Seashore paspalum

What is seashore paspalum?

Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) is a warm-season, creeping perennial grass native to salty coastal areas of the southeastern US. It spreads by stolons and rhizomes and forms a fine to medium-textured turf.

What sets seashore paspalum apart is salt. UGA calls it highly salt tolerant and suited to brackish-water irrigation, and USDA NRCS notes it can be irrigated with salt water. NRCS adds that it thrives where water levels swing from 2 in. above to 6 in. below the soil surface.

USDA NRCS names golf cultivars such as SALAM and ADALYD (also called Excalibre). NRCS also reports it outcompeting established bermudagrass on a golf course in Hawaii.

How to identify seashore paspalum

Pull up a few shoots and look closely where the leaf blade meets the stem. Here is what to check on seashore paspalum:

• Vernation: Folded in the bud.
• Ligule: A short membrane, about 1 to 2 mm, with fine hairs along the top edge.
• Auricles: None.
• Collar: Narrow and continuous, with a small tuft of hairs.
• Leaf blade: About 3 to 8 mm wide, flat or folded inward (USDA NRCS), tapering to a point, often twisted, with scattered hairs on the upper surface (UGA).
• Sheath: Slightly flattened, smooth and reddish-brown.
• Seedhead: Usually 2 or 3 spikes that fork from the top of the stem.
• Growth habit: Stolons and rhizomes with even spacing between leaves.

Where seashore paspalum is grown in the US

Seashore paspalum grows wild in brackish sand and salty coastal areas from North Carolina to Florida and Texas, according to USDA NRCS. As turf, it is used most on golf courses near the coast or where brackish or salty water is used for irrigation (UGA, USDA NRCS), and its use on sports turf is growing.

UF/IFAS rates it adapted statewide in Florida on a wide range of soils, with excellent salt tolerance and good to excellent wear tolerance. USDA NRCS also lists it for erosion control, wetland restoration and site reclamation.

It is the grass to consider where salt rules out other choices, such as salt-affected sites or brackish irrigation water (UGA). It does not like shade, and it is planted from sod, sprigs or plugs, not seed.

Seashore paspalum pros and cons

Pros

• Excellent salt tolerance; takes brackish or salty irrigation water
• Handles wet soils and fluctuating water levels
• Good to excellent wear tolerance
• Good drought and nematode tolerance (UF/IFAS)
• Native to southeastern US coasts

Cons

• Poor shade tolerance
• Not available as seed; sod, sprigs or plugs only
• Armyworms and webworms feed on the leaves
• Has outcompeted established bermudagrass on a Hawaii golf course (USDA NRCS)
• Medium maintenance level (UF/IFAS)

Grasses that look like seashore paspalum

How and when to plant seashore paspalum

Ways to plant: Sod, sprigs or plugs. Seed is rarely viable and seldom available (USDA NRCS).

Seeding rate: Not seeded. Sprigs at about 3 bushels per 1,000 sq ft (USDA NRCS).

Germination: No seed in normal use. Sprigged turf is first mowed after 60 to 90 days (USDA NRCS).

When to plant: Late spring or summer for sprigs (USDA NRCS).

Seeding dates change from state to state. See when to plant grass seed by state, or our Pennsylvania grass seed guide if you are in PA.

How to care for seashore paspalum

Mowing: Mow at 1 to 2 in. (UGA, UF/IFAS). Texas A&M found it made the finest turf below 1 in., and USDA NRCS says lower mowing heights increase shoot density.

Watering: It tolerates brackish or salty irrigation water and wet soils, and thrives where water levels swing from 2 in. above to 6 in. below the surface (USDA NRCS, UGA). Texas A&M notes it shows moisture stress sooner than bermudagrass, so watch it in dry spells.

Fertilizing: Texas A&M suggests about 3 lb N per 1,000 sq ft per year: 1 lb in March, 1/2 lb in May, 1/2 lb in July and 1 lb in October. At low nitrogen rates it holds density better than bermudagrass, and scalping becomes a problem above 4 lb a year. UGA lists a 2 to 5 lb yearly fertility range.

Nitrogen per year: Texas A&M suggests 1 lb N per 1,000 sq ft in March, 1/2 lb in May, 1/2 lb in July and 1 lb in October (3 lb a year) and notes scalping becomes a problem above 4 lb a year. UGA lists a fertility range of 2 to 5 lb per 1,000 sq ft per year.

Overseeding: Not seeded. Fill thin areas with sprigs, plugs or sod.

Common seashore paspalum problems

If a pesticide is needed, use only products labeled for that use; the label is the law. If you hire someone to treat a lawn, make sure they hold your state’s pesticide applicator license; see our pesticide applicator license guide. To put a name to a lawn weed, use our weed identification guide.

Questions we get about seashore paspalum

Similar lawn grasses

BermudagrassCynodon dactylonBuffalograssBouteloua dactyloidesHybrid bermudagrassCynodon dactylon × Cynodon transvaalensis