Shade or partial shade. St. Augustine is thick, lush and evergreen in ideal settings. The visibly folded blades are rounded at the tip. This is the go-to turfgrass for moderate shade under big trees, as long as soils are at least 8-12 inches deep. It often looks happiest in the dappled shade under a pecan tree — because where pecans are thriving, soils are likely to be fairly deep. ‘Floratam’ is a drought-hardy cultivar that can be used on sunnier sites.
St. Augustine shouldn’t be cut shorter than 3 inches; raise the mower blades and mow it every 10 days or so during the warm season. In dry summers you may need to provide St. Augustine 1/2 inch of supplemental water on a weekly basis. To prevent fungal diseases, do it in the morning and avoid wetting it at night.
In winter St. Augustine normally goes dormant; monthly rainfall is usually sufficient to keep the roots moist until March or April.
