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Beautiful Lawns Enhance the Appearance of Your Florida Home 25 
LAWN GRASSES FOR FLORIDA 
Starting the Florida Lawn 
A rich, reasonably moist soil with ample 
provision for watering during dry weather is 
necessary for growing a good lawn in Florida. 
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 soil 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. 
per 1000 square feet of a complete fertilizer 
mixture such as Vigoro, Vertagreen or a com- 
mercial fertilizer mixture containing 6% of ni- 
trogen to every thousand square feet of space. 
Work all of this thoroughly into the soil, level 
the land and set rooted runners or plant grass 
seed. Water and weed regularly until the grass is 
completely sodded. Never let the lawn suffer 
for water during periods of extended drouth. 
A thorough heavy watering, soaking the soil to 
a considerable depth, (4 to 6 inches) every 
5 to 7 days, is much better than a light watering 
daily. (See page 31 for lawn fertilizers.) 
Top Dressing Florida Lawns 
Proper fertilization of lawns is important. 
In general, Florida lawns should be fertilized 
three times a year—spring, mid-summer and 
mid-fall. Each application should distribute 
20 to 25 lbs. per 1000 square feet of a complete 
fertilizer such as Vigoro, Vertagreen or a com- 
mercial fertilizer mixture containing at least 
6% nitrogen. The fertilizer should be applied 
when the foliage is dry and should be watered 
in to prevent burning of the grass leaves. 
Pulverized sheep manure is very valuable for 
top-dressing after the lawn is started. It is de- 
sirable to cover the entire lawn once or twice 
a year with pulverized sheep manure to a depth 
of one-fourth to one-half inch (see page 31 
for lawn fertilizers) . 
Bermuda Grass 
Unhulled—Sow 100 to 150 pounds per acre, or 
2 to 4 pounds per 1000 square feet. 
Hulled—Sow 75 to 100 pounds per acre or 11% 
to 2 pounds per 1000 square feet. 
Bermuda grass is generally considered to be 
the finest of Florida grasses for maintaining a 
most beautiful and perfect lawn. It is of fine 
texture, can be maintained green practically the 
year around, is a rapid grower and produces a 
lush, green carpet of turf. However, it requires 
careful attention in maintenance. It prefers 
‘loam or clay loam soil and will grow well on 
sand or muck. 20 to 30 pounds per acre of a 
complete fertilizer such as Vigoro or Verta- 
green should be applied twice a year. Frequent 
weeding is desirable. Although Bermuda grass 
will respond to watering, it will stand consid- 
erable drouth. A thorough watering every 5 to 
7 days during periods of extended drouth 
should be sufficient. The grass must be clipped 
closely (34 to 1 inch) and frequently. Bermuda 
is not a good shade grass. It spreads by surface 
runners and by underground root stalks. Seed 
can be planted from March to November at the 
rate of 2 to 4 pounds per 1000 square feet. 
UNHULLED BERMUDA GRASS SEED 
1 Ib. $1.00; 10 Ibs. $7.30; 25 Ibs. $17.75; 
100 Ibs. $70.00 
F.O.B. Plant City, except pound lots 
which are prepaid. 
HULLED BERMUDA GRASS SEED 
The almost watertight husks of the seed 
have been removed, facilitating quicker, surer 
results, the seed germinating more uniformly 
and in a much shorter time with proper mois- 
ture conditions. 
IIb. $1.25; 10 Ibs. $9.80; 25 Ibs. $24.00; 
100 Ibs. $95.00 
F.0.B. Plant City, except pound lots 
which are prepaid. 
Pensacola and Paraguayan 
Bahia Grass 
Sow 100 to 150 pounds per acre or 2 to 3 pounds 
per 1000 square feet. 
These improved varieties of pasture grasses 
are sometimes used for low maintenance lawns. 
They are of fine texture and will remain green 
most of the winter (longer than Centipede 
grass). Will tolerate dry or infertile soils, but 
make an open, generally less attractive turt or 
lawn than regular lawn grasses. They are some- 
what difficult to mow, especially when rapid 
growing seed shoots develop during the summer, 
but should not be mowed closely (to a height 
of 114 to 2 inches). They require fertilization 
occasionally—two times per year—mid-spring 
and late summer, with a complete fertilizer 
such as Vigoro or Vertagreen. They are sus- 
ceptible to damage from salt spray, but are 
relatively free of insect and disease troubles. 
Spring and early summer are the best periods 
for planting. Seeds are somewhat slow to 
germinate, sometimes requiring several weeks. 
The seedbed should be kept moist until germi- 
nation occurs. For best distribution of seed, it 
should be mixed with dry sand. Sow seed at 
the rate of 2 to 3 pounds per 1000 square feet. 
“Common” Bahia should never be used for 
lawns, 
PRICES 
Pensacola Bahia 
1 Ib. 55c; 10 Ibs. $2.80; 25 Ibs. $6.50; 
100 Ibs. $25.00 
Paraguayan Bahia 
1 Ib. $1.00; 10 Ibs. $8.80; 25 Ibs. $21.50; 
100 Ibs. $85.00 
F.O.B. Plant City, except pound lots 
which are prepaid. 
