Bermuda grass is bad for South Florida!

sodoff – posted 29 July 2004 19:48

That’s what I’ve heard from two different garden store operators now. I’ve been inquiring lately, because I will be completely re-sodding my lawn in a few months. They insist that St. Augustine is the only way to go in South Florida (Ft. Lauderdale). St. Augustine is used in over 95% of the yards down here which tends to support their position. However, I have seen several magnificent bermudagrass lawns in my area, mostly on very large, very expensive waterfront homes. Is the reason that I only see the bermuda used on exclusive waterfront lawns because it requires massive maintenance? And only those people are willing (or able) to pay the high price of maintaining a bermuda grass lawn in South FL. I love the look and feel of bermuda grass, and want to use it, but I don’t want to sod my entire yard with it only to realize I made an impossible maintenance commitment. Input please.

BaHateit – posted 30 July 2004 18:47

Sorry dude, the garden center people are full of crap. Maybe they’ve been eating too much fertilizer.

I’ve learned a lot about bermuda in the past couple of days. What I can tell you is that it’s a bit on the weedy side, but in central florida the bermuda that I have currently taking over my lawn is lush and green and soft. I like the bermuda because it doesn’t get to unmanagably tall heights that fast so you don’t have to mow it as often. (at least where I am)

As for the maintenance, there are different varieties. If you want it to look perfect like a fairway, you’d use a high performance variety and of course input a lot of fertilizer, water and frequent mowing. There are garden variety bermudas that don’t need as much TLC.

St. Augustine requires maintenance too. I don’t know if they neglected to tell you that. To keep that stuff from feeling crunchy, it needs regular water and fert.

I may or may not have a lot of support here but my feelings are go with the bermuda. I moved from up north and bermuda reminds me of the nice cool season grasses due to the color and texture. If that’s the kind of grass you like too, then go for it. You will be so happy with it you’ll want to maintain it more than necessary.

I have seen bermuda used at a high school playing field in Miami and it didn’t get all that much attention. It perhaps wasn’t as green as it could be but it still looked unique in the south florida landscape.

Good luck.

sodoff – posted 30 July 2004 21:33

Thanks for the input BaHateit.

I have come to the same conclusion about the garden center crew. I don’t believe their advice was wrong, just not complete. St. Augustine does very well in S. Florida. You can’t go wrong recommending it. But Bermuda, although much more infrequently used, is also a choice. It seems that it requires a little more maintenance, but as you said, for someone who loves that look and feel, it’s probably well worth the effort.

If anyone out there has had the chance to live with a bermuda lawn in South Florida, I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks again for the info, BaHateit.

maverick – posted 05 August 2004 09:27

quote:Originally posted by sodoff:They insist that St. Augustine is the only way to go in South Florida (Ft. Lauderdale).

I don’t live in Florida, but I think that south Florida probably has much the same climate as Puerto Rico (depending on how close to the equator your at). I tried growing Zoysia (not from seed), but it has taken a lot of time, even after much watering. It is very slow.

I started looking for a faster variety for a warm climate and kept bumping into Bermudagrass. After reading the pros and cons, I decided to go with Bermudagrass (Sahara).

I planted seeds nine-days ago. After just seven days the seeds have germinated and I can see them taking hold. Much faster than Zoysia and needs very little water, it’s draught resistant, and loves the sun. Although I have read that it hates the shade, I noticed the seeds have germinated just as fast from a corner of the house that gets a lot of shade.

Sounds to me like it will be the right turf for me. It grows a lot and it is low maintenance.

sodoff – posted 05 August 2004 21:13

Thanks maverick. Keep me posted on how that lawn comes in.