18 
Flower Planting Guide for the South 
LAWN GRASSES FOR FLORIDA 
A lawn properly sets off the home, adds to its beauty, increases its value, and 
affords a clean, safe place for the children to play. A good lawn is more attractive 
and less dusty than a bare yard. A town’s civic pride is judged largely by the 
class of lawns kept. 
The best plants for lawn purposes in Florida are Italian Rye, Bermuda, Carpet 
and Centipede grasses. Italian Rye grass is a most valuable and desirable winter 
grass for Florida, but it does not make a permanent lawn, it dying out when warm 
weather comes on. Bermuda has finer stems and leaves than St. Augustine grass, 
which although commonly used in Florida is not nearly as desirable as other kinds. 
Bermuda makes a much more beautiful green lawn quickly if properly cared for, 
but it does not do well in heavy shade. Carpet and Centipede grasses do better in 
partially shaded locations. 
Starting the Grass or La wn 
A rich, reasonably moist soil with 
ample provision for watering during dry 
weather is necessary for growing a good 
lawn. If your soil is poor, dry and 
sandy, improve it and provide for a 
watering system before seeding or set¬ 
ting the grass. 
It is advisable, wherever possible, to 
pipe the lawn for water. There are 
many good water distributors on the 
market. The pipes may be laid in 
trenches a foot or so in depth at such 
intervals that the water from the dis¬ 
tributors will cover the entire lawn at 
one time. Such an arrangement gives 
much satisfaction in that the entire 
lawn can be quickly and uniformly wa¬ 
tered. 
Previous to starting the grass, work 
into the soil as much organic matter as 
possible in the form of pulverized sheep 
manure, muck or woods mold. One of 
the best ways of putting the land in 
shape for grass, and to give the grass 
a good start, is to broadcast pulverized 
sheep manure at the rate of two and 
one-half to five pounds per hundred 
square feet, or 1,000 lbs. to a ton per 
acre before sowing the seed, or setting 
out the sprigs, wetting down the sheep 
manure well. Add to this at least 
25 lbs. of a 4-7-5 fertilizer mixture or 
an equal amount of bone meal or Soil- 
ade plant food to every thousand square 
feet of space. Work all of this thor¬ 
oughly into the soil, level the land and 
set rooted runners of Centipede grass 
in 12-inch rows, placing the plants from 
three to four inches apart in the row. 
If Bermuda or Carpet grass seed are 
used, plant at the rate of two to four 
pounds to thousand square feet of space 
and cover lightly. If Italian Rye grass 
seed is used plant four to six pounds per 
thousand square feet. Water and weed 
regularly until the grass is completely 
sodded, after which the lawn should be 
mowed often enough to keep the grass 
the desired height. Never let the lawn 
suffer for water. A thorough watering 
two or three times a week is better than 
a light watering daily. The soil should 
be moistened to a considerable depth as 
this favors root development. It is best 
to water lawns in the evening. 
Top Dressing Lawns 
In winter apply 25 lbs. of bone meal 
or Soilade plant food to every thousand 
square feet of space. Spring and sum¬ 
mer top dressings should be of Nitrate 
of Soda at the rate of three to four 
pounds to every thousand square feet 
of space. Follow immediately by thor¬ 
ough wetting down to prevent burning 
of the grass by the fertilizer. Wizard 
Brand Sheep Manure is very valuable 
for top-dressing after the lawn is start¬ 
ed, as it will not injure seed or grass 
but will add greenness, vigor and beauty 
to the lawn or golf course. It is desir¬ 
able to cover the entire lawn once or 
twice a year with pulverized sheep ma¬ 
nure to a depth of one-fourth to one- 
half inch. Frequent light applications 
of fertilizer are much better than heavy 
applications once or twice a year. The 
spring and summer top-dressings should 
be repeated at intervals of once a month 
to keep the grass growing vigorously 
and of a deep green color. 
How to Have Green Lawns 
In Winter In Florida 
If cold weather turns the lawn brown, 
or if the lawn has brown unsightly spots 
in it, the entire lawn or these ugly spots 
can be freshened up at any time during 
the fall and winter, without digging or 
tearing up the lawn, by planting Italian 
Rye grass seed at the rate of one-half 
pound to 100 square feet of space right 
on top of the lawn, scattering sheep 
manure on top of the seed at the rate of 
two and one-half to five pounds per 100 
square feet, and watering these spots 
frequently and heavily until the Italian 
Rye grass has germinated. 
