Houston Lawn & Garden

There are lots of good articles out there regarding the maintenance of St. Augustine lawns. I’ve taken the best of the best and summarized it here along with personal experience. Enjoy.

Sun

It likes a lot of sun. It doesn’t do as well in the shade. Moderate shade is OK, but in densely shaded areas it doesn’t grow as thick. It will get patchy.

Water

You have to keep it watered, at least once a week to keep it looking good. Remember to water more in the summer because of evaporation.

On the other hand, it doesn’t do well in standing water conditions. Make sure you have good drainage to deal with those intense rain storms we get from time to time here.

Fertilizer

Here is where you will see differing opinions on what to use and when to use it depending upon where you look. The most common formulation you’ll see in the stores is a 3-1-2 mixture (3 parts Nitrogen, 1 part Phosphorous, 2 part Potassium), like 21-7-14 or 15-5-10. I have had the best luck with a 2-0-1 formulation that I put down when the first signs of Spring arrive.

It’s the Nitrogen in the fertilizer that is responsible for the color and growth rate. The Potassium promotes roots growth and helps the grass through cold and dry periods. Phosphorous is needed primarily for newer lawns and promotes spreading.

Additional applications can be done, but no more than every other month. The Nitrogen sure makes the lawn look good, but too much attracts insects and disease.

Aeration

Next to the essentials above, aeration is probably one of the most beneficial things you can do for your lawn. It helps it to breath and keeps the top soil loose to promote spreading which give your lawn thickness. There are a number of ways to do this, but the most practical way for me is to wear spiked shoes while out working on the lawn.

Insects

By far the most destructive little bugger is the white grub worm. This is the June Bug larvae. They eat the roots and can cause significant damage. I’ve only had to deal with it once in 25 years, so it’s not too common. When it did happen, I had to call out a professional lawn treatment company to treat the affected area. If anyone knows the secret formula for getting rid of these guys, PLEASE SHARE!

Disease

Most diseases that the lawn is exposed to is fungal (go figure in this humid climate). Spraying a fungicide in the affected and surrounding areas usually does the trick.