Warm Season Grasses
Warm-season grasses are originally from tropical regions, which is why they thrive in the scorching sun and high temperatures of the Southern US. Warm-season grasses grow best when temperatures are between 75-90°F and do most of their growing in the summer. In the cooler weather of late-fall and winter, they go dormant, turn brown, and won't green up again until warmer weather returns in spring.
The major grasses in this category are:
Bahiagrass is a tough, coarse-textured, moderately aggressive warm-season grass that is adapted to a wide range of soil conditions. This grass can take a wide range of warm weather climates, doing well in hot, humid areas with high annual rainfall, and can thrive even on poor, infertile soils. Bahiagrass spreads slowly by rhizomes, but when it becomes established it grows aggressively, quickly making a thick, low-maintenance lawn that has some drought resistance.
Bermudagrass
Bermudagrass is the most widely grown turfgrass because of its adaptation to climates and soil types. Bermudagrass forms a dense, attractive sod. Its aggressiveness makes bermudagrass the preeminent turf for areas of high traffic, since it can spread quickly to cover damaged areas. Bermudagrasses also have good wear tolerance. The major limiting factor to bermudagrass growth is the amount of sunlight it requires. It does not tolerate full shade and only tolerates partial shade for half a day. It is best to have full sun for the highest quality lawn.
Centipedegrass
Centipedegrass is a coarse-textured, light green grass. This grass is sometimes called "lazy man's grass" because its slow growth rate means less mowing and low maintenance. It adapts well to poor soil, and resists chinch bugs and brown patch disease. It is also aggressive enough to crowd out weeds. Centipedegrass has shallow roots, so it has no real drought tolerance and often is the first warm-season grass to turn brown in hot, dry spells, and goes dormant when cold. Centipedegrass will not tolerate lots of foot traffic, and is slow to recover when damaged.
St. Augustinegrass is a fast-growing, vigorous, coarse-textured, warm-season grass that has dark green, broad grass blades. It spreads by stolons that root at the nodes which form a dense, thick turf that will crowd out most weeds. St. Augustine is one of the most shade tolerant of the warm-season grasses and does well in climates such as: Southern California, Hawaii, Texas, and mild areas of the Southwest. It takes heat, and is tolerant of salt spray and salty soil. St. Augustine can take some drought moderately well, but it looks best with regular water.
St. Augustine grass is best when used alone. Do not mix it with other grasses.
Zoysiagrass is a tough, aggressive, creeping, warm-season grass. It has a leaf texture that can range from coarse to fine depending upon the variety. It is tolerant of heat and drought, but it also can take some shade and cool temperatures. Zoysia grass forms a dense, wiry, low-maintenance lawn that can crowd out weeds. Its leaf blades come to a point, and some feel that it can be sharp underfoot.
Warm Season Grasses in Winter
Since most warm-season grasses go dormant and turn brown over the winter, some people choose to overseed with annual or perennial ryegrass. Ryegrass is a cool-season grass that will stay green throughout the cool winter months in the south while the warm-season grasses turn brown. In the spring when the warm weather returns, the warm-season grass will green up, and eventually when the temperatures get warm enough, the ryegrass will die off.
It doesn’t matter to us whether you want lush lawns, desert landscaping or some type of landscaping in between, we can help you with your commercial property. To find out how give us a call at 623-848-8277.
Presented by:
Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
http://www.commerciallandscapecare.com
greenskeeperllc@cox.net
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