How do I maintain my lawn in Florida?

In West Florida, over-watering a lawn is the most common way to cause a lawn to develop stress conditions – these will weaken your lawn, allowing lawn insects, disease, and fungus conditions to occur. Instead of over-watering, it’s best to let the lawn tell you when it’s thirsty. Signs of a thirsty lawn include:

• Leaf blades that are folded over
• Grass that appears blue-gray
• Lawns that don’t spring back when stepped on, leaving visible footprints in the grass

Watering less frequently for longer periods is recommended to encourage deep root growth. Watering too often will result in grass with a shallow root system. Encouraging your grass to reach deeper for water on its own will help your grass develop a stronger root system that will help your lawn survive drought conditions and high traffic. Most Florida lawns require ½ inch of water per session. Be careful not to saturate your lawn and cause the fertilizer that should nourish your lawn to run off, possibly contaminating groundwater