Your Question: I have St Augustine grass, which is 90% weeds. I want to remove the grass and either seed or sod using Bahia grass. What should I do? Also what type of Bahia grass do you recommend? Thanks.
ANSWER:
Are you planting Bahia because you want a low-maintenance lawn? Bahia is best used in pastures and as a utility turf along roadsides, it’s not the best choice for a lawn. It goes to seed quickly between mowings and the stems do not cut cleanly – it often needs to be double-cut or mowed frequently to make it look nice. Bahia also tends to have a “stemmy” rough feel on bare feet and a sparse, thin growth habit.
If you want a nice lawn St. Augustine, zoysia or Bermuda grass are better choices.
That being said, ‘Argentine’ is the best type of Bahia for lawns. It makes a decent low-maintenance lawn. I have not heard of any improved varieties over ‘Argentine’.
This late in the season, I would recommend sodding. Sod will establish quicker than seed and lessen the chances of another weed invasion. Of course, sod is a lot more expensive than seed.
Bahia sprouts quickly from seed, however the ideal time to plant Bahia seed is late spring/early summer. The reason for planting at this time is to give it a good start heading into cooler fall temps.
