St. Augustine grass is a fairly common grass in the southern United States and is grown ornamentally for many purposes. Unfortunately, St. Augustine seeds are practically unavailable, and because of certain qualities of the grass it is planted in different ways than through seed dispersal.
St. Augustine grass is a durable dark green-blue grass that is grown in southern states such as Florida and Texas. While it prefers a humid climate, it is also tolerant of salty conditions and can be very hardy, which makes it especially useful as a lawn grass in many areas. However, the grass is expensive and does not perform well under certain conditions, including droughts or invasions of the chinch bug.
St. Augustine grass seeds are hard to find and may only show up on occasion at local nurseries where St. Augustine is grown. Many attempts have been made at cultivating a St. Augustine seed for sale, but the grass has certain characteristics that make it very difficult to produce commercially. It does not always produce seeds season to season, and the seeds that it does produce tend to be weak and difficult to keep viable for long periods
Since seeds are so difficult to produce, and even the best seed crops of St. Augustine grass are weak, gardeners must turn to other methods of planting the grass. Sometime plugs of the grass are taken from an existing bed and transplanted into the soil of a new bed, where they can grow and spread to form a new lawn. St. Augustine grass sod is available from sod farms to be planted in a yard or garden. Theses forms of vegetative propagation are generally more dependable than using the grass seed itself.
If a grower tries one of the newest St. Augustine varieties which are being marketed as an alternative to planting by plugs or sod, he should encourage the weaker seeds with rich soil and plenty of fertilizer. Insulation is very important, because the seeds are very weak against cold. They must be covered with a layer of soil to protect them from the air, and preferably planted in an area that receives abundant sunlight.
Once St. Augustine begins to sprout, it will tend to grow thickly, more thickly than most lawn grasses. Because of this thickness, growers should mow it at a higher level than other grasses, to avoid ripping the grass by its roots. A strong layer of St. Augustine's will resist weeds effectively, so if there are weed problems, the lawn should be watered more frequently and grown to be more dense. The dense St. Augustine fibers will provide a thick mat which weeds cannot penetrate.
