SeaDwarf and Aloha lawn grasses

[Really full garden]

I have recently learned of these new turf grasses for use near the sea.They use 50% less water ,almost no fertliser and can even be watered with pure salt water.Is this just hype ? I am considering getting rid of my St.Augustine lawn.The costs to keep it watered are incredible.I pay no water bill but do pay electricity to run the pump.Our current rate for electricity is $.26KWH.

[Alicehunter2000]

They use St. Augustine grass in Guatemala?.......I thought it was a S.E U.S grass.

[Alicehunter2000]

Before someone tells me........"Here's Your Sign"............The above was not so much of a question as a statement of incredulation <---- (I think this is a word?)

[Really full garden]

  Alicehunter2000 said:

Before someone tells me........"Here's Your Sign"............The above was not so much of a question as a statement of incredulation <---- (I think this is a word?)

David, yes St.Augustine is the most common lawn grass followed by Bermuda and Zoysia.

[Daryl]

  Alicehunter2000 said:

They use St. Augustine grass in Guatemala?.......I thought it was a S.E U.S grass.

David, This grass is also grown all over Australia, and has been for as long as anyone can remember. It is called Buffalo Grass over here.

Scott, that new grass sounds too good to be true...what type of grass is it?

Daryl

[cagary]

Here in the USA "Buffalo grass" is Buchloe dactyloides which is quite different from St. Augustine (Stenotaphrum secundatum). I love my Stenotaphrum secundatum variegata, Variegated St, Augustine.

In South Africa they use Kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum ) as a lawn grass but here in southern California its a weed grass that looks like St Augustine and is a real pain to get rid of.

[Really full garden]

  Daryl said:

  Alicehunter2000 said:

They use St. Augustine grass in Guatemala?.......I thought it was a S.E U.S grass.

David, This grass is also grown all over Australia, and has been for as long as anyone can remember. It is called Buffalo Grass over here.

Scott, that new grass sounds too good to be true...what type of grass is it?

Daryl

Daryl it is a Paspalum sp. cultivar.This is the site www.environmentalturf.com

[palmmermaid]

I hate St. Augustine! I would set fire to my lawn if I could! Trying to get rid of that stuff is a real pain in the #$%! I have overseeded it this year with a pasture mix - a variety of things in it. It is easier to maintain, healthier, and doesn't run into everything. Some areas have Bahia - a good, old standy-by. I let it go to seed a couple of times eacy year. Drought tolerant, doesn't run into my beds, and comes right back after a rain. I never fertilize it.

What I really like is the mounding Zoysia. If I could get to grow here I would. I saw it in a yard in California and it was spectacular. It looks like little mounds in the yard. Love it!

[Eric in Orlando]

I have heard about seashorepaspalum being used for turf. Last year at a seminar at U of FL someone gave a talk on this. It sounds pretty promising, especially here in FL where our corrupt and totally useless politicians are still allowing the flood of development and water is becoming scarce.

I found a few links;

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP059

http://www.usga.org/turf/green_section_rec...e_turfgrass.pdf

http://www.turfgrasstrends.com/turfgrasstr...il.jsp?id=17532

http://www.paspalumgrass.com/

[tank]

The Seadwarf paspalum is actually a little cheaper than St. Augustine, at least in my area.

A pallet of the stuff is about the same as for a pallet of St. Aug but you get more area per pallet.

[Really full garden]

  tank said:

The Seadwarf paspalum is actually a little cheaper than St. Augustine, at least in my area.

A pallet of the stuff is about the same as for a pallet of St. Aug but you get more area per pallet.

Jason I wish I could buy it here.It seems I have to get sprigs from Mexico or Panama.

[tank]

Scott,

The stuff is cheap because they grow most of these turfgrasses on site or nearby. There are a bunch of sod farms in my area. As Eric alluded to, the sod monster is in effect in the Southeast. Many of the major developers require St. Augustine in their developments and turfgrass is the most irrigated "crop" in the US.

I think Seadwarf and Aloha are a varieties of Seashore Paspulum (Paspalum vaginatum). Seashore Paspalum is a florida native.

I have very little grass left in my yard but what I do have is St. Aug. I wish I had tried one of these varieties.

A pallet of Seadwarf in North Florida/South Georgia runs about $135 and you get about 500ft of area. I haven't seen the Aloha variety offered.

A native, drought tolerant and attractive sod sounds great.

Even FDOT is looking into it.

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-Center...OT_354_5rev.pdf

[Really full garden]

Jason, that is certainly cheap enough for sod.I am waiting on a quote for sprigs from Panama.It takes about two days by truck to get here.

I am surprised that with all the water problems Florida has that the State does not mandate use of theses grasses and even offer rebates for those who change out existing lawns.

Aloha is the same as Sea Dwarf except that it has a wider leaf.

[tank]

  scottgt said:

I am surprised that with all the water problems Florida has that the State does not mandate use of theses grasses and even offer rebates for those who change out existing lawns.

Aloha is the same as Sea Dwarf except that it has a wider leaf.

Scott,

good luck with the grass, I'm interested to see how it goes.

As for water restrictions, Florida will experience a major change in the cost and regulation of water over the next 4 to 7 years. Probably something on the level of whats happening with the price of gas right now.

[ed110220]

I finally discovered what this "Saint Augustine Grass" is! In South Africa it is called Buffalo Grass, as it is in Australia. I looked it up, and apparently it seems to be native to many different parts of the world:-

"The west coast of Africa from Sierra Leone to S. Africa, the east coast of America, the Pacific generally."

I had known it was native to SA, but not elsewhere. I was wondering why there are so many complaints against it here? Here it is pretty highly regarded, it is probably the best of the commonly encounted grasses that grow in the warmer parts of the country. The other one is Kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) which can make a finer textured lawn, but needs more maintenance to keep it in top quality and the stems go deep underground and so invade flowerbeds which is a pain. The Buffalo grass stems only grow on the surface so they are easy to trim back from the flowerbeds, and an edging generally stops them. It doesn't need as much mowing as Kikuyu and gets very nice and dense and even which exludes almost all weeds. Often it gets so dense when you walk on it it feels quite springy. The slightly blue-green look also makes it look healthy in my opinion.

As it is so widely distributed, perhaps we have a slightly different form?