The initial materials may be selected by the community’s developer team, but after the developer has turned control over to the community association, routine maintenance and necessary changes will be the concern of a board of directors, perhaps a landscape committee, the CAM, and the landscape professionals that they select. By placing the right plants, trees, and shrubs in the right locations, a community can potentially reduce its overall maintenance costs. This includes using the right types of turf (grass, lawn). Hi, I’m Tim, a good-natured person, and a CAM in an HOA with 500 single-family homes that transitioned from the developer two years ago. The association is responsible for the landscape maintenance on all portions of the property. That means that the association takes care of landscape maintenance on all the common property as well as each of the association members’ property. As said above, the initial landscape plans and materials were selected and installed by the developer. But now that’s the job of the association, through its board of directors, their landscape committee and I usually have some input or at least some responsibility to know what’s going on. Boy, have I learned a lot! heat and humidity, but it requires frequent watering during dry periods. Characteristics include its dark green color, and shorter and finer texture. It is adapted to a wide variety of soils. It has good tolerance to salt, and shade, good to excellent tolerance to wear, and medium tolerance to drought. It can thrive in all Florida climate zones. Its level of maintenance requirements is like St. Augustine grass, but Zoysia is also subject to hunting billbugs and brown patch disease. These factors along with the finer blade texture typically put Zoysia at a higher maintenance cost level. The landscaper told us that our turf is being negatively affected by a common disease in the area called Lethal Viral Necrosis. They said it is killing the community’s grass and that ultimately, we may have to change the type of turf we use. Healthy plants also depend on their levels of nutrients and pH. Plants do best when planted in soil that provides essential nutrients. Macronutrients, which are the nutrients needed in large amounts by plants, include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. The pH of soil can be tested by using: ● A pH testing kit : Usually inexpensive, where a small sample of soil is mixed with an indicator solution that changes color according to the acidity/alkalinity. ● Litmus paper : A small sample of soil is mixed with distilled water, into which a strip of litmus paper is inserted. If the soil is acidic the paper turns red, if alkaline, blue. ● Electronic pH meter : A commercially available method in which a rod is inserted into moistened soil and measures the concentration of hydrogen ions. County extension offices can test a community’s soil for a small fee or provide a kit to send a soil sample to the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Soil Testing Laboratory. Plant reference guides often provide information on the optimal pH for a specific plant or plants. A soil’s pH can be increased, typically by the addition of lime , or decreased by adding an acidifying fertilizer containing ammonia.
implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on his or her land.” The Legislature finds that the use of Florida-friendly landscaping and other water use and pollution prevention measures to conserve or protect the state’s water resources serves a compelling public interest and that the participation of homeowners’ associations and local governments is essential to the state’s efforts in water conservation and water quality protection and restoration. ● A deed restriction or covenant may not prohibit or be enforced so as to prohibit any property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on his or her land or create any requirement or limitation in conflict with any provision of part II of this chapter or a water shortage order, other order, consumptive use permit, or rule adopted or issued pursuant to part II of this chapter. ● A local government ordinance may not prohibit or be enforced to prohibit any property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on their land. ● This section does not limit the authority of the department or the water management districts to require Florida-friendly landscaping ordinances or practices as a condition of any permit issued under this chapter. Turf considerations Factors to be considered in the turf grass that will be used include grasses that are drought, shade, salt, and wear (vehicular and foot traffic) tolerant, fertilization requirements, leaf texture (width and coarseness of the grass blades), pest and disease problems, and climatic conditions. Common turf grass used for Florida lawns include: ● Bahiagrass : A low maintenance lawn grass; excellent drought tolerance but poor salt, shade, and wear tolerance. Bahiagrass is resistant to most insects and disease; and often found in Central Florida because of its low maintenance. It is ideal for open acreages and large yards; can thrive in all Florida regions; but is not recommended for coastal areas. ● Bermudagrass : Found worldwide, it is also known as couch grass in Australia and New Zealand. Bermudagrass is fast-growing and tough; recovers rapidly from damage; and can tolerate poor soil conditions. It is highly desirable in warm temperate climates, making it ideal for Florida’s hot, humid climate often in drought conditions. However, it is also highly aggressive, crowding out most other grasses and invading other habitats, and has become a hard-to- eradicate weed in some areas. ● Centipede grass : A well-adapted grass for Northern Florida and the Panhandle. “Hammock” centipede grass, was patented by the University of Florida that is adapted to South Florida conditions. It grows about four inches per year, on average, making it one of the slowest growing grasses. It does not tolerate foot traffic as well as other grass but ranks high on shade tolerance. ● St. Augustine grass : The most popular lawn grass in Florida and is adaptable to a wide range of soils and has good salt, shade, and nematode tolerance and is adaptable to all Florida climates. However, St. Augustine grasses are particularly prone to chinch bugs, and it does not do well in heavily trafficked areas putting it into a higher level of maintenance and cost than Bahiagrass or Centipede grass. Other varieties of St. Augustine grass are Floratam, Citrablue and Palmetto. ● Zoysia grass : Famous for being “barefoot grass” because of how soft it is to walk on. It introduced to the United States in the early 1900s. Zoysia can tolerate
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