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Bermuda Grass
Bermuda grass has both rhizomes and stolons. Its leaf
texture varies from coarse to very fine depending on species
and variety. Bermuda grass has a deep, fibrous root system,
with rooting occurring at the nodes of the stolons. Bermuda
grass originated in Africa and has been in the United
States since the mid 1700s. It is the primary warm-season
grass, fitting into a similar niche as that of Kentucky
bluegrass in the cool season zone. It is widely used on
lawns, roadsides, parks, school grounds, athletic fields,
golf courses and other areas where a close-mowed, dense
turf is desired. Bermudagrass is well adapted to the tropical
and subtropical climates of the United States. Bermuda
grass is sensitive to cool temperatures and will stop
growing and turn brown when soil temperatures fall below
50°F. Bermuda grass has poor shade tolerance.
Tifway 419 Bermuda
Tifway 419 is an improved hybrid bermuda developed from
the famed Tifton, Georgia turf breeding program. Tifway
forms a fine textured, dense hybrid bermuda turf, that
excels in high traffic areas or under athletic field conditions.
Tifway performs at its best in full sun with a mowing
height of 1/2-3/4 inches. When fully established, it has
excellent drought and heat tolerance and will recover
quickly from abuse or neglect. Tifway 419 is recommended
for full sun turfgrass areas with high traffic and heavy
use conditions. It is best utilized on well-maintained
athletic fields and golf fairways and tees. When properly
maintained, Tifway 419 is both heat and drought tolerant
and can withstand temperatures in excess of 100 degrees
Fahrenheit. Tifway 419 is the most wear tolerant of the
hybrid bermudas and recovers quickly from damage during
the growing season. Tifway 419 prefers a full sun location
with little or no shade. Tifway 419 exhibits a dark green
color during the growing season. With proper maintenance
practices, it produces little seed head. DORMANCY: Dormancy
in inland areas will generally last from late November
through mid-March. Tifway 419 has very good tolerance
to saline soil and water conditions found in both coastal
and desert areas. To avoid drying out and enable the new
sod to root down, newly planted Tifway 419 should be watered
daily and kept wet during the first 7-10 days. Once the
new sod has rooted into the soil, watering frequency should
be reduced. Due to varying soil and climate conditions,
it is difficult to recommend a definite watering schedule.
However, a deep soaking every 5-7 days is generally adequate
during the growing season. Desert environments may require
more frequent deep watering. Tifway 419 should be mowed
at least weekly during the growing season with a reel
mower. Clippings are best removed. It should be mowed
to a height of 1/2 to 3/4 inches. Avoid scalping. To maintain
its beauty, color, and density, Tifway 419 requires a
consistent monthly fertilization program. During the spring,
summer, and fall months it should be fertilized with 3/4
to 1 pound of nitrogen applied to each 1,000 square feet
of lawn. Read and follow all instructions regarding fertilizer
use and application.
St. Augustine Grass
St. Augustines are native to the West Indies. They have
long stolons that may grow for several feet over the soil
surface, but they have no rhizomes. St. Augustines are
widely used in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. In much
of that area it is one of the primary turf species. It
has poor cold tolerance and therefore cannot be used as
far north as Bermuda grass. Its range of adaptation extends
into South Carolina and to Dallas, Texas, but it easily
winterkills in the central and northern part of the transition
zone. It has poor drought tolerance and requires regular
irrigation in most regions. St. Augustines form a very
dense, coarse turf. They have excellent shade tolerance
and can produce a relatively high-quality lawn turf. Most
St. Augustines produce poor or no seeds. As a result,
they usually are established by plugs or sod. Several
turf insects are known to attach to St. Augustines. They
include white grubs, southern chinch bugs, mole crickets,
sod webworms, armyworms and cutworms. Several St. Augustines
are quite susceptible to a viral disease called St. Augustine
Decline. University of Florida distinguishes among the
cultivars of St. Augustine on the basis of growth habits.
Those with semi-dwarf growth habits include Delmar, Jade,
Seville and Palmetto. Cultivars with normal growth habits
include Bitterblue, Raleigh, Floratine, Floratam, Floralawn
and FX-10. The semi-dwarf types have a good density and
a finer texture, and can be mowed at a lower mowing height
than normal types.
*Palmetto St. Augustine
Finer textured leaf and stolen when compared to Raleigh.
Tighter leaf spacing to give it a thicker look. Requires
3 to 4 hours of sunlight with filtered sun during the
day. Because of the denser turf, it gives a better sod
appearance in the shade. Massive root system gives this
grass good drought resistance. Palmetto requires 2-3 fertilizing
applications per year, with a 3-1-2-ratio fertilizer with
a slow release nitrogen source. The ideal mowing height
is 2-3 inches with a rotary mower. Palmetto requires 1"
of water every 3 weeks during the fall, winter and spring.
This increases to a maximum of 1" of water every 7 days
during the extreme heat of the summer. Potential disease
problems are gray leaf spot in the summer and brown patch
in the fall. Both of these diseases are enhanced by over
watering and after fertilization. These diseases can be
prevented by an application of the fungicide, Terraclor
(PCNB). Potential insect problem is chinch bugs. This
insect becomes active during hot dry periods. They are
first detected by brown patches in the lawn that do not
recover after watering. Make an application of Diazanon
to the entire lawn and water thoroughly to eliminate the
problem.
