The Trick To Taking Care Of Saint Augustine Grass
Saint Augustine Grass is one of the best types of grass to grow in warm, humid areas, and is very popular in Florida. It can grow well in a variety of soil types, as long as you know a few basics about how to properly take care of it. During dry times, water the Saint Augustine lawn for around a half or an hour with sprinklers two times a week. When it is the wet season of the year, only water the grass when it is needed. You will be able to tell that the lawn needs watering when the grass begin to wilt. The individual blades will begin to fold, and turn from green to a more bluish-green color.
When it is time to mow your Saint Augustine grass, put the mower on a high setting. If you set the mower to cut the grass too low, it will damage the grass and reduce the grass’s root growth. When you mow the lawn, go ahead and leave the extra grass clippings on top of the grass. These clippings actually put nutrients back into the soil, keeping the grass healthy. Leaving the clippings also can reduce the need to fertilize the grass. If there is too much grass and the clippings are in piles all over the lawn, then just let the clippings dry out and then scatter them over the lawn.
Approximately two weeks after the beginning of springtime, it is a good idea to apply a low-phosphorous fertilizer to the grass. If you do a good job of fertilizing your lawn, it will greatly increase the overall health of your lawn. Proper fertilization can even reduce Saint Augustine’s susceptibility to weeds, insects, and disease. However, if you over-apply the fertilizer, or the fertilizer does not actually get to the grass, there is a possiblity that the fertilizer will leach through the soil or runoff the grass and go into the sewer system.
You can apply the fertilizer again anywhere from once to five times through the fall season. You do not need to do this, but it will make the lawn greener. Even with the best of care, however, Saint Augustine grass is generally not able to stay green throughout the winter months, but should become greener again after fertilization when it is springtime.
If you begin to notice that your lawn is getting brown patches with bare roots showing throughout, it probably means that you have a bug problem. The kind of bug that causes these brown spots are called chinch bugs. You will need to purchase insecticide that is specifically labeled to kill chinch bugs to get rid of them.
