St. Augustine grows in warm, humid environments. Fertilizers comprise a broad range of amendments that add some kind of nutritional benefit to the soil. Despite the myths, you do not need to pay extra for a special St Augustine grass fertilizer. Do not apply fertilizer until you’ve applied a systemic fungicide at a curative rate and your grass has recovered. With the right nutrition, hydration, and physical maintenance, it’s easier to fight off disease and stay healthy. Most fertilizer schedules will recommend application rates between .5lbs and 1lb of nitrogen for the health of the lawn, but you can help prevent water pollution by using a slow-release fertilizer like compost. Plant roots have to absorb nutrients in order to use them, and then they have to circulate those nutrients throughout their system in order to utilize them. For example, a 10lb bag of 12-12-12 is 12% nitrogen, 12% phosphorous, and 12% potassium. In the United States, St. Augustine is common in Hawaii, California, Texas, and Florida, where its name originates (after St. Augustine, Florida). This is our recommended fertilize schedule for Raleigh St. Augustine and Palmetto St. Augustine Grass March 1st – March 15th 24-2-11 April 15th – May 1st 28-0-3 w/organic June 1st – June 15th 19-0-6 w/crosscheck July 15th – August 1st 19-0-6 w/crosscheck September 1st – September 15th 24-2-11 or 28-0-3 w/organic October 15th – November […] There are three main components of fertilizer: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Fertilizing near or during this time will make it difficult for the grass to stop active growth, which will make it susceptible to damage from insects, diseases, and cold temperatures. A small site where one man shares his love for and knowledge of Saint Augustine grass lawns. The key to a healthy mowing schedule is to remove enough growth to trigger new growth, but not so much that the lawn is unable to recover. Fertilize with a slow-release formula, adding about 4 pound of 16-4-8 fertilizer per 1,000 square feet every 4-6 weeks. NOTICE OF CUSTODIAN OF PUBLIC RECORDS: The City of St. Augustine has designated the City Clerk, Darlene Galambos, its Custodian of Public Records pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. Chinch bugs are a major pest of St. Augustinegrass, and can cause a lot of damage. Sharpen your blade at least once per season. However, other nutrients, like phosphorus, bond too well to the soil, meaning it doesn’t leach out, but it’s also difficult for plants to absorb it. As the lawn prepares for winter, nutrient requirements lessen. The Best Fertilizer for St Augustine Grass This variety of grass does well when it is fed a fertilizer with a 4-1-2 ratio of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium or N-P-K. For example, if you go to the home improvement store and see a bag labeled 16-4-8, broken down into the least common denominator, the formula is 4-1-2. The king among these three is nitrogen. Generally, St Augustine grass can be fertilized between 2-6 times per year, all depending on your location. Summer Maintenance for St Augustine Grass Mow frequently and keep your grass at its preferred height of 2” to 3”, depending on the variety. St. Augustinegrass is the most commonly used lawn grass in Florida (Figure 1). MONTH-BY-MONTH GUIDE TO LAWN CARE (From Month-by-Month Gardening in Florida by Tom MacCubbin/additions by Lukas Nursery) JANUARY * NO fertilizer or weed/feed for St. Augustine, Zoysia, or Bahia lawns * Apply iron at one-half normal rate to renew green if needed * Apply fungicide to combat “Brown Patch” if needed * Mow, dig, and spot-kill […] St. Augustine grass is one of the most popular grasses used for lawns in South Florida. Covering many different lawn care topics relating to most aspects of lawn care practices for St Augustine grass lawns. The driving factor behind pest management is a healthy lawn. Between fertilizing, mowing, irrigating, and pest management, a healthy St. Augustine lawn can be a real labor of love. It is nearly impossible for soil to hold on to nitrogen, which is why it is so easy for nitrogen to leach into water sources. The most common fertilizers supply a balanced amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The appearance of soft leaf St Augustine grasses can become extremely pale when lawn fertilization is either forgotten or neglected. Mowing puts calculated stress on your lawn, which encourages growth as a response. GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida homeowners and contractors laying St. Augustinegrass sod this spring can save money and help the environment if they wait at least one month before fertilizing, University of Florida experts say. For clay soils, you may need to extend time between irrigation and for sandy soils, you may need to irrigate more often. It grows well in almost all types of soil. As with all lawns, attention to color rather than aggressive growth will help prevent too-frequent mowing. Nutrition and water go hand-in-hand. Advantages St. Augustinegrass produces a green to blue-green dense turf that is well adapted to most soils and climatic regions in Florida. All components of a maintenance schedule revolve around making it extremely difficult for pests to get comfortable in your lawn. Proper fertilizer choice and a timely application schedule is the key to a truly healthy St. Augustine turf. Be careful not to set the mower too low, as it may scalp the lawn. Saint Augustine has plenty of history to explore -- more than 450 years of it! Use a thicker topdressing