St. Augustinegrass

Sorghum halepense

St. Augustinegrass is a warm-season turf grass that grows quickly in the summer months before slowing in the spring and fall. St. Augustinegrass offers a particularly coarse and spongy feel. Out of all of the warm-season grasses, St. Augustinegrass is the most shade-tolerant, though it isn't typically recommended for high-traffic areas. Instead, it is often used for decorative lawns and other general purpose lawns throughout the southeastern United States.

Identify

St. Augustinegrass can be identified by its leaves that are rolled at the bud and ligules that consist of a short fringe of hairs. The collars of this turf grass are broad, smooth and very constricted, and the auricles are absent. The leaf blades are probably the most identifiable feature of St. Augustinegrass. Smooth, very short and at least 1/4 of an inch wide, the leaf blades have a boat-shaped tip and take a 90-degree angle from the sheath at the collar. Seed heads form a thick spike with a few thick, elliptical spikelets embedded along the sides.

Life Cycle

Care

St. Augustinegrass tolerates cold weather poorly, and it can become weedy or invasive, sometimes making proper turf grass management programs more intensive.

Characteristic Chart