SEEDING BAHIAGRASS: What is the best way to establish bahiagrass?

ANSWER: To catch as much warm weather and rain as possible, plant the bahiagrass seed from March through August. Place the seed 3/8 inch under the soil, either by raking into a rough seedbed, or drilling, and then press in the seed with rollers.

Bahiagrass seedlings are very weak competitors.  In the photograph, the left plant is bullgrass, Paspalum setaceum, emerging from a tiny seed.  The right plant is bahiagrass, Paspalum notatum, of the same age.  It has only produced one true leaf

Seeding rates vary widely; in south Florida, 100 to 150 pounds per acre (2.5 to 3.5 pounds per thousand square feet) provides acceptable establishment. Don't use millet as a companion crop; it is too competitive. After seeding the bahiagrass, apply wheat straw as a mulch at 2 tons per acre (about 1.5 bales per thousand square feet).

Fertilize after the seedlings have emerged and have three leaves, ideally four or five weeks after seeding. Begin mowing before weeds become competitive, or within 10 weeks after planting. 'Argentine' bahiagrass has superior rooting and superior turf quality compared with the 'Pensacola' cultivar.