When you think of grass in Florida, there are some typical types of grass you think about, but you might not realize their names or the benefits and downsides to each of these grasses.

The most common type of turfgrass in Florida is St. Augustine Grass.  Native to the Mediterranean coast and Gulf of Mexico, this grass is commonly used in Florida, Texas, and other areas of the southern United States as it is adaptable to warm and humid conditions, and can easily be established by planting sod.  It is susceptible to some insects such as chinch bugs, though, so control and treatment of these bugs needs to occur on a regular basis.  Common types of St. Augustine grass include Floratam, Palmetto, Del-Mar, and Seville.

Floratam is the most common type of St. Augustine grass used for home lawns, and is known for its vigourous growth during the warm weather of spring and summer, and its dormacy during winter in northern Florida.  It requires full sun to perform at its best, and it does not do well in shade.  Palmetto grass also does best in full sun, but also can do fairly well with partial shade, and it handles colder weather better than some other Palmetto grasses.

Del-Mar is known for both its good cold tolerance and the fact that it maintains excellent winter color, with a dark green shade.  Finally, Seville grass is considered a variety of semi-dwarf, with fine leaves, and is low and dense with a dark emerald green color.  It does well in full sun, and has fair shade tolerance, but unlike Del-Mar it is somewhat sensitive to the cold.