A native seashore plant, St. Augustine grass has been popular along the lower Atlantic and the Gulf Coasts for several decades. It has broad blades and large, coarse stems, but produces a fairly compact sod.

The most redeeming features of St. Augustine grass are its attractive color and vigorous year round growth in frost-free climates. It is a rapid grower requiring frequent mowing, but is easy to mow.

St. Augustine grass is the most shade tolerant of all permanent hot climate grasses and performs well in wet soils and under salt spray. Basically a tropical plant, St. Augustine is ill-adapted as far north as Atlanta and will usually be killed by cold in the middle South.

It is highly susceptible to serious or fatal damage by chinch bugs. Good commercial spray applications and fertilizers containing the proper insecticides can control chinch bugs, but the bother and expense of continued control and preventative measures make the desirability of St. Augustine grass questionable where another grass will do as well or better.

Few seeds are commercially available and St. Augustine grass must be propagated vegitatively. Sprigs are easily established and grow off readily, and St. Augustinegrass sod is inexpensive.

Characteristics

• attractive color and vigorous year round growth in frost-free climates
• easy to mow
• most shade tolerant of all permanent hot climate lawn grasses
• performs well in wet soils even under salt spray
• ill-adapted as far north as Atlanta and will usually be killed by cold in the middle-South
• St. Augustinegrass is most often propagated as sod

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