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beachmouse

Beach Fanatic
Dec 5, 2004
3,504
741
Bluewater Bay, FL
As long as it gets enough water, St. Augustine thrives on benign neglect- fertilize about 2-3 times a year and it's happy. It's not the prettiest grass, but it's generally practical for a Southeastern lawn.
 

Andy A

Beach Fanatic
Feb 28, 2007
4,389
1,738
Blue Mountain Beach
Thanks for all the advice. We do still have a lot of natural vegatation around our place -- we have just pushed some of it back a bit so that we have some space around our house for kidplay. But seriously , it had gotten waaay out of control. I was almost afraid to venture into my yard!!:eek:

we have an ample supply of good water -- and sprinklers are about to be installed to keep the grass from dying off in the heat of summer. I think its coming down to a choice between St. Augustine and Bermuda. Anyone know anything about zosia (sp?)


The Extension service does not recommend zosia for this area; it recommends Bermuda as it is moderately salt tolerant and drought resistent. For more info check FloridaYards.com
 

TooFarTampa

SoWal Insider
Good luck with whatever you decide. We have St. Augustine in Tampa though we are constantly fighting weeds. I can't wait to get our back yard "done" and get rid of it. (Okay, "done" means getting a pool. Not exactly a water saving feature!)

I will say that I am all for native plantings whenever possible and am glad that most of the developments bordering 30-A are going this route. The irrigation system in our Seacrest house has been broken since we bought the place four years ago, and we never bothered to fix it because the plantings there have done just fine. Xeriscaping rocks! I will go ahead and give Doodle Harris credit for this. :clap:
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
I am a HUGE fan of the natural yard - so much $, time, energy, and water gets wasted on a "lawn." :angry:

I thought I would miss having one, but now I can't imagine having to deal w/ all of the maintence!
 

TreeFrog

Beach Fanatic
Oct 11, 2005
1,798
212
Seagrove
Zoysia will probably need watering too much to thrive here. I have no idea how it will tolerate the salt spray from the inevitable storm.

BDub, the locals are really serious about the difficulties of maintaining a lawn. You won't believe the rate at which weeds and stuff will invade. Way, way more than what you find at home. You'll probably need to spring for a service.

Beachrunner got it right. Call Eastern Lake Nursery, tell them you want native plantings, and you can largely walk away and forget it.
 

Rita

margarita brocolia
Dec 1, 2004
5,209
1,634
Dune Allen Beach
I'm all about natural vegetation as well...that's all I've had in my yard forever. But,my dogs would sure love a little bit of grass. ...................

:D . Our dog nearly overheats because we have to walk her so long because she can't find a good place to go! The little stinker hates the pine needles. Not crazy about the sand between her toes either. She'll just have to adapt.

Regarding your lawn, maybe sod half as much as you think you want and see if your kids and dogs can get by. You may be surprised!


.
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
:D . Our dog nearly overheats because we have to walk her so long because she can't find a good place to go! The little stinker hates the pine needles. Not crazy about the sand between her toes either. She'll just have to adapt.
.

:funn:Why should she adapt, she's got it pretty good IMO! :funn:
 

DuneLaker

Beach Fanatic
Mar 1, 2008
2,644
521
Eastern Lake Est., SoWal, FL
Our little dachsund has adapted quite nicely to "going" on native habitat. The only grass in our yard is what has invaded in spots from the neighborhood. Never water, never fertilize and it still hangs around. He actually prefers to go scout out a sandy spot near the Yupon trees.
 
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