St. Augustine Palmetto
Palmetto grass is a semi-dwarf grass, giving it a plush appearance similar to Seville and Delmar, but Palmetto grass is less prone to becoming thatchy, even in full sunlight. The leaf blade width is similar to Bitterblue and Raleigh and finer than Floratam. When mowed high (3″ – 4″) it is often mistaken for fescue. The leaf blades are tapered at the tip with a rounded end, and are soft to the touch, unlike the prickly feel of Floratam. Palmetto grass will remain green longer than any other variety of St. Augustine, and will stay green much longer than Bermuda grass and Centipede grass. Palmetto grass will slowly become dormant after several heavy frosts, and will remain evergreen in temperatures below freezing if there are no hard frosts. It will first go “off color” (e.g., the bottom layer of stolons will maintain green leaves while the top leaves develop the brown tinge characteristic of frost damage) before it lapses into total dormancy. In many parts of the South (Zones 7 – 9), Palmetto grass will be semi-evergreen.
St. Augustine Raleigh
Medium leaf and stolon size. One of the most shade tolerant warm season grass. Although, it still requires 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight with filtered sun also. It requires 2 or 3 fertilizer applications per year, with a 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer with slow release nitrogen source. Ideal mowing height is 2 – 3 inches with a rotary mower. Requires 1″ of water every 3 weeks during fall, winter and spring. This increases to a maximum of 1″ of water every seven days during the extreme heat of 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.
Bermuda TexTurf 10
Varietal selection of common bermuda that was developed and released by Texas A & M University. This is a course bladed bermuda. However, it is a much more lush grass than common and it does not produce a seed head like common. This grass will require 3 to 4 applications of a 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer with a slow release nitrogen source. Ideal mowing height is 1 -2 inches with a rotary mower or a reel type mower. This grass will only grow in full sun. Disease problems with Bermuda grass decline in late summer or fall. Apply Terraclor (PCNB) and water thoroughly. Insect problems are during the fall season, army worms and grub worms. Treat with Diazanon and water thoroughly. Tex Turf Ten 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.
Bermuda Tifway 419
Combining toughness with beauty, Tifway 419 has been the most popular sports turf for the last 40 years. Its dense, rapidly spreading growth habit means quick recovery from injury, making it one of the most durable hybrid Bermudas. Tifway 419 tolerates close mowing and is highly disease resistant. For use on fairways, roughs, sports fields, and commercial and residential lawns.Tifway is a hybrid bermudagrass cross of Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis germplasma. It is characterized as having a dark green color with medium fine textured leaves. Tifway hybrid bermudagrass is dense with a medium to low growth habit. This variety is a vigorous grower and thus establishes quickly at planting. The 2001 NTEP trial conducted in Griffin, GA showed that Tifway 419 was shown to have better quality ratings than Tifsport.
Zoysia Palisades
Palisades Zoysia japonica, is a vegetatively produced, medium broad textured, high density turf noted specifically suitable for home lawns, golf fairways and roughs, sports fields, industrial parks and highway medians. Palisades is a medium to coarse textured turf noted for its shade tolerance and low water use requirements. It will tolerate mowing as close as one half inch with good weed competitions ideally as high as two to two and a half inches for home lawns. Palisades close mowing would permit use on golf course fairways especially where water availability is of concern. Irrigation water should be supplied providing for deep penetration with infrequent application to maximize plant performance and nutrient efficiency.