St Augustine Grass
This southern coastline grass is well known for its wide blade and rich emerald-green color. This is your ideal grass for shady lawns. St. Augustine will also handle your occasional salt spray and a wider range of pH levels. When properly maintained, this grass is extremely effective at choking out nuisance weeds.
Like many of the southern grasses, St. Augustine is sensitive to cold temperatures. This disadvantage limits its range up north. St. Augustine is susceptible to a wide variety of pests and diseases, with chinch bugs and St. Augustine Grass decline virus (SADV) being two of the most common. This grass isn’t ideal for heavy foot traffic areas and might sustain damage or begin to thin.
Like all grasses, proper maintenance is the key for a healthy yard. St. Augustine grass needs at least 1” of water spread across the week. However, in drought conditions, this grass will remain green longer than others. It is important to mow St. Augustine at a length of at least 2” and are best bagged. For best results, apply nitrogen in the summer months and potassium in September to give it winter resiliency.
For more information, visit our comprehensive article on St. Augustine grass. Here you can find detailed information on essential weed killers and other products ideal for St. Augustine grass.
Bermuda Grass
A southern staple for golf courses and open sunny yards, Bermuda grass is a great pick for your yard. This easy to grow grass is heat and drought tolerant. It can also withstand heavy foot traffic and recovers quickly from damage. If that golf course “look” is your thing, bermuda grass is very tolerant of being mowed short.
Being a southern grass species, Bermuda grass is not very tolerant of cold weather. Actually, after a few consecutive days of cool weather, it will begin to go dormant. This grass does not handle shady areas and will begin to thin. Thin areas are ideal for annoying weeds to grow. Depending on your goals, the aggressiveness of Bermuda grass can be a pro and quickly fill in open or damaged areas, or be a nuisance invading areas like flower beds.
With a little routine maintenance, you can have your Bermuda grass yard looking like Augusta National (Well maybe not that good, but pretty close). Established Bermuda grass needs at least 1” of water spread across the week. Mow your lawn around 1-2” and bag any clippings to prevent thatch from establishing. During the summer apply between 2-4lbs of nitrogen on your lawn. For optimal results, divide this into three applications over the summer. Add potassium in August for winter hardiness and disease resistance.
For more information, visit our comprehensive article on Bermuda grass. Here you can find detailed information on essential weed killers and other products ideal for Bermuda grass.
St Augustine vs Bermuda Grass Comparison
| St Augustine | Bermuda | |
| Sunlight | Up to 4 hours | At least 6 hrs |
| Shade Tolerant | Yes | No |
| Temerature | Warm | Warm |
| Water | 1 - 1.5"/week | 1"/week |
| Soil pH | 5.0 - 8.5 | 5.8- 7.0 |
| Soil Quality | Loose/Sandy | Clay/Sandy |
| Fertilization | 2 - 4 lbs/1,000SF/Yr | 2 - 4 lbs/1,000SF/Y |
| Fertilizer Mix | 15-0-4 | 30-0-5 |
| Traffic Tolerance | Moderate | High |
| Safe Herbicides | Atrazine | 2,4-D & Trimec |
| Salt Tolerance | Moderate | Moderate |
