thin under dense shade conditions.
Heavy Traffic Tolerance: Poor
Rate of Establishment: Medium/Fast
Planting: sod or plugs
Watering: needs weekly watering for optimal appearance, but will survive drought conditions.
Mowing Height: 2" - 4"
Thatch: heavy producer of thatch made from stolons
Centipede Grasses
Centipedegrass is native to China and southeast Asia. It was first introduced into the United States circa 1916 from seed collected by Frank N. Meyer in South China. Centipede grass has since become widely grown in the southeastern United States from South Carolina to Florida and westward along the Gulf Coast states and Texas.
Centipede grass' popularity as a lawn grass stems from its adaptation to reduced fertility conditions and its low maintenance requirements. Where Centipedegrass is adapted and properly managed, it has few serious pest problems. Centipede grass is particularly well adapted to the sandy, acid soils of southeastern United States. Its westward movement is somewhat limited by severe iron deficiencies that develop in the alkaline soils of the arid regions. Centipede's northward movement is restricted by low temperatures. Centipede grass is slightly more cold tolerant than St. Augustine grass, but extended periods of 5°F or less will likely kill Centipede grass.
Centipede grass is moderately shade tolerant, but grows best in full sunlight. It is not as salt tolerant as St. Augustine grass or Bermuda grass. Centipede thrives on moderately acid soils, pH 5 to 6. Above pH 7.0 iron becomes a limiting factor and supplemental applications of iron may be required.
Centipede grass does not enter a true dormant state during winter months and is severely injured by intermittent cold and warm periods during fluctuating spring temperatures. Hard freezes kill the leaves and young stolons of Centipede grasses. Centipede grass usually recovers as soon as temperatures become favorable. Recurring cycles of cold and warm during the winter months depletes its energy reserves and make's it susceptible to extreme winterkill. Thus, its adaptation is limited to areas with mild winter temperatures.
Winterization: Centipede lawns may be overseeded in the fall with a cool-season grass to create a temporary green lawn over the winter. Annual rye is a good choice.
Texture: medium
Cold tolerance: fair (damage possible below 15)
Shade tolerance: fair/good
Rate of establishment: slow
Mowing height: medium
First mowing: do not mow Centipede grass close before the growing season begins.
Bermuda Grasses
Bermuda grass is a major turf species for lawns, sports fields, parks, golf courses, and general utility turfs. It is found in over 100 countries throughout the tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
Common Bermuda grass, C. dactylon, naturalized throughout the warmer regions of the United States, was introduced into this country during the colonial period from Africa or India. The earliest introductions are not recorded, but Bermuda grass is listed as one of the principal grasses in the Southern States in Mease's Geological Account of the United States published in 1807.
Prefers full sun, drought resistant, can withstand heavy traffic. Can easily be planted from grass seed (although it was once only grown from sod and the new seed varieties are not as fine bladed as the sodded varieties). Bermuda is one of the South's favorites grass types. Grows in tropical, subtropical and transition zone areas. Found extensively on lawns, golf courses, sporting fields and in coastal areas.
Bermuda grass turns brown with the first severe drop in temperature. There are more cold tolerant varieties available. In warmer tropical areas, Bermuda grass retains a beautiful green color year round. This is a very aggressive grass and flower beds or other areas will be quickly overrun if not kept in check. Once established bermuda grass is difficult to remove due to its extensive root system.
Texture: common Bermuda grass has a medium texture. Hybrid Bermuda grass has a fine texture.
Cold Tolerance: good (some more than others)
Shade Tolerance: poor
Traffic: good
Watering: tolerates drought, but needs water weekly to remain green
Mowing height: varies between 1/2" - 2" Some newer hybrid varieties (Champion, FloraDwarf, Midlawn, Midfield, Tiffine, Tifgreen, & Tifdwarf) can be cut as low as 1/8", but are mostly suitable for putting greens)
First mowing of the season: after danger of hard freezes has passed, set your mower to a lower than normal height to remove as much dead top-growth as possible. Normally in mid-March when the soil temperature is around 55. Don't mow below 1/2" or you could damage the plant. Bag the clippings for this first mowing. Lawn will turn green when soil temperature warms to 60-65. Once the lawn has greened, mow at your normal height (2" for common and 1-1 1/2" for hybrids).
Never reduce the height of your lawn by more than one-third when mowing. Removing more than this can cause scalping and may take a long time to recover, during which, the grass is more susceptible to stress and further damage.
Planting: seed, sod, plugs, or sprigs
Pests: mole crickets, sod webworms, armyworms, and dollar spot
Aeration: may be aerated any time during the growing season as long as the lawn is not experiencing a drought. We don't recommend aeration after the lawn has gone dormant.
Turf-Type Tall Fescue
Turf-type tall fescue are becoming a popular turfgrass for homes and industrial sites. Turf-types are more coarse than bluegrass, though not as thick as traditional tall fescue commonly used as pasture grasses. The fescue is a bunch type grass, as opposed to the rhizomatic growth of bluegrass. Newer cultivars have the same rich green color as bluegrass.
Tall fescue are more drought resistant than many other lawn grasses such as bluegrass or perennial ryegrass because roots penetrate deeper into the soil.
Identifying tips
A coarse-textured medium to dark-green grass. Leaves are rolled in the bud. It has short, rounded auricles, a short membranous ligule, and an extensive root system. Because tall fescue has a bunch-type growth habit rather than a creeping-type, open areas may develop and need to be re-seeded periodically
