FLORIDA — “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” This phrase offers sound advice for the person looking for the “perfect” lawn grass.
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Homeowners frustrated with their Florida lawns may become desperate and buy into those too-good-to-be-true lawn seed advertisements. But be skeptical when reading advertisements that proclaim an “amazing” grass that produces a “lush, green lawn” with very little care.
Question advertisements for grass seed mixtures that grow from “Alaska to Florida.” Beware of advertisements that do not include a specific name for the lawn grass being sold. Don’t believe advertisements that claim their grass “grows in impossible spots.”
A number of years ago, I called a company that was advertising a grass seed mixture in hopes of finding out specifically what grass seeds were in this “too-good-to-be-true” mixture. I was told the seed mixture included Kentucky bluegrass, creeping red fescue, and annual ryegrass.
This information was not included anywhere in the advertisement. It was advertised as a mixture that would produce an attractive lawn for Florida.
Kentucky bluegrass, fescuegrass and ryegrass are cool-season grasses, which can be used to grow a temporary lawn during the winter and early spring in North Florida. However, as the weather warms in late spring to early summer these same grasses succumb to our heat and die. T
hey will not tolerate our hot, humid summer weather. They will not produce a permanent lawn in our area.
The most common types of grasses from which to choose when considering planting a North Florida lawn include Centipede, St. Augustine and Zoysia. Bahia and Bermuda are used less often but could be considered.
None of these produce a perfect lawn.
All of these grasses have advantages and disadvantages, which should be looked at and understood before choosing a grass for your lawn.
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Given time, most people in our area will become frustrated with their lawn. As a result, North Florida is a great area to market a too-good-to-be-true lawn grass. It’s difficult to grow a lawn here.
All of our lawn grasses are native to other parts of the world – they did not exist in our native ecosystem. Expectations for a Florida lawn are sometimes too high. These factors may cause those too-good-to-be-true lawn grasses to appear to be viable options.
But be cautious before spending time and money on one of those “perfect” lawn grasses.
For reliable information on Florida lawns, visit http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/yourfloridalawn or contact the UF/IFAS Extension Office in your County.
Larry Williams is the Extension horticulture agent with the Okaloosa County Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida. Contact Larry at 689-5850 or email lwilliams@myokaloosa.com.
