St. Augustine Grass
Stenotaphrum secundatum · Warm-season, Perennial, C4 grass
AI-generated identification · may be incorrect
Grass Category
Lawn/Turf Grass
Hardiness Zones
Thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 through 10, highly sensitive to freezing temperatures, goes completely dormant in winter in cooler parts of its range.
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Panicoideae
Variety / Cultivar
Palmetto or Floratam (commonly used broad-leaf cultivars)
About This Grass
Forms a lush, dense, coarse-textured carpet with flat blades. Typically maintained between 2.5 and 4 inches. Bright to dark green in color during active growth seasons, goes dormant and turns brown with the first heavy frost.
Blade Characteristics
Coarse texture with wide blades (typically 4-10mm wide), flat shape, blunt or rounded tips, folded vernation in the bud, continuous prominent veins, a fringe of hairs representing the ligule, and absent auricles.
Root System
Moderate depth fibrous root system originating from stolon nodes, establishing moderately quickly from sod or plugs, forms a dense sod, and exhibits moderate thatch-forming tendencies.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to tropical and subtropical regions around the globe, performing best in the warm coastal regions of the southeastern United States, Gulf Coast, and similar climates worldwide.
Growth Habit
Stoloniferous, spreading aggressively via above-ground runners (stolons) to form a dense, coarse turf mat.
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires full sun to partial shade (more shade-tolerant than most warm-season grasses), high watering needs to maintain dark green color during dry spells, moderate drought tolerance with good recovery once watered, prefers moist, fertile, well-draining soils with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5.
Mowing & Maintenance
Ideal mowing height ranges from 2.5 to 4 inches, high height of cut promotes shade tolerance and health, regular weekly mowing during growing season, medium to high fertilization requirement (2 to 5 lbs N per 1000 sq ft per year), regular dethatching needed.
Special Characteristics
Moderate to low foot traffic tolerance compared to Bermuda or Zoysia, susceptible to chinch bugs and take-all root rot, good salt tolerance, excellent shade tolerance for a warm-season grass, poor cold tolerance.
Ecological Information
Introduced and naturalized in various warm regions, provides good soil stabilization and erosion control on coastal sites, excellent for suppressing weeds due to dense mat formation, commonly used for residential lawns and coastal commercial landscapes.