St. Augustine is a warm-season lawn grass that forms a thick, carpet-like lawn that crowds out most weeds and other grasses. Saint Augustine lawns are a popular wide bladed lawn that is planted throughout many areas of the Southeastern USA, including Texas. This grass can be found in Mexico, Australia and in tropical parts of Africa. As long as moisture, temperature, and soil requirement are met, it makes for a beautiful lawn. The thick bladed grass and good maintenance can produce a thick, beautiful dark green lawn and requires full sun to moderate shade.
St Augustine Characteristics
St. Augustine grass has large flat stems and broad coarse leaves that are similar to centipede grass. With an attractive blue-green color, it spreads by stolons and forms a deep, dense turf. Its lush and dense turf makes it popular for pastures, ranches, and home lawns.
St Augustine Maintenance
This grass does well in full sun or partial shade, and is the most shade tolerant grass available for Texas. It require about 1 inch of water per week to maintain the green. Typically, in south Texas soils, St. Augustine grass has about ¾ inch total soil moisture reserve. If you notice gray areas and individual leaf blades that are curled, it’s time to irrigate. St. Augustine is very susceptible to winter injury and cannot be grown as far north as Bermuda grass and Zoysia grass. Since it is a fast growing grass, St. Augustine requires frequent mowing during growing periods. Do not apply more than 4 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square foot in one year. At high rates of fertilization and irrigation, thatch build up may be a problem, which encourages disease and insect problems.
St Augustine Disease and pests
Insects and disease can devastate St. Augustine. The great disadvantage to St. Augustine is its sensitivity to chinch bugs. Chinch bug symptoms include rapid wilting and turning brown of leaves. Yellow spots are sometimes also associated with chinch bugs. Contact your local lawn care specialist for insecticide applications that can control the insect. Brown patch fungus and gray leaf spot are also problems.
Feel free to reach out to our lawn care experts at Emerald Lawns Austin if you have any questions about what kind of grass you should install on your lawn. Call our lawn care company at (512) 990-2199, or contact us online for information.
