Grass - Floratam or Bahia? (Cape Coral, St. Augustine: home, landscaping, to buy)

[chiluvr1228]

I am going through the paperwork now to buy my late aunt's home in Cape Coral. The outside has been sadly neglected and the "grass" is mostly just weeds. Not sure what kind of grass was there at one time but I will have to replace it with new sod. Am I better off with Floratam or Bahia? I know Floratam is that beautiful, thick and lush grass but I also heard it doesn't do well during dry spells and will die if not watered. With the current water crisis I don't want to have a dead lawn. Personally I don't feel the need to water grass, I think it's a waste of our resources, just let nature do its thing which is why I lean toward Bahia.


Any recommendations? Which one is better? Also if you guys could give me the name of some people to replace the lawn and someone to fix or replace the broken sprinkler system I would appreciate it. The name of a good, honest general contractor would also be very appreciated as the outside needs some serious help.


Thanking you in advance.

[Taratova]

Bahia has a better root system to survive drought. Even though it browns and looks dead in drought , it comes back.

Floratam does need water to keep it alive. Most people prefer St. Augustine Floratam but it higher maintenance .

[chiluvr1228]

Thank you - I don't want a high maintenance yard so I will probably do the Bahia. Any recommendations for a company that will redo the yard and maybe help me plan some landscaping?

[BugManTPC]

WespLandscaping & Maintenance LLC

513-378-6182

[BugManTPC]

Bermuda is another Turf grass that can be low maintenance.


Bahai requires over seeding every 3 to 5 years, you cannot use "common selective" herbicides on it, its a pasture grass.


When we moved into our NW Cape Home, I killed the Bahaii and overseeded with Bermuda. (I take care of enough lawns, not doing my own).


When it rains, my grass is green. When its dry, my yard is brown.

[chiluvr1228]

When the Bermuda grass turns brown does it come back with the rainy season or a good watering? I like that Floratam is thick and plush and seems to keep the weeds under control where Bahia isn't the prettiest but it's lower maintenance. What do you mean by "over seeding every 3-5 years"?

[Robino1]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

When the Bermuda grass turns brown does it come back with the rainy season or a good watering? I like that Floratam is thick and plush and seems to keep the weeds under control where Bahia isn't the prettiest but it's lower maintenance. What do you mean by "over seeding every 3-5 years"?

The builder put in Bahia sod here so I've been reading up on it. Bahia only spreads by seeding itself. Unlike other grasses that have new growth through the root system. Eventually, the grass needs to be re-seeded to maintain itself. We generally cut the grass before the seed heads can develop and drop its seed.

Because this is a new sod lawn, we are going to wait a full summer before we can see where it may need help. It's been so dry, we don't know where it is dormant or where it is indeed not taken and dead.

So far we only see one patch that looks dead. I'm still doing research on when to over seed. Over seed just means to get seed and sprinkle it LIBERALLY over your current lawn.

[BugManTPC]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

When the Bermuda grass turns brown does it come back with the rainy season or a good watering? I like that Floratam is thick and plush and seems to keep the weeds under control where Bahia isn't the prettiest but it's lower maintenance. What do you mean by "over seeding every 3-5 years"?

Bahiagrass Seed - Bahiagrass Lawn Seed|Bahiagrass Pasture Seed|Bahia Grass Turfgrass Seed|Bahiagrass.com


On the "Over Seeding" statement, I am not to confident in my reply, I am repeating things I have heard and learned about the grass while caring for it in the area.


This website has a good run down about the pros and cons of Bahia.

[BugManTPC]

Bermuda does come back. With this last rain, my yard is already recovering,.

[chiluvr1228]

Thank you all!