Has anyone ever started St Augustine grass from seed???
St Augustine Grass
Why would you want to?.....it's just a weed. They don't because, from what I heard and it's probably an ol' wives tale, that the birds will eat it before it will germinate.
There!! for what it's worth..
Nancy Lee
What part of town are you?
St. Augustine grass is usually sprigged ( planted vegetatively) because very few seeds are produced. Perennial grasses such as St. Augustine usually don't produced seed unless the plant is stressed and in danger of dying. That would be counterproductive to a seller. There is also the problem of viability. It can be low.
Are you trying to start a lawn? There are a handful of St. Augustine varieties. You may want to look at the different varieties. St. Augustine some good features and some bad ones. It is subject to a few diseases such as brown spot. On the other hand, It tolerates shade whereas many other grasses need ful sunlight. Drive around some neighborhoods in Ft. Lauderdale and see what most people are using or contact a grass expert at a local university. They are usually quite helpful.
BettyDee
Thank you..I inherited a lawn in poor shape..I'm doing good getting rid of the weeds, but I'm leaving bare spots in the process...Cooper City
There are two newer kinds of St Augustine grass, Floratam and Palmetto, that are resistant to the SAD(St Augustine Decline) virus and chinch bugs. TX had a big problem with SAD and now hardly anyone plants the original St Augustine but uses Floratam instead. Floratam has purpley stems. They sell it down here as either sod or plugs. Plugs are easier to use when filling in bare places. Sod is easier to use on new ground. When you use St Augustine of any type you can't use the standard "weed and feed" fertilize because it is sensitive to 2,4-D type weed killer. They sell special St Augustine type weed and feed fertilize.
I 've used the St. Augustine type weed and feed fertilizer, but I usually ended up digging up weeds anyway. There is a PBS program here in central Texas called Central Texas Gardener. An Extension Agent is part of the regular part of the show and he doesn't recommend using the combination of fertilizer and herbicide. The reason being the best time to use them do not coincide. Use fertilizer before the grass is actively growing and you're feeding weeds.
Healthy St. Augustine cover the bare spots pretty quickly this summer. A little top dressing with some good compost will help.
BettyDee
I wasn't happy with the weed and feed either, but lots of people use it. Just added that little bit of info because he said he was fighting weeds.
About the only weed I get in the St Augustine is burr clover.
To repair a lawn where weeds have been removed, we usually go to the edge of flower beds and pull healthy springs of St. Augustine, stick 2 or 3 nodes under ground and water in good. They take root very quickly when the weather gets warmer in a few of weeks.
Mothernature4, I do that too. Seems like the St Augustine loves the loose dirt in the flowerbeds and goes crazy but isn't hard to pull out. I cut mine into sections and root them in the little cell packs you get annuals in.