[RayB]

I have lived in Florida for twenty five years (near Tampa) and up until recently there were only two major grass varieties used in Central Florida. They are St Augustine and Bahia. They are very wide bladed grass which holds up very well to the heat of the summer and disease. People from the north sometimes look at this grass as undesirable because it reminds them of grab grass up north. Rye grass will not hold up to the summer heat or disease. Rye grass sometimes is used in the winter to make the grass greener and to give the grass a more fine textured appearance. Recently Zoysia grass form South America has been introduced into central Florida. I believe The Villages was a early user and introduced this on new construction about four years ago. It has been very successful. It is a much finer grass and looks more like the northern grasses. It is resistance to Cinch bugs and tolerates drought.