A beautiful, well-kept lawn is most neighborhood pride. The way your grass looks depends on how you care for it and what type of grass you grow, in this article I will look at the different types of St Augustine Grass.
You can do some basic things to keep your grass beautiful and healthy. Mowing, watering, aerating, feeding, and scarifying are the most important steps for basic lawn care. A well-cared lawn will also add value to your home if
you’re selling.
When mowing your lawn, the most important thing to remember is grass height. Never cut more than one-third of grass blades’ height. Always leave the grass clippings on the yard, as this will provide fertilizer for your grass.
You should mow your lawn at least once a week, but an ideal situation would mow more than once a week. Keep your mower blade sharp, never mow twice in the same direction.
You should never mow your lawn when wet. Wet mowing causes clumps of clippings, which can breed bacteria.
Choose your mower type by your lawn size. A small lawn can be done in half an hour or less with a walking mower. Larger lawns require a ride-on mower.
Check out my ultimate guide to St Augustine grass.
Different Types of St Augustine Grass
Your lawn’s quality depends heavily on the grass lawn type.
Because there are countless types of grass available, it is very important to learn about each type, its features, and then choose one that is suited for your lawn.
Factors including an area’s climatic conditions play a significant role in what is the best grass type for your circumstances. By collecting information on the different types of grass for lawns and then making an informed decision, a green and lively lawn will grow in your yard.
To choose the best grass type, your area’s weather conditions play a significant role. The following are types of different St Augustine grass.
Bitter-Blue Grass
Bitterblue grass is a finer, denser St. Augustine grass. It has a darker blue-green hue than most St. Augustine. Bitter blue has high cold resistance. Atrazine tolerance is also lower than other varieties, making weed control harder.
Under careful management and pest control, Bitterblue can produce a nice lawn.
Bitter blue has a coarse texture. It’s a darker green than common St. Augustine grasses. Bitter Blue also grows slower, meaning less caretaker mowing.
Bitter Blue St Augustine grass is sometimes confused with Floratam, which is easier to grow for the sod producer due to its atrazine herbicide tolerance compared to Augustinegrass’ Bitterblue variety. With some weed and insect control, this turf creates an oasis in your shady areas.
It is an improved St. Augustine variety for cold, shade-tolerant areas.
Bitterblue St. Augustinegrass overview.
- Shade Tolerance: High
- Salt tolerance: Good
- Use tolerance: moderate
- Uses: Commercial and residential
- Mowing height: 3”-4
- Hot weather: Tolerance
Check out my article on St Augustine vs Bermuda grass.
Floratam
It comes with a hardy muck base and grows well in both sunlight and shade.
St Augustine grass should be laid early in the spring, just after the last winter frosts, so that the roots have time to take hold before the summer heat damages them.
Fertilization should be applied every six weeks to two months. During the hotter summer months and into the fall, fertilize with high nitrogen content in the spring and early summer, follow with a neutral winterize.
Grubworms are a problem in spring and fall, so be sure to use the right pesticides separately, and Chinch
bugs are a danger to a healthy lawn during the summer.
A successful weed control agent can contain the chemical atrazine and should only be used during the year’s cooler months.
For the following reasons, Floratam St. Augustine grass was found better than Common St Augustine:
1. Resistance to the SAD virus.
2. It’s resisting chinch bugs. (Sort of)
3. It’s robust, develops rapid ground cover, and has superior light.
4. Tolerance to downy mildew, gray leaf spot diseases, and brown patch fungus is superior to Texas common St. Augustine grass.
Sapphire
The grass is as good as any other buffalo turf, with the added benefit of fine texture.
A Sapphire Soft Leaf Buffalo Lawn has amazing color; its deep green color will make your home lawn “the envy of the street.”
Sapphire Buffalo Grass’s tight mat and high performance leave very little room for growing weeds. Excellent at overcoming weeds. In the unlikely event that broadleaf weeds ever become a problem, Bromoxynil and MCPA can spray a Sapphire Buffalo Lawn as it is resistant to these chemicals.
The high performance of Sapphire St Augustine grass allows it to handle high-traffic situations.
You should fertilize and water more than normal in extra-high wear areas.
A Sapphire Lawn looks magnificent due to its fine texture and its stunning color. When Sapphire Buffalo Grass matures, the leaf appears to fold back, offering a much finer look.
Raleigh
Raleigh St Augustine grass a medium green-colored texture.
This variety of St. Augustine grass can be planted in northern Florida because of its lower temperature tolerance.
