When do you seed St. Augustine grass (month-to-month, maintenance)

[fsquid]

I'm used to the Carolinas when you got out there in October and put your seed down to replentish your lawn. Is it the same here or do you guys do it in the Spring?

[EricBoyd]

St Augustine just goes dormant during the winter months, then comes back in the spring. Be sure to water it about once every 10 days, though, so if there's a freeze, it'll come back. I've never heard of anyone seeding it, unless they're putting out some winter rye to keep the turf green.

Just my non-lawn-guy input.

[fsquid]

makes sense, also thanks to whomever gave me advice via the rep tool. very helpful

[mawipafl]

Yes indeed lawn maintenance with St. Augustine is far different. It's not a seed grass and is replaced/repaired with chunks of sod or plugs. This is the time of year to feed. Some folks do a complete feeding fertilizer in Sept., some in Oct., and some wait until November. Some also apply a weed-and-feed. As EricBoyd wrote, it does eventually go dormant during "winter", which means until then it still needs mowing and watering, and during winter your mower can probably take a breather but the lawn will still need water.

One book I like is Gardening in Florida by Tom MacCubbin. It's a month-to-month guide on all horticulture maintenance including lawns. I don't recall if I got it at Borders or Barnes & Noble - one of those bookstores.

[EricBoyd]

Here's a useful link, too: ENH5/LH010: St. Augustinegrass for Florida Lawns

[joninclay]

Yeah, you don't seed St. Auggie grass. You re-sod, either in squares or plugs.

[Robyn55]

Previous advice is good. Don't seed. We had a harsh winter - and a harsh summer - so you may have some dead spots in the lawn. If they'll small - the "runners" from the existing grass will probably fill them in in the spring. If they're larger - you'll need to resod. You can resod now - or wait until the very early spring. Don't do it in the dead middle of winter - like January (you probably won't be able to get sod then anyway). Note that there are many varieties of Augustine grass. If you re-sod - make sure you match what you have.

Run your mower over the lawn to mulch leaves that fall on it when they start coming down.

Starting with the end of daylight savings time - we can only water once a week. Water once a week (even if only for a short time). Even if the lawn could do with once every two weeks (or less often if we get a lot of rain) - most in-ground irrigation systems are "water-lubricated". If they're allowed to dry out over the winter - they'll develop leaks. Robyn

[mawipafl]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

.... Note that there are many varieties of Augustine grass. If you re-sod - make sure you match what you have ....

This site gives a list of the types of St. Augustine.

St. Augustine Grass

I believe the most prevalent one used is Floratam. It's easy to find out -- just take a small plug from your lawn to a knowledgeable nursery and they can tell you.

[wisdom777]

Put out winter rye and added fertilizer to the lawn in December. Now we're getting closer to spring and i look at the other lawns the St. Augustine is light brownish color. There are very brown spots in my lawn and when I pull some of the brown back there are very few green runner that are green. In some places its looks dead. Should I seed or put in some sod? Help
Bill

[pinetreecity]

Originally Posted by wisdom777

Put out winter rye and added fertilizer to the lawn in December. Now we're getting closer to spring and i look at the other lawns the St. Augustine is light brownish color. There are very brown spots in my lawn and when I pull some of the brown back there are very few green runner that are green. In some places its looks dead. Should I seed or put in some sod? Help
Bill

To fill in patchy areas I would put in some plugs. I think one plug for every 2 square feet works well. The plugs have better root systems than the sod. Get the plug fertilizer to help the roots take hold. Water the plugs like you would any newly planted plant. You can't get seed for St Augustine.