While not all grasses do well in Central Florida’s subtropical climate due to high humidity, high heat, and occasional drought periods, selecting the right type of sod will help ensure your lawn looks great regardless. See what are the seven best grass types for central Florida so you can transform your lawn into one you’re proud to have.
Empire Turf Zoysia Grass
EMPIRE Turf Zoysia is a Brazilian zoysia japonica. It has a lush green color and fine, tight blade growth that is soft to the touch. This turfgrass can handle a variety of activities without suffering much damage. Not only is Zoysia grass attractive, it’s also durable thanks to its deep, thick root structure. At Lake Jem Farms, we use EMPIRE Turf™ Zoysia grass because it’s more hardy than other Zoysia grasses and requires less maintenance, making it a popular choice for golf courses, theme parks, master planned communities, office complexes, and other commercial areas.
Celebration Bermudagrass
Celebration is a deep blue-green bermudagrass that has finished best in numerous university research studies for wear tolerance and recovery, drought resistance and tolerance and bermudagrass shade tolerance. Found in professional and college sports fields, golf courses and home lawns throughout the country, Celebration performs well across a variety of applications. Celebration is currently being used in numerous applications: homes, professional golf and sports venues and parks throughout the southern United States and throughout the world.
Tifway 419 Bermudagrass
This Bermudagrass hybrid was introduced in the 1960s that’s known for being a short, dense mat like variety. Its name comes from being developed and improved in Tifton, Georgia at a turf breeding program. Tifway has an excellent wear tolerance making it ideal for high traffic areas such as sports fields and golf courses. It thrives in the sun but also exhibits good cold weather tolerance in mild or moderate winter weather as well as a high drought and heat tolerance thanks to its fast recovery rate. It also has less maintenance since it experiences little to no weeds, insects, and diseases.
Palmetto St. Augustine
Palmetto® St. Augustine is the most sold patented turfgrass in the world with more than one billion square feet sold. Selected for better color and finer texture. Palmetto demonstrates superior shade, cold, frost, heat and drought tolerance. This versatile turfgrass is used across the southern United States from the Carolinas to California under a wide range of climate and soil conditions making it the ideal choice for residential and commercial use. Palmetto® St. Augustine is a proven versatile grass that is a standard in many regions.
Seville St. Augustine
While Seville St. Augustine grass grows well in both shade and full sun, it’s sensitive to cold temperatures. It’s a semi-dwarf, fine-leaved variety with a blue-green color that can tolerate a wide range of pH levels. It’s a popular variety for lawns with moderate shade and that only receive six to seven hours of sunlight.
Floratam St. Augustine
Floratam St. Augustine is used a lot in Florida as it was designed for hot, humid climates. Although it’s not the softest of grasses, it grows fast and has longer, thicker blades than other St. Augustine varieties.The blades may look coarse up close but when seen from a distance, they create a plush-looking lawn. It requires at least eight hours or more of sunlight a day for optimal growth which is why it should be used in sunny areas.
Bahia Grass
Bahia grass is an all-purpose grass that can survive heavy drought periods thanks to its extensive root system. Additionally, it’s the second most common grass in central Florida as it can grow in sandy soil and doesn’t require constant fertilizing. This low maintenance grass is also less susceptible to fungal infections or insect problems.
Sod and Installation for Central Florida Lawns
It’s essential to examine your lawn’s conditions so you don’t end up with a grass type that isn’t the right fit for your lawn’s needs. Whichever grass you decide for your central Florida, Lake Jem Farms has the sod and installation skills to ensure your lawn looks great.
Call us at 352-383-7196 or schedule a time to chat with one of our Sod Professionals for more information on our central Florida grasses.