Also susceptible to brown patch disease. Raleigh has been known to yellow during the peak summer heat and isn’t known for growing aggressively during cooler temperatures. Additional iron applications can reduce this yellowing trend.
Raleigh is ideally suited to dense, dry, clay soils with medium to low pH in central and northern Florida. Raleigh St. Augustine grass was well received by sod growers in the southeast of Florida.
Check out my ultimate guide to St Augustine grass.
Palmetto
This is a native St. Augustine grass chosen for better texture and color than more common St. Augustine grasses. This grass has superior heat, shade, drought, cold, and frost tolerance.
This versatile turfgrass is used for a wide range of lawn purposes in a wide range of different soil and weather conditions. It’s ideal for both residential and commercial lawn purposes.
Palmetto grass can remain green longer than any other St. Augustine variety, it will also remain green longer than Centipede grass and Bermuda grass.
Palmetto grass will go dormant during the winter months if you are in an area that suffers from frosty weather. It will first go “off-color” (e.g., the lower layer will maintain being green while the top leaves will be brown from the damage of frost) before it falls into total dormancy. Palmetto grass will be semi-evergreen in many parts of the South that don’t suffer from frosty conditions during the cooler months.
Palmetto grass has shown good drought tolerance in-field testing. Since 1993, the grass has proved to grow in fields without any irrigation, enduring droughts for over two months. Palmetto grass, like any other St. Augustine grass, will wilt but recover if the water is applied.
Palmetto grass is drought resistant as compared to other varieties of St. Augustine grass.
Harmony
Harmony St Augustine turfgrass varieties are grown by certified sod growers nationwide.
Many of harmony grass growers represent multi-generational farms that have years of and industry knowledge and farming expertise that produce high-quality grass.
Moreover, each Harmony turfgrass variety is custom-matched based on the regional environment and use style.
The grass can tolerate heat, humidity, and partial shade. St. Augustine settles quickly and comfortably. St. Augustine is colored broad-bladed, medium-green.
Harmony has the following characteristics…
- Easy to maintain
- Broad blade dense turf
- Year-round color in frost-free climates
- Vigorous growth habit
- Great for high traffic areas
- Requires minimum 4-6 hours of sunlight per day
- Water requirements: medium once established
Mercedes
This grass has broad flat stems and thick, coarse leaves similar to centipedegrass.
Mercedes St Augustine grass has an appealing Bluegreen hue, creating a dark, relatively dense turf.
It spreads over long runners or stolons. It is grown by vegetative means, including plugs, sod, or sprigs.
Mercedes is a shade-tolerant warm-season grass, although it still needs 4-6 hours of sunshine to thrive. It is very susceptible to suffer during the cold winter months especially if it’s planted too far north. Winter injury to Mercedes St Augustine has also been documented along South Carolina’s southern coastal regions.
Check out my article on St Augustine vs Bermuda grass.
Seville
Seville is considered a dwarf cultivar, much finer in texture than Floratam. Seville is blue-green with excellent color retention and tolerates water, wind, and drought. Many people feel that the leaf blade of Seville St Augustine grass a special look.
It is considered one of the most shade-tolerant grasses of St Augustine’s grasses. It can tolerate broad pH ranges, from inland acidic soils to coastal high pH soils.
Since Seville can survive and endure in lawn areas with only 6 to 7 hours of sunshine, it is considered a favored choice among landscapers for moderately shaded lawns.
This type of grass is often found in full sun, but it flourishes in most different conditions of lawn, with a reputation for living in dry and shady conditions. Seville The grass will make your home look stunning without much lawn maintenance.
With proper routine maintenance during the establishment era, Seville will take root in the soil and fill a lovely, natural-looking lawn.
Conclusion
I hope you have learned something from this Different Types of St Augustine Grass article so you can make a good choice and grow a beautiful lush green lawn.
The best lawn grass is native to the place you live in.
Basically, this means that no form of grass is best for all lawns. Grass, like any other plant, might be able to force it to grow in an environment that isn’t native to it, but it will require a lot of effort and upkeep. Why go through all that trouble when you can choose a form of grass that grows where you live?
Not only is growing a native type of grass easier, but it’s also more ecologically correct. When removed from their native areas, many grass types will spread and become what is considered an invasive species. Pampas grass is a good example, although it is not used for crops.
A well-kept lawn not only improves curb appeal but also adds value to your house. A beautifully kept lawn gives visitors a good impression while creating a sense of well-being and tranquility.
