The Grass Doctor

Can I successfully grow St. Augustine grass without a sprinkler system? I have crab grass (I think it's aka Bermuda grass) and I really want to have St. Augustine grass but my parents told me it may not flourish without a sprinkler system. I can't afford to install one so my only option would be to use a basic sprinkler w/a hose. I have a large yard so the grass alone will likely cost well over $1000 - can someone please tell me if I'm wasting my time? Thanks so much! P.S. I live in Florida and my soil seems to be quite sandy.

How can I make St. Augustine grass greener this time of the year? I have st augustine grass and I have patches of good and bad. How can I make it all green? I already used winterizer two weeks ago. Is there anything else I could do?

How (and when) do I grow St Augustine grass in the desert? Currently have a Bermuda grass lawn and am located in Imperial County, CA. Bought two trays of St Augustine grass about a month ago (mid July). Tried breaking it up and spreading plugs around. Now almost all of it is dead. Would prefer to do it right the next time.

How do you get St. Augustine grass to spread into other areas? I have beautiful St. Augustine grass throughout much of my lawn, except for some splotchy areas. I read on wikipedia that: "St. Augustine does not produce a viable seed, so it must be propogated by plugs, sprigs, or sod. Once the grasses are cultivated, then they can propagate on their own." So f you can plant a plug and it can spread, how do you encourage that?

Is there any chemical I can use to kill common Bermuda grass in St. Augustine grass? I might add, my St. Augustine is of the old variety . On the south side of my house it has choked out all other grass and looks great. But on the west and north sides its not doing so good.

Is there seed to plant St. Augustine grass or is there just sods? I want seed to plant St. Augustine grass.

When is the right time of year to plant St. Augustine grass seed ? I live in So Cal and had St. Augustine sod installed in July. There are some bare spots on the lawn and I'd like to know the proper time of year to plant grass seed in the bare spots. Is March too early?

What is the best fertilizer to put on St. Augustine grass in California? My St. Augustine grass is turning tan and it should be green. I live in Southern CA and I would like to know what brand fertilizer to use to green it up.

how do I get st.augustine grass on my back yard? I moved into a new home and no grass is added in the back yard. It has been 6 months and weed and other junk has grown on it. What is the process to get rid of this and then add St. Augustine sods? Do I need to add sod everywhere? Please provide thoughts or a process. Thanks.

What to do if St. Augustine grass is accidentally cut too short? So I get home today to discover two gentlemen in my yard cutting my grass. Turns out they thought they were at a different address (????). Anyway - they totally cut our St. Augustine too low, and shredded parts of it. Some areas the roots are showing. We are really upset and just wondering if anyone has any tips to help keep it healthy while it heals from this abuse. Notes: we are in central Texas in late August and temperatures are HIGH. We have been watering it aggressively since this occurred but any other advice is very much appreciated!

How to weed and feed St Augustine grass? Last summer, 2009, in central California, I planted patches of grass, and they started to sprout out. This year, the entire back yard should be covered with St Augustine grass. However, the various types of weeds keep growing and I have to pull them out just to keep pulling them out each week. What weed and feed should I use, and that is safe for pets? The closest one I found was Pennington weed and feed, but it is not safe for pets. Or, would a 20-0-0 fertilizer be good enough for the grass?

What can I use to kill Chickweed and similar weeds in St. Augustine grass in Houston, TX? I have used liquid weed killers in the past that said "safe for lawns" only to realize they can not be used on St. Augustine. It worked really well killing the weeds but also killed the grass everywhere I sprayed it. I would rather not put down a weed-and-feed since the grass is growing so fast already. Thanks for your ideas.

What is the best fertilizer for St Augustine grass in Texas? What is the best fertilizer for St Augustine grass in Texas?

What fertilizer is good for St. Augustine grass as Spring approaches? I live in Florida and spring is about 4-6 weeks away. I have St. Augustine grass that appears to have done well in the winter. It's actually greened up a little in the last few weeks. Some weeds have made their way in a few areas but most of the lawn is in good shape. What type of fertilizer would be good to apply before Spring is here? And should I apply it before spring or right at spring? Should it be with more iron or more nitrogen, etc, etc...

How to grow St. Augustine Grass without seeds? I have St. Augustine Grass and i wanted to know how can i make grass grow in the spots that don't have grass without going and spending money on grass seeds? I don't want to go out and buy some.

Is it okay to mix Zoysia with St Augustine grass ? I have St. Augustine grass in my backyard. Most of the grass in the shaded sections of the yard is dead, and so I was thinking of putting new sod in. The landscape guy recommended Zoysia in the well shaded sections of the yard and said it is better shade tolerant than St. Augustine. Plus he said the grasses are similar looking and so mixing Zoysia with the existing St. Augustine will not look bad. Has anyone tried this before ? Would you recommend ?

Does St. Augustine Grass (Palametto) go through a seeding period like other grasses? I have St. Augustine grass and there appears to be a shoots of grass coming up and appears to have seeds. Is this possible? I thought this type of grass did not seed. This is only our second summer with this sod and I did not notice this last year?

How do can i repair St. Augustine grass? I am pulling banyard grass from my St. Agustine lawn. However, when i pull the barnyard grass i also pull out the good st. augustine grass. What is the best way to repair my lawn after i pull the good grass out? i live in Central Florida.

How do I stop St. Augustine grass from spreading? My next door neighbor, planted St. Augustine grass on his front lawn. It has "jumped over" the driveway and is taking root in my beautiful, soft, luscious bermuda grass front yard. Is there some treatment I can use, to eliminate the St. Augustine grass that is now threatening to overwhelm my lawn, without damage to my bermuda grass?

