Things You'll Need:
- Garden Hoses
- Lawn Sprinklers
- Warm-season Grass Seeds
- Seed Spreaders
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Step 1
Take a look at the popular warm-season grasses. Know that all of them - hybrid Bermuda grass, zoysia, centipede grass or St. Augustine grass - will deliver a "southern comfort" lawn everywhere except deep shade.
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Step 2
Recognize texture in lawn grass - narrow leaves deliver fine texture; wide blades produce a coarser look. Fine hybrid Bermuda and zoysia lawns make less impact visually, whereas centipede grass and St. Augustine grass, with their coarse texture, make a bolder statement.
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Step 3
Use the combination of color and texture to tell the major grasses apart. See light green, coarse texture and think St. Augustine; darker green but still coarse, it's probably centipede. Contrast those with the fine-textured grasses - hybrid Bermuda grows a truer green than the emerald shades of zoysia.
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Step 4
Look at the grass's habit, or how it grows - each creeps across the landscape differently. Find thick mats of Bermuda and zoysia where foot traffic is heavy, but see that centipede and St. Augustine can thrive with less sun.
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Step 5
See how the grass is planted. Faster growth means seeding is sensible for Bermuda but very slow for centipede. Meet the hybrids - zoysia and St. Augustine - planted by sod or stolons to maintain their genetic strengths.
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Step 6
Put your knowledge to work: Shop for warm-season grass seed at garden centers. Make sure it's dated for the current season. Buy sod and stolons as close to the grower as you can; visit the sod farm if possible to check on variety and health.