in the spring and a thinner topdressing in the fall, when your lawn is about to slow down. They provide microbes, electrical charges, carbon, bulk, and other components of soil that fertilizers just don’t have. However, if you rely on mother nature to supply your irrigation, the fertilizer may sit and accumulate in sections of your lawn, and result in nitrogen burn when it finally sees some moisture. Thriving Yard is an affiliate for companies including Amazon Associates and earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Healthy irrigation schedules saturate the soil and then allow it to breathe. If you have established weeds, use a broadleaf weed killer, like 2-4D, and spot-treat your lawn as needed. However, this turf can be sensitive, so it’s important to implement a holistic care schedule to prevent pests, diseases, and thatch buildup. Here are the 8 Best Fertilizers for St Augustine Grass 1) Scotts Turf Builder Southern Triple Action This fertilizer is essentially three products in one. Fertilizing during this time will encourage weak, unsustainable growth that will be susceptible to disease. So, before you begin any maintenance schedule, make sure you are putting your effort into sustainable, healthy growth. Here's How to Know if a Lawn Mower Spark Plug is Bad. However, St. Augustine doesn’t have rhizomes, so it has to maintain enough top growth in order to send out runners to repair itself after mowing and to fill in bare patches of soil. Using too little fertilizer will not produce that lush, dark green color or rapid growth for which St. Augustine is known. St. Augustine goes dormant during cool weather, so a shot of fertilizer at the wrong time can force new, green growth when the plant is trying to rest. When can I begin transitioning my lawn to a regular fertilizer schedule? The more often a quick-release fertilizer is applied, the more stressed your turf will be. These amounts are represented on fertilizer bags by three numbers, like 12-12-12, 8-4-6, or 10-10-10. The only way to plant St. Augustine … This height reduction should be done just before the lawn greens up, which usually occurs during late April or early May. Don’t bag your clippings. The other 64% is fillers. To calculate the weight of each nutrient, multiply .12 by the total weight of the bag (10lbs.). Conditioners are more than a quantifiable source of vitamins and minerals. Sick lawns get sick. Saturate the soil 6” deep. Fertilizing during this time will encourage weak, unsustainable growth, which is a prime target for cooler-weather diseases like brown patch fungus. It also has a low, compact growth habit. The result is … The most common fertilizers supply a balanced amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Plants, unlike animals, don’t need to store up much nutrition for the winter. This extends the time when the lawn is most attractive. A slow-release fertilizer makes small amounts of nitrogen available over a specific length of time. This is why they are the star players in fertilizer, while the other 13 equally-important nutrients are all but ignored unless plants show signs of deficiency. To get St. Augustine grass to spread faster, plant St. Augustine during summer and make sure you lay it down the right type of soil – preferably a well-aerated soil type. It kills invasive weeds, like dollarweed and clover, but also repels and kills insects, like fire ants and fleas. Spread one pound of nitrogen fertilizer over the area with a spreader, and continue to do so every 30 to 60 days until late fall. The best fertilizer for St Augustine grass is any fertilizer that has one pound of … St. Augustine grass has a medium to dark green color with dense consistency. It tolerates modest shade but develops poorly in heavy shade. St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) is a warm weather, subtropical grass which can be found throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, western and southern Africa, the Caribbean, the Hawaiian Islands, and Oceania. To Each nutrient has a chemical makeup that determines how well it will bond to the compounds in the soil (cation exchange capacity). fertilizer with a 15-0-15 label contains 15% nitrogen, 0% phosphorus and 15% potassium. Compost is not applied like a fertilizer. Slow-release fertilizers can be synthetic or organic, but organic fertilizers provide many benefits that synthetic ones can’t. It has relatively good salt tolerance, and certain cultivars have better shade tolerance than other warm-season grass species. For best prices, order compost from a local nursery supply company. link to Lawnmower Spits Gas Out of Fuel Cap: Reasons and Fixes, link to Here's How to Know if a Lawn Mower Spark Plug is Bad, Download our FREE printable St. Augustine Fertilization And Maintenance Planner. Watering too frequently will leach nitrogen from the soil before the lawn is able to absorb much, meaning you’re washing time and money down the dirt. Unlike corporate website companies, the authors on this website regularly use many of the tips and recommendations provided in their own garden and lawncare. These fertilizers will also release supporting nutrients, but phosphorus and potassium are not as easy for plants to absorb, so plants will absorb a disproportionate amount of nitrogen before they can take in adequate amounts of phosphorous and potassium. for every 1,000 square feet of lawn. Poor environments breed pests, and you will constantly be fighting bugs, weeds, and fungi. This is much like a muscle’s response to exercise; some