Bahia Grass Sod in Florida
Pensacola Bahia and Argentine Bahia for North Florida and Panhandle yards. Drought tolerant deep root system, sandy soil friendly, low input. Florida-Friendly Yards approved. Available by the pallet, half pallet, and full truckload.
Lowest Input
Low Input Grass for North Florida and the Panhandle
Bahia is the textbook Florida-Friendly grass for North Florida. Deep root system handles drought without irrigation. Sandy soil tolerance is excellent. Mowing requirements are lower than St. Augustine or Bermuda. Pensacola and Argentine cultivars cover most Panhandle and North-Central Florida orders.
- Drought tolerant deep root system handles dry spells without irrigation
- Sandy soil friendly across North Florida and the Panhandle
- Florida-Friendly Yards (FFL) compliant for water-conservation landscaping
- Lower fertilizer and water needs than St. Augustine, Zoysia, or Bermuda
- Hurricane and freeze recovery better than St. Augustine through Panhandle winters
Best ForRural acreage, Panhandle residential lots, sandy soil yards, and FFL-compliant water-conservation projects.
How Bahia Sod is Sold
All Bahia sod ships fresh cut by the pallet. Single pallet, half pallet, or full truckload. Below is what each size covers and who it fits.
Coverage: 450 sq ft. Standard pallet stacks 165 sod slabs (each slab roughly 16" x 24"). Fits small front yards, side yards, and patch jobs. Most residential Bahia orders are 1 to 4 pallets.
Coverage: 225 sq ft. Half the slabs of a standard pallet. Right-sized for small repair jobs, dog spots, and corner-of-the-yard patches. Call to confirm availability before ordering, since half pallet orders depend on warehouse stock.
Coverage: 7,200 sq ft (16 pallets). Builder, HOA, and contractor pricing kicks in at full truck. Best per-square-foot rate. Call for volume pricing if you need 8 pallets or more so we can price the truckload-equivalent rate.
Coverage: any quantity. Order 2, 5, 8, 12 pallets and we will price it. Most residential lawns run 4 to 10 pallets. Use the area calculator to estimate your yard square footage first.
Types of Bahia Grass Sod
Two cultivars cover most North Florida residential and commercial Bahia orders. Pick by appearance preference and Panhandle latitude.
Pensacola Bahia
The classic Panhandle pick since the 1930s. Selected in Pensacola, Florida in 1935. The most widely grown Bahia across the Gulf South. More cold tolerant than Argentine. Longer narrower leaf blades.
Best fit: Pensacola, Tallahassee, Panama City, Destin, rural Panhandle parcels.
Argentine Bahia
Denser dark green Bahia for residential. Introduced from Argentina in 1944. Forms a denser sod with darker green color than Pensacola. Wider leaf blades, more acceptable for residential use. Slightly less cold tolerant.
Best fit: Jacksonville, Gainesville, Ocala, North-Central Florida residential lots.
Sand Mountain (AU) Bahia
Most winter-hardy Bahia available. Selected from a 1960s Pensacola planting at the Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center in northeast Alabama. The most winter-hardy Bahia variety evaluated in Georgia trials.
Best fit: Cold-edge properties in north Alabama, north Mississippi, and rural acreage where freeze tolerance matters.
UF-Riata Bahia
Longer green season for central + south Florida. Bred at the University of Florida and selected from Pensacola for low day length sensitivity. Stays green much of the year in central and south Florida and may provide better disease resistance than other Bahia varieties.
Best fit: Central and south Florida residential where extended green season matters.
Bahia Sod Care Guide
Bahia is the lowest-input Florida warm season grass, but proper establishment matters. Here is what to do during the first month and after.
Watering (first 10 days)
Water twice a day for the first 10 days, light enough to keep the sod damp but not soaked. Sandy soil drains fast, so morning + late afternoon is the safe pattern. Skip rain days.
Watering (week 2 to 3)
Taper to once daily. By the end of week 3 the sod should be rooted enough that you can pull on a corner without lifting it. Once rooted, Bahia rarely needs irrigation. Established Bahia handles 4 to 6 weeks without rain via its deep root system.
First mowing
Wait 2 to 3 weeks before the first mow. Bahia grows tall and produces seed heads, which is normal. Set the mower to 3 to 4 inches. Cutting too short scalps Bahia and exposes its open growth pattern.
Ongoing mowing
Mow every 7 to 14 days at 3 to 4 inches. Bahia produces tall seed heads in summer; some homeowners mow more often during peak season to keep the seed heads down. Never remove more than a third of the blade per mowing.
Fertilizer
Bahia thrives on minimal fertilizer. One application of 16-4-8 in spring and one in early fall is usually enough for a residential Bahia lawn. Florida-Friendly Yards recommends iron supplements for color rather than heavy nitrogen.
Bahia Grass Sod FAQ
Real questions from real Florida Bahia customers.
One standard pallet of Bahia sod covers approximately 450 square feet (165 slabs, each roughly 16 by 24 inches). Half-pallet is 225 sq ft. Full truckload is 7,200 sq ft (16 pallets) and qualifies for contractor pricing.
Pensacola Bahia is the lowest-input pick (rural acreage, Panhandle latitude, right-of-way applications). Argentine Bahia has a slightly denser growth pattern and finer blade, fitting residential lots in Jacksonville and Gainesville where you want a more uniform residential appearance. Both perform well across North Florida.
Bahia tolerates Central Florida heat but loses density in true tropical zones. For zones 9b and 10a, Bahia works on inland low input parcels but Floratam St. Augustine is the more common residential pick. For South Florida (zones 10b through 11a), use Floratam, Empire Zoysia, or Seashore Paspalum instead.
2 to 3 weeks with proper watering. Bahia roots deep, so it establishes slightly slower than St. Augustine but ends up more drought tolerant once rooted. Spring and early fall installs root fastest.
Seed heads are normal Bahia summer growth. They appear most in June, July, and August. Mowing every 7 to 10 days during peak season keeps them down. Some homeowners view the seed heads as a Florida-rural aesthetic; others prefer to mow them off as soon as they appear.
For establishment, yes. For ongoing maintenance, rarely. Established Bahia handles 4 to 6 weeks without rain through its deep root system. Most North Florida Bahia lawns run on rainfall alone after the first month. Florida-Friendly Yards approves Bahia specifically because of this water efficiency.
Order Bahia Sod for Your Florida Yard
Pensacola and Argentine Bahia delivered fresh. Quote back the same business day.