Bahia grass

ScottyB – posted 26 March 2004 10:05

I need advice from people familiar with Bahia grass.

I live in a country home in SE Georgia (near Statesboro, if that helps) that is in the midst of a grove of oak trees and surrounded by burmuda grass pasture. I am plugging in St. Augustine grass around the house itself, because I can put in the time to maintain it in that area. However, there is an open area to the east of the house between the oaks that I’m not sure what to do with. Currently, only weeds are growing there. It’s about 4000 sq. ft., and planting plugs or laying sod is cost and time prohibitive.

The area is open beneath the trees and the limbs of the trees are very high, so it gets some sunlight, especially in the morning. I’ve read up on Bahia grass a little bit, and I wonder if it could be a more cost and time effective solution to covering the area since it is established by seed. There are some things that are appealing to me about it, besides cost of establishment. I read that it is the second most shade tolerant warm-season grass. It is low-maintainence, needing little besides mowing to keep the seed heads down. It grows well in acidic soil. And it has a similar mowing height to St. Augustine.

But I haven’t seen much of it in this area, so I am wondering if will produce a thick enough sod to keep the weeds down. Will the seed heads drive me crazy? Will it cause problems with adjacent St. Augustine grass? Which variety will work best in this area?

Anybody have advice? Is there a better solution? Keep in mind that cost is a major factor.

wdrake – posted 26 March 2004 19:35

Most of your questions are answered at:http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/LH006