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St. Augustinegrass is a fast-growing, vigorous, coarse-textured, warm-season grass that has dark green, broad grass blades. It spreads by stolons that root at the nodes which form a dense, thick turf that will crowd out most weeds.
St. Augustine is one of the most shade tolerant of the warm-season grasses and does well in climates such as: Southern California, Hawaii, Texas, and mild areas of the Southwest, Florida and Gulf Coast states. It takes heat, and is tolerant of salt spray and salty soil.
St. Augustine can take some drought moderately well, but it looks best with regular water. It is not very cold tolerant, and as soon as the weather cools down, it tends to lose its color.
St. Augustine grass is a moderate to high maintenance lawn because it requires fertile, well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter, it needs regular ferilization, water, mowing, and regular removal of thatch. Even in decent soils, St. Augustinegrass requires regular, high nitrogen, fertilizer.
If it doesn't get what it needs, it can be susceptible to insect damage and diseases such as viral St. Augustinegrass decline (SAD). The good news is that new varieites offer resistance to disease and insect damage.
St. Augustinegrass grows slowly in the spring and fall and only needs to be mowed twice a month. In the summer however, lawns must be mowed weekly, and proper mowing height is critical. If mowed too low, weeds can take over, if mowed too high, thatch can build up.
Because St. Augustinegrasss doesn't produce viable seed, sprigs and sod are the best choices to start or patch a lawn, and because it forms such a dense turf, thatch must be removed regularly to allow water and fertilizer to get to the soil.
St. Augustinegrass takes a lot of wear and tear, tolerates shade, heat, salty soil and moderate cold, and it will grow better than bermuda grass in coastal climates and retains its color in the fall.
St. Augustine grass is best when used alone. Do not mix it with other grasses.
Unique qualities:
Good shade grass
Will develop thatch in areas with no traffic
Cannot be established by seed
Only grass with a known virus to attack
Poor cold and drought tolerance
Optimum Mowing Height: 1.5 to 3 inches (3.8 to 7.6 cm)
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