choosing grass for my yard

gatorgirl – posted 28 March 2007 08:49

My first home and it needs a new backyard. I am not at all experienced with this sort of thing. I live in Gainesville, Florida (and yes, it is great to be a Florida Gator)! I have a lab also that will be a factor in choosing grass type. I have been told, centipede & bahia. Yard has a lot of shaded areas. I do not want to mow often. No sprinkler system. I want it to look as nice as possible with low maintenence. Any suggestions between the two?

wsee – posted 29 March 2007 16:31

Gatorgirl,I would use centipede by reading about what you said it is slow growing so you will not have to mow that much when established..Tiny seed you will need to mix with sand to spread.. 30.00 a lb. Bahaia either pensacola or argintine although argintine is somewhat slower and does not produce as many seed heads but both will grow fast in the summer you can almost watch it grow…You will be mowing alot on this if you choose it..Good Luck

gatorgirl – posted 30 March 2007 06:25

Thanks for the suggestion. The only thing that makes me apprehensive of putting down centipede grass is this: From reading on-line and also talking to a friend who had been a landscaper in this area for some time, it seems that centipede grass sometimes goes through “centipede decline”? And apparently there is no known reason for it. Landscaper friend is trying heavily to steer me away because of this. Know anything about it?

[This message has been edited by gatorgirl (edited 30 March 2007).]

wsee – posted 30 March 2007 10:43

I have never heard of that in centipeade however, bahaia will decline over the years if you don’t let the seed heads disperse thier seeds. You also have st augestine, burmuda and zoysia to choose from also.

jodyB – posted 30 March 2007 16:53

I grow sod near you,and our most popular type for Hogtown is St.Augustine, mostly Seville variety.Good,relatively cheap[no seed avaiable,must sod],fairly cold hardy,semi-dwarf,tolerates some shade,and very common in your area.Bad,requires lots of irrigation,chinch bugs are problem.Bahia produces those unsigtly seed heads that shoot up,but is drought tolerant.Much mowing,Tends to thin out in several years.Seed cheap.Centipede is OK here at times,but nematodes are huge problem.Does look nice.Not much mowing.Somewhat expensive seed.Zoysia is high maintence,not too much available here,Disease problems in summer.

jodyB – posted 30 March 2007 17:06

After re/reading your post,between the two options given,bahia is winner by de-fault if no irrigation is available.Not much fertilizing needed.Bahia requires least water,but mowing schedule of every week,or more often if you wish it to be well manicured.Now is time to seed bahia,planted some this week near you in lot by my house.Consider contacting your County Agricultural agent for definitive answer,free service.Good luck

gatorgirl – posted 17 April 2007 08:09

JodiB- It’s Gatorgirl again. Since you know this area, let me ask your opinion again. If I do not want bahia grass (because of the tall seed heads and frequent need to mow), what would my second best choice be? Again, low maintenance and no irrigation sysytem. Thanks for your time.