*Buffalo
Buffalo grass is native to the short grass prairie of
the United States, which ranges from the Missouri River
to the Rocky Mountains. It has fine hairs on both sides
of the blade, which is gray-green in color. Buffalo grass
is very well adapted to arid conditions, heavy soils and
high pH conditions. Buffalo grass will go dormant in the
summer under prolonged water stress, losing its color.
It will rapidly recover when water becomes available.
It has excellent heat and cold tolerance and can be found
from Mexico to the Canadian border. Buffalo grass is a
dioecious species, with both male and female plants. Buffalo
grass spreads by stolons that may extend to several feet
in length. Buffalo grass can provide an acceptable quality
turf under unmowed conditions, growing to a height of
6 to 8 inches. If mowed, the preferred mowing height is
two to three inches. Buffalo grass has poor to moderate
shade tolerance and is recommend for use in full sun landscape
areas.
*Fescues
There are more than 360 species of fescue that vary greatly
in appearance. The cool-season turf grasses with the widest
leaves and the narrowest leaves are found among the fescues.
Fescues are widely used in the cool humid, cool arid and
transition zones. Fine fescues occasionally are used for
winter over seeding in the southern United States. Turf
fescues are divided into two groups: coarse fescues and
fine fescues.
Coarse Fescues
Tall fescue is the most widely used coarse fescue in the
United States. It is known for its wear, heat and drought
tolerance. It also is fairly well adapted to shaded conditions.
Its limitations include poor cold tolerance and the fact
that it is a bunchgrass and may form clumps in the turf.
Tall fescue is best adapted to the southern part of the
cool humid and cool aired zones and through the transition
zone. Tall fescue is considered to be a high water user.
It may be substituted for warm-season grasses in the South,
but it requires more irrigation than warm-season grasses.
Several new tall fescue varieties have been developed
in the last two decades specifically for turf use. Many
of these have a finer leaf texture and a denser growth.
These new varieties are collectively called turf-type
tall fescues.
Fine Fescues
Fine fescues primarily are known for their shade adaptation
and low nitrogen requirements. They may be combined with
Kentucky bluegrass for lawns that have a combination of
full sun and shade. The fine fescues will dominate the
shady areas and the Kentucky bluegrass will take over
in full sun. Fine fescues do not do well in areas that
are excessively wet, and will likely be damaged by disease
if maintained on saturated soils. Fine fescues are well
adapted to the cool, moist conditions of the upper Great
Lakes Region, where they are widely used in sun and shade.
The primary area of adaptation is north of the transition
zone, although some do perform well in the transition
zone. Fine fescue varieties include the sheep, creeping
red, Chewings and hard fescues.
*Zoysia
Zoysia grasses (Zoysia species) grow best during the warm
(80 to 95 °F) months of spring, summer and early fall. They
grow vigorously during this time and become brown and dormant
in winter. They are adapted to the entire state and are
some of the most cold tolerant of the warm-season grasses.
These grasses form an excellent turf when properly established
and managed. For the best appearance, zoysias require cutting
with a reel mower, although a rotary mower with sharp blades
is satisfactory. They also require occasional watering and
periodic thinning or dethatching. Once this grass is established,
thatch can build up, especially when heavily fertilized.
Remove thatch every two to three years. The zoysias form
a dense, attractive turf in full sun and partial shade,
but often thin out in dense shade. Most zoysias grow very
slowly compared to other grasses and usually are established
by sprigging or plugging, although there are seeded types.
Sprigs or plugs, 2 inches in diameter planted on 6-inch
centers, will cover completely in two growing seasons if
watered and fertilized properly. However, it may require
several years to cover if not properly maintained. As it
is a slow grower, it requires less frequent mowing than
some other grasses. It will, however, recover slowly from
damage due to its slow growth habit. Zoysia japonica is
sometimes called Japanese or Korean lawn grass or common
zoysia. It has coarse leaf texture; excellent cold tolerance
and it can be seeded. Meyer Zoysia, also called "Z-52,"
is an improved selection of Zoysia. Japonica. It has medium
leaf texture, good cold tolerance and spreads more rapidly
than most other zoysias. This is the zoysia often advertised
as the "super" grass in newspapers and magazines. Belaire
is also an improved Z. japonica variety noted for its excellent
cold tolerance and medium green color. It has a coarser
leaf texture and faster rate of establishment than Meyer.
It is susceptible to brown patch disease. Emerald zoysia
is a fine-textured hybrid that is possibly the most attractive
zoysia. It is well suited for top-quality lawns where a
good maintenance program is provided. Emerald zoysia has
less winter hardiness but more shade tolerance than Meyer.
It has a dark green color, a very fine leaf texture, good
shade tolerance, high shoot density and a low growth habit.
Emerald will develop excess thatch rather quickly if over
fertilized and is prone to winter injury northward from
the Columbia area. El Toro is a relatively new zoysia that
was developed in California and looks like Meyer zoysia.
It is the fastest growing zoysia, tolerates mowing with
a rotary mower and produces less thatch than Meyer. The
winter hardiness of this grass is not well established although
it can be found growing in the Columbia area. In general,
the zoysias are slow to cover completely (thus more costly
to establish), less drought-tolerant than Bermuda grass,
and recommended for lawn use only when the homeowner is
willing to provide the required maintenance.
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