If you want to properly care for your lawn, identifying the grass type you’re dealing with is the first step you should take. Knowing the exact type of grass, you have in your yard helps you understand how to meet its needs and grow a gorgeous, sustainable lawn. Identifying grass can be a challenging guessing game, but with the following tips in mind, you can easily determine the type of grass you’re dealing with. Here’s how:
1. Know Your Grass-Growing Region
The location of your property is the first clue as to the type of grass you have in your lawn. Like flowers, shrubs, and trees, grasses have climate limits—to grow year after year, it must suit your grass-growing region. In Leesburg and Central Florida in general, most lawns have warm season grasses that peak in growth during the hot, humid summer months.
Learn More: What Is the Best Type of Grass for Central Florida?
2. Identify Common Warm-Season Grasses
There are three common warm-season lawn grasses you’ll find in Central Florida. Look closely at the characteristics of the grass in your lawn to determine whether you have one of the following grass types in your yard:
- Bahiagrass: Bahiagrass loves heat and humidity, so it’s highly tolerant to drought. It’s a coarse-textured grass that grows best in acidic, sandy soils. Its open growth habit makes it susceptible to weeds.
- Bermudagrass: Another heat- and drought-tolerant grass, Bermudagrass is one of the most common grasses in Florida. It features medium- to fine-textured blades and requires full sun. Its aggressive growth often leads to thatch buildup.
- Zoysia grass: This grass has better heat and cold tolerance than other warm-season grasses, staying green longer in fall and getting green earlier in spring. It features dense, spreading growth that often causes thatch buildup.
3. Examine Features of Your Grass
Once you’ve narrowed down potential grass types based on your growing region, look at the differences and similarities between species. While color and texture are easy to see and feel, some features require a closer inspection. Take a closer look at qualities like the width and shape of the blades and growth habits to determine the exact type you’re dealing with in your lawn. Here are some differences and similarities between the common Florida grass types:
- Bahiagrass: Light green in color, Bahiagrass features medium-to-broad blades with sharp-pointed tips. New grass shoots, or vernation, appear rolled or folded, and growth often spreads with below-ground stems.
- Bermudagrass: The darkest-green grass you’ll commonly find in Florida, Bermudagrass has narrow blades with sharp-pointed tips. New grass shoots are folded, and growth spreads with both above-ground and below-ground stems.
- Zoysia grass: Light to medium green in color, Zoysia grass features narrow-to-medium blades with sharp-pointed tips. New grass shoots take on a rolled appearance, and they exhibit a spreading growth pattern with above-ground and below-ground shoots.
Learn More: Which Lawn Should I Choose for My Yard?
The Best Way to Find Out What Type of Grass Is in Your Yard? Ask the Experts!
Need help identifying the grass in your yard? The lawn care experts at Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control – Leesburg are ready to help! We’ll create a targeted treatment plan based on your grass type, so you can achieve a lush, healthy, and sustainable lawn. Call us today at (407) 880-6655 to schedule your free inspection!
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