tissue is broken down, so the body responds by rebuilding and strengthening the area. Fertilize the St. Augustine lawn grass in late fall or early spring, when it is still brownish-yellow and starting to grow. A healthy St. Augustine lawn will choke out weeds and other grass strains. You may begin to see circular patches of brown or dead grass as your St. Augustine begins to green up. For St. Augustine, water once per week for 45 minutes – 1.5 hours, depending on your soil structure. Start the season with a shorter mowing height (2.5”) and gradually increase to 4” before summer. Fertilizers are concentrated particles of nutrients, while compost is more of a system overhaul. Thriving Yard is a privately owned website. While all turfgrass maintenance has the same underlying principles, each yard is different, and every homeowner will have a different vision for their ideal lawn. If you create a healthy environment, pests are unable to thrive, and your lawn gets to enjoy a solid, nutritious foundation. During warm weather, when St. Augustine is actively growing, it needs a consistent supply of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to grow deeper root systems, send out runners, and maintain new leaf growth. This works for any fertilizer product or amount of nitrogen. Fertilizers comprise a broad range of amendments that add some kind of nutritional benefit to the soil. Keep notes each year about what worked, what didn’t, and what you want to change next time. Multiply these percentages by the weight of the bag to determine the weight of each nutrient. Warm, humid environments are the perfect growing climate for St. Augustine. She has an A.A.S. Pests can be anything from weeds to insects to diseases. Nitrogen leaches through the soil easily, which can pollute nearby water sources. St. Augustine Grass in South Florida. Dormancy is a means of protection from cold temperatures that would otherwise kill the plant. St. Augustinegrass establishes quickly and easily and may be planted as sod, sprigs, or plugs. The main reason that St Augustine lawns lose their color throughout the year is due to lack of proper fertilization. However, it does require a decent amount of maintenance, and one of the most important things when maintaining a St Augustine lawn is fertilization. But no turfgrass fares well without proper care and maintenance. Each of the guides lay out maintenance tips for spring, summer and fall. Reduce watering and don't fertilize in Central or North Florida during the cool months. In northern areas where St Augustine will go dormant, no fertilizer is needed. The fertilizer should be used at the rate of 6 lbs. Compost is an extremely slow-release type of fertilizer, but it also helps with water retention and keeping pests at bay. Forcing a lot of green growth without a supporting root system will stress out your lawn and will require frequent reapplications to keep up a healthy appearance. Use Quality Fertilizer When Fertilizing St. Augustine Grass The proper food needed for Fertilizing St. Augustine Grass should be in granular lawn fertilizers sold at nurseries and garden centers. Healthy lawns are a product of careful planning and commitment. Other nutrients, like iron, calcium, sulfur, etc., are equally important for the plant, but less important in a fertilizer. Climate zone, weather patterns, and proximity to the coast will affect the exact timing of certain maintenance tasks. in Landscape Design/Organic Produce Production from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. Roots need an equal amount of water and oxygen in order to absorb and use nutrients. These nutrients help support root growth and other chemical processes that contribute to the whole plant structure. For example, you’ll find 24-2-11 fertilizers like this one from Lesco, best for St. Augustine grass in Florida. This will result in a strong turf that resists pests and diseases (source). Compost is the best organic, slow-release fertilizer. Most warm-season grasses spread out through above-ground runners and underground rhizomes, meaning they can be cut quite short and still fill in quickly. Insects, diseases, and weeds thrive in poor environments. Apply postemergence herbicides (e.g., atrazine) in May as needed for control of summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds such as knotweed, spurge, lespedeza, etc. This green growth may look nice, but it’s a target for fungi, and the plant isn’t aggressive enough during this time of year to fight off disease. St. Augustine takes off during the summer. Follow the 1/3rd rule, but be sure to maintain a height of at least 2.5” for St. Augustine. St. Augustine grass thrives in the hot climate of Florida. Pre-emergent weed control kills weeds before they can germinate. If you mow too short, St. Augustine will be constantly trying to get back to square one, instead of filling in your entire lawn and choking out weeds. This isn’t possible without an adequate amount of water. Keep in mind that the active part of the growing season for this turf is during the heat of summer, so most of your lawn’s ability to fight off weeds will be determined by your fertilizing/mowing schedule for mid-summer, even though weeds tend to germinate earlier and later in the season when the weather is cooler. Compost is generally labeled as a type of fertilizer, and while it does provide nutrition, it’s actually considered a soil conditioner. Mowing:Mow the lawn slightly lower than the regular summer mowing height. 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