“Which grass thrives best in the state of Florida?”
It is absolutely essential to be aware of all possible options so that you can make the finest, most informed decision when installing grass on your lawn.
Below is a list of grass varieties that require little maintenance and have a high survival rate in Florida and its tropical climate.
What Makes Florida’s Growing Conditions Unique?
When it comes to selecting grasses for a Floridian lawn, the selections can appear to be somewhat limited.
Florida’s climate produces a lot of rain, high levels of humidity, heat, and even hurricanes.
Living in the Sunshine State also means you’re close to the coast, which means you have soils with a high salt concentration, otherwise known as saline soils.
As a result, it is critical to determine which grass can withstand and thrive in all of these varied climate challenges. There are also a couple ornamental grasses that do well in Florida.
Three Types of Grasses with the Least Amount of Upkeep
1. CitraBlue St. Augustine
This modern turfgrass cultivar developed by the University of Florida turfgrass breeding program requires little maintenance and has an aesthetically pleasing deep blue-green hue.
If you have children or dogs, CitraBlue has a strong root structure that helps it to withstand environmental stresses such as drought, shade, heat, and traffic.
Qualities that make it an ideal low-maintenance grass:
- Maintenance Requirement: It grows laterally rather than vertically, so it demands less mowing.
- Drought Tolerance: It is slower to develop indications of drought stress, requiring less watering than other grasses.
- Fertilizer Administration: Due to the reduced nitrogen requirements, lesser fertilizer administrations are required, yielding even better growth.
- Improved Disease tolerance: better resilience to diseases such as gray leaf spot, demanding less fungal control
- Canopy Density: It has a thicker canopy than Floratam, which makes it more appealing to customers when it comes to weed control;
- Shade Tolerance: in effect, it tolerates shade nicely.
- Insect Resistance: It has a strong ability to repel insects like chinch bugs.
2. Palmetto St. Augustine
Palmetto is a semi-dwarf form of St. Augustine grass with a brighter, emerald green shade and a superior texture than St. Augustine grass alone.
This is the most famous patented turfgrass with over one billion square feet sold. Color and texture were chosen for their uniqueness.
This adaptable turfgrass is utilized from the Carolinas to California in various temperature and soil conditions, making it an excellent option for residential and commercial applications.
Because of its deep, enormous root systems, this grass is great for speedy installation and transplanting and reducing the need for regular watering.
Qualities that make it an ideal low-maintenance grass:
- Maintenance Requirement: It requires less mowing and may thrive with only 5-6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
- Canopy Density: It has a thicker canopy, which leads to greater weed resistance.
- Insect Resistance: natural immunity to thatch, chinch bugs, and other pests
- Climate adaptability: The cultivar does best in the freezing temperatures during winter and is rarely damaged by frost.
- Shade Tolerance: displays extraordinary shade tolerance. When palmetto grass was first developed, the thickness of the sod only reduced marginally and it retained a steady brilliant color compared to other varieties when subjected to prolonged shade.
3. Empire Zoysia
Empire Zoysia is a Brazilian zoysia japonica invented by grass breeders Minoru Ito and Roberto Gurgel that promises specifiers, groundskeepers, golf course designers, sports turf managers, and homeowners excellent performance and low upkeep in a wide range of uses.
This warm-season grass flourishes in sweltering, tropical weather like Florida.
On the other hand, it will become dormant when the temperature drops in the fall and winter.
Domestic front and rear yards and business low traffic zones are suggested placements.
This is one of the few types of grass that can thrive in a wide range of soils and temperate climates, making it one of the few grasses certified to perform well in all zones.
Qualities that make it an ideal low-maintenance grass:
- Canopy Density: It has a denser canopy, making it more weed-resistant than St. Augustine grass.
- Insect Resistance: Is immune to chinch bugs and effectively repels other insects such as billbugs
- Drought Tolerance: It quickly recovers from droughts, and it also allows the supply of water to be cut off in extreme droughts without permanently hurting the turfgrass.
- Wear Tolerance: Is quite resistant to wear.
- Injury Recovery: Has a quick damage recovery rate
- Fertilizer Administration: A springtime administration of a fertilizer high in nitrogen and potassium is recommended.
- Disease tolerance: resists any fungus or illness that affects other grasses
- Maintenance Requirement: With little or no spring to summer fertilization, this grass can be mowed every 3 to 4 weeks to a height of 1 1/3 to 1¾ to minimize scalping.
- Salt tolerance: Because of its great salt resistance, it is ideal for seaside estates and beach-centric commercial projects.
