St. Augustine Grass
Stenotaphrum secundatum · Warm-season, Perennial, C4 grass
AI-generated identification · may be incorrect
Grass Category
Lawn/Turf Grass
Hardiness Zones
USDA Hardiness Zones 8 to 10, sensitive to heavy frost and cold temperatures, goes dormant and turns brown in cooler northern ranges.
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Panicoideae, tribe Paniceae
Variety / Cultivar
Floratam
About This Grass
Forms a dense, carpet-like turf with coarse-textured blue-green to dark green blades. Unmowed height reaches 6 to 12 inches, maintained at 2.5 to 4 inches. Produces flat, thickened seed stalks with spike-like racemes.
Blade Characteristics
Coarse width (>4mm), flat, blunt or rounded tips, blue-green to green color, folded in the bud (vernation), with a membranous ligule fringed with hairs and absent or very small auricles.
Root System
Moderately deep fibrous root system spreading from robust stolons. Forms a moderate to heavy thatch layer, establishes quickly from sod, and offers good sod formation.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Mediterranean; widely cultivated in the southern United States and tropical regions worldwide.
Growth Habit
Aggressively stoloniferous, forming a thick, coarse-textured, dense turf mat by spreading via above-ground runners.
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires full sun to partial shade (more shade-tolerant than most warm-season grasses, needing at least 4 hours of direct sun). High water requirement during active growth, moderate drought tolerance with dormancy during severe dry spells.
Mowing & Maintenance
Ideal mowing height 2.5 to 4 inches using a rotary mower. High maintenance level requiring regular fertilization (4-6 lbs N per 1000 sq ft annually), frequent watering, and periodic dethatching.
Special Characteristics
Moderate wear tolerance, poor cold tolerance, susceptible to chinch bugs and take-all root rot, excellent salt tolerance, good shade tolerance for a warm-season grass.
Ecological Information
Introduced/cultivated turfgrass in many regions, provides basic urban wildlife cover, excellent soil stabilization and erosion control in coastal sandy soils, forms monocultures easily.