If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
You may see advertisements for "perfect" grass that produces a lush, green lawn with very little care.
Please, question advertisements for grass seed mixtures that grow from Alaska to Florida.
Advisories
Beware of advertisements that exclude a specific name for the grass being sold.
Don't believe advertisements that claim the grass "even grows in impossible spots."
Several years ago, I contacted a company that was advertising a grass seed mixture in hopes of finding out, specifically, what grass seeds were in this too-good-to-be-true mixture.
The mixture included Kentucky bluegrass, creeping red fescue and annual ryegrass, a representative said. This information wasn't in the advertisement. And it claimed that it would produce an attractive lawn for Florida.
In Florida, ryegrass, fescuegrass and Kentucky bluegrass will produce a green lawn during winter and early spring. However, as temperatures warm in late spring and summer, these grasses will die.
All three types are cool-season grasses that won't tolerate our hot, humid summer weather. They won't produce a permanent lawn in our area.
Good grasses
You can choose from seven types of grasses when considering planting a lawn in Florida.
Centipede and St. Augustine are the most commonly planted in our area. Bahia, bermuda, carpet, seashore paspalum and zoysia are used less often.
All of these grasses have advantages and disadvantages, which should be understood before choosing a grass for your lawn.
With time, most people here will become frustrated with their lawn. As a result, North Florida is a great area to market a too-good-to-be-true lawn grass.
Reality check
Here's the reality: It's difficult to grow a lawn here.All our lawn grasses are native to other parts of the world; they did not exist in our native ecosystem. So expectations for a Florida lawn are too high.
Because of these factors, many people are looking for that too-good-to-be-true grass.
Be cautious before spending time and money on one of those "perfect" lawn grasses.
Contact the University of Florida Extension Office in your county or visit the UF lawn website for reliable information on lawn grass selection and maintenance for Florida.
Larry Williams is an agent at the University of Florida's Extension office in Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: Be cautious of too-good-to-be-true lawn ads