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Jan 12, 2017 5:49 PM CST

I'm new to the area. What is the best grass to grow in Savannah, Ga?
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Jan 12, 2017 8:20 PM CST
Name: Rj
Just S of the twin cities of M (Zone 4b)
Forum moderator Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Plant Identifier Garden Ideas: Level 1
As Yogi Berra said, “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
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Jan 13, 2017 8:30 AM CST
Name: stone
near Macon Georgia (USA) (Zone 8a)
Garden Sages Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Plant Identifier
Konconstruct said:What is the best grass to grow in Savannah, Ga?

Very subjective...

Most turf grasses come with a lot of negative features.

For instance... Bermuda can have stolons several feet down, which makes it impossible to grow anything else once it's there. It also turns brown in the winter and during a drought.

Bahaia grows without any extra water inthe driest areas of the state even during the worst droughts... It also is easy to remove when you want to put in a flower border or plant vegetables. But.... People don't like it because it sends up bloom stalks every couple days.....

St Augustine and centipede are commonly planted turf grasses, but are water pigs. Centipede doesnt need fertilizing, and st Augustine is easily taken up when you want to plant flowers and veggies.

But.... All that wasted water! Forget it if you don't have a sprinkler system....

Best thing is if you have large trees in the yard..... Smart ecologically conscious people just allow the tree leaves to cover the yard as a neat mulch.

What does your yard look like now?
Avatar for porkpal
Jan 13, 2017 8:59 AM CST
Name: Porkpal
Richmond, TX (Zone 9a)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member Keeper of Poultry I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Dog Lover Keeps Horses
Roses Plant Identifier Farmer Raises cows Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2
I do not find Bahia easy to remove.
Porkpal
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Jan 13, 2017 2:02 PM CST
Name: stone
near Macon Georgia (USA) (Zone 8a)
Garden Sages Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Plant Identifier
All the bahaia that I've seen... grows on top of the soil similar to st augustine.
What's it like at your house?

Does it come back as seedlings?
Avatar for porkpal
Jan 13, 2017 2:06 PM CST
Name: Porkpal
Richmond, TX (Zone 9a)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member Keeper of Poultry I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Dog Lover Keeps Horses
Roses Plant Identifier Farmer Raises cows Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2
No, but it forms a shovel-proof mat of deep roots and rhizomes (?) as thick as my little finger which make it almost impossible to penetrate.
Porkpal
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Jan 13, 2017 2:25 PM CST
Name: stone
near Macon Georgia (USA) (Zone 8a)
Garden Sages Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Plant Identifier
Hmmm....
I've been reading about Bahia over on google.

Still trying to understand why bahia (in particular), is difficult for you.

When I remove turf for a flower bed, they all tend to be shovel proof mats.

Whatever turf I'm trying to dig out, comes up in square mats, and after laying them where desired, or... Upside down somewhere.... I then work the soil.

I found a nice article that went into some discussion about using bahia to improve the soil before planting row crops...

What are you trying to grow behind the bahia?
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Jan 13, 2017 2:31 PM CST
Name: greene
Savannah, GA (Sunset 28) (Zone 8b)
I have no use for internet bullies!
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Depends if you have plans to irrigate/water regulary; if you will walk/play on the lawn or just want it to look beautiful. Different answers for each.

I live in Savannah but I don't plant lawn grass. What I can say is please do not ever plant Bahia on purpose. It always looks like it needs to be mowed and is no fun to walk or play on. Thumbs down

The St Augustine grass that is in my yard usually looks pretty good. I don't go out of my way to water it so it droops for a while and bounces back after a good rain. It is pleasant to walk on.

Out in the "back 40" part of the yard there is 1/2 an acre of some kind of grass that is bullet-proof. It may be Zoysia but I don't know for sure. Like many southern lawn grasses, it goes brown in the dormant season but the first warm day and rains bring it right back to a lovely green. If kept short it is good to walk or play on. Freshly mowed on a good day in early November 1916 it looked like this:
Thumb of 2017-01-13/greene/be748a
You are welcome to come buy and take a sample or two to get it identified. Thumbs up

Here is a link to an article in the Savannah newspaper several years ago.
http://savannahnow.com/ed-poen...
Sunset Zone 28, AHS Heat Zone 9, USDA zone 8b~"Leaf of Faith"
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