Lawn care in Central Florida is nothing like lawn care up north. The grass types are different, the soil is different, the pests are different, and the rain patterns would baffle anyone from the Midwest. If you recently moved to the Ocala area from out of state, or if your lawn has been struggling despite your best efforts, the problem is probably not effort. It is approach. These tips are specific to Marion County and the surrounding Central Florida region.
What this post covers:
- •The grass types that actually thrive in Central Florida
- •Watering, mowing, and fertilizing on a Florida schedule
- •Common lawn pests in Marion County and how to spot them
- •When to call a pro versus when to handle it yourself
Know Your Grass (It Matters More Than You Think)
The dominant turf grass in Ocala and Marion County is St. Augustine, specifically the Floratam variety. It is thick, dark green when healthy, and handles Florida heat well. But it has specific needs. It does not tolerate shade well (needs at least 6 hours of direct sun), it is vulnerable to chinch bugs, and it goes dormant and turns brown in winter. This is normal, not a sign that your lawn is dying.
Bahiagrass is the other common type in the area, especially in more rural properties around Ocklawaha, Dunnellon, and Anthony. It is lower maintenance than St. Augustine, tolerates sandy soil better, and handles drought well. The tradeoff is that it is lighter green, coarser in texture, and produces tall seed heads that some people find unattractive.
Zoysia is gaining popularity in The Villages and Lake County. It is dense, handles both sun and partial shade, and has good drought tolerance. The downside is that it is slow to establish and more expensive to install. If you are starting a lawn from scratch, Zoysia is worth considering. If you are maintaining an existing lawn, work with what you have rather than fighting it.
Watering: Less Frequent, More Deeply
The number one mistake Central Florida homeowners make is watering too often and too shallow. Running your sprinklers for 10 minutes every day trains the grass to grow shallow roots. Shallow roots mean the lawn dies fast during any dry spell. Instead, water two to three times per week for 30 to 45 minutes per zone. This pushes water deeper into the soil and encourages deep root growth.
Marion County water restrictions (set by the Southwest Florida Water Management District) allow watering twice per week for most residential properties. Check your specific days based on your address. Watering between 4 AM and 8 AM is best. Watering in the evening promotes fungal growth because the grass stays wet all night.
If you have an irrigation system, inspect it seasonally. Ocala is sandhill country, and sandy soil shifts, which cracks PVC lines and buries sprinkler heads. Walk each zone while it is running and look for heads that are not popping up, uneven spray patterns, or soggy areas that indicate a broken line. Irrigation repair is a straightforward job for a handyman and prevents you from wasting hundreds of gallons of water on a leak you cannot see.
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Mowing: Height Matters
St. Augustine grass should be mowed at 3.5 to 4 inches. Most homeowners cut it too short. Short mowing stresses the grass, exposes the soil to sun (which promotes weeds), and makes the lawn more vulnerable to pests. Set your mower to its highest or second-highest setting and leave it there. The lawn will look thicker, greener, and healthier.
Mow frequently enough that you never remove more than one-third of the blade height in a single cut. During the summer growing season in Ocala, that typically means mowing every 7 to 10 days. In winter, when growth slows, every two to three weeks is fine.
Leave the clippings on the lawn. They decompose quickly in Florida heat and return nitrogen to the soil. Bagging clippings removes free fertilizer and fills up your trash can for no good reason. The only exception is if the clippings are so thick they form clumps that smother the grass underneath. If that happens, you waited too long between mows.
Fertilizing on a Florida Schedule
Florida lawns need fertilizer on a different schedule than northern lawns. The University of Florida IFAS extension recommends fertilizing St. Augustine grass two to four times per year: once in early spring (March), once in early summer (June), optionally in early fall (September), and optionally in late fall (November) with a winterizer blend.
Use a slow-release fertilizer with a ratio close to 16-4-8 or similar. The middle number (phosphorus) should be low. Most Florida soils already have adequate phosphorus, and excess phosphorus runs off into lakes and springs, which is why Marion County has restrictions on phosphorus application. Always follow the application rate on the bag. More is not better with fertilizer. Excess nitrogen causes rapid top growth, shallow roots, and increased pest vulnerability.
Do not fertilize during the summer rainy season (July through September) unless you are using a slow-release formula. Heavy summer rains wash away quick-release fertilizer before the grass can absorb it, and that runoff ends up in Silver Springs, the Ocklawaha River, and other local waterways. Slow-release granules break down over 6 to 8 weeks regardless of rain.
Pests: Chinch Bugs, Sod Webworms, and Grubs
Chinch bugs are the most destructive lawn pest in Central Florida. They suck the juice out of grass blades and inject a toxin that kills the plant. Damage starts as irregular yellow patches, usually in the hottest, driest parts of the lawn (along driveways, sidewalks, and south-facing edges). The patches spread outward. By the time a large area is brown, the chinch bugs have moved on to the green edges.
To confirm chinch bugs, do the float test: push a coffee can (both ends removed) into the soil at the edge of a damaged area. Fill it with water and wait 5 minutes. Chinch bugs will float to the surface. They are tiny (about the size of a grain of rice), black with white wings. Treat with a bifenthrin-based granular insecticide applied to the entire lawn, not just the damaged spots.
Sod webworms are moth larvae that eat grass blades at night. You will see small brown patches and tiny green-brown caterpillars if you part the grass and look closely. Grubs (beetle larvae) feed on roots and cause sections of turf to feel spongy and lift like a carpet. Both respond well to standard lawn insecticides. If you are unsure what is damaging your lawn, pull up a section of affected turf. If it comes up easily with no roots attached, you have grubs. If the blades are chewed but the roots are intact, it is webworms.
When to Handle It Yourself vs. Call a Pro
Basic mowing, watering, and fertilizing are easy to manage yourself. Irrigation repairs (replacing sprinkler heads, adjusting timers) are also straightforward for most homeowners. Where it makes sense to call a professional is when the problem is not obvious. If your lawn is declining and you cannot figure out why, a handyman or lawn care pro who knows Marion County soil and grass types can often diagnose the issue in one visit.
Large-scale projects like laying new sod, installing or repairing irrigation lines, tree trimming near power lines, and full landscape redesigns are typically worth outsourcing. The labor involved is significant, and the cost of mistakes (laying sod incorrectly means it dies within weeks) makes professional help the smarter investment.
Jeff Of All Trades handles lawn care, landscaping, and irrigation repair across Marion, Lake, and Sumter Counties. Whether you need regular mowing, a one-time yard cleanup, or a full irrigation system repair, call (352) 673-0306 for a free estimate. Jeff knows Central Florida lawns because he has been working them for 15+ years.