How to get rid of Bermuda grass in my St. Augustine lawn? I live in Houston, Texas. I have St. Augustine grass in my front and back yard. But there're some areas of Bermuda grass growing in the front yard that I would like to get rid of. I did try Weeds Killer but that did not work. Does anybody have any recommendations on how to get rid of the Bermuda grass in my St. Augustine lawn? Thanks, Kenny

Can you have a nice lawn in Florida that is not St. Augustine grass? All the nice lawns I see here are St. Augustine grass. I dont have St Augustine, nor can I afford to put it in at this time. Is there any economical way to make my yard look good? I'm afraid I have more weeds than grass. Also, I have lots of bare spots. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!!

How can I fix my St. Augustine grass lawn? I live near Jacksonville, FL -- and my lawn has never looked worse. It looks to be dying in certain areas. The St. Augustine grass looks more like dry straw in parts instead of just simply being brown. What's the best thing to do right now? Should I let it go until spring or should I call a company like Scotts or TrueGreen to look at it now? I added Scotts Fungicide to it (through the spreader -- not through a hose), and if possible -- it made it look slightly worse.

Is it possible? To grow St. Augustine Grass in parts of my yard that don't have grass? I have St. Augustine Grass and i wanted to know how can i make grass grow in the spots that don't have grass without going and spending money on grass seeds? I don't want to go out and buy some. Do i use grass clippings or what? I live in Cali

St Augustine grass: I have yellow and brown blades in some areas, how to fix it? My yard has come a long way. I need to know how to stop my blades from yellowing. In some areas the grass is yellow with healthy green in other areas. In another section of my yard, there are bald spots and I can see the dirt, and in other areas it is just the runner root of my st augustine grass with no blades on it, and the runners are brown. Do you think I have a bug problem or do you think its fungus. What product should I use? HELP!!!

How can I tell if my grass is a St. Augustine variety? I'm applying a weed killer for "dollar weed" and it says it should only be used on St. Augustine grasses. Wouldn't want to kill the lawn.

Is there a crabgrass killer for St. Augustine Grass? Hi there, My lawn is pretty much weed feed with exception of crabgrass, which is growing in some of my barer spots in my backyard. It's really stubborn to get rid of. I'm thinking of getting a killer for it, but every crabgrass killer I find is not safe for St. Augustine Grass. Any advice?

st augustine grass died this spring, wanting to put in bermuda how do i get started? I have had 2 bad years with the st augustine and being a single parent have to watch what i spend, heard that bermuda doesn't need to be watered like st augustine and since i do all my own yard work need info on seeding bermuda. there already is some bermuda growning in my front yard and back. how do i get started?

When planting St Augustine grass, how big do the plugs have to be? Purchased 2 trays of St Augustine and I'm not sure how big or small the plugs should be.

What to do about dead St. Augustine grass from no water and alot of sun? We just leased a home for 2 years and will be moving in Nov. 2008. The back yard has not been watered and we have not had much rain here in Houston Texas this summer. The yard is just brown grass(st. aug) and weeds. Is the grass completely dead or is there something we can do now to assure regrowth in the spring? Dethatching? Winterizing? Fertilizing in Feb.? Thanks for your help!

What can I use to kill the bermuda grass 5 foot patch growing in my St. Augustine grass? Is there anything (legal or not) that will kill it and not the St. Augustine before it overtakes my yard? Thank you!

How can I help St. Augustine grass push out Bermuda grass.? I am in central Texas and my mother in laws grass is a mixture of bermuda and st. augustine. i noticed today that the bermuda is slowly growing over the st. augustine. i would like the yard to be all st. augustine, because the nieghbors on each side have st. augustine.

How do sod farms grow St. Augustine grass? Home Depot and Lowes both sell St. Augustine sod, but neither sells St. Augustine grass seed. And both stores tell me that St. Augustine cannot be grown from seed - you have to either buy plugs or sod. But if this is true, how do sod farms produce it?

What's wrong with my St. Augustine grass? My St. Augustine grass has flourished all summer. In the last ten days my yard has developed large circular brown spots all over it. I water it a bit every day. It hasn't been cool enough for the yard to start dying yet; I live in Texas. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Why does the St. Augustine grass in my yard grow tall and hard rather than branch out as runners? The grass in my yard seems to grow tall and has little buds on the tops of the blades. They are almost stalks rather than blades. They are also kind of tough and hurt your feet when walking on them. It's like they're little pieces of wood (not quite that hard though). I've fertilized and watered plenty but the yard looks different than my neighbor's whose yard you could walk on with bare feet like carpet.

What is this growing on my St. Augustine grass? Today I noticed some small fuzzy like structures on my St. Augustine lawn on the seed stems. It almost looks like tiny bird feathers sitting on the individual seeds on the stem. I think it might be a fungus since it recently appeared (this is 2 week old installed sod) and we've had a lot of rain lately. Not to mention I live in a very humid environment (NC). Anyone seen this before?

How do I correctly transplant St Augustine grass? I live in the Inland Empire in So Cal. Grass is where I want a bed. I'm planning to dig up in sections and planting pieces of my sod. I know plenty of water is necessary.

how to get st. augustine grass to spread in your yard? dug a trench through yard for new plumbing. No seed or sod in the area. We live in Memphis tn. I've heard that St. Augustine spreads really well on it's own.

What is this grass disease in St. Augustine? Last year I plaanted St. Augustine grass in my yard. Now the leaf bleades have yellow motting. I am not a master gardner. what is the name of the turf grass disease?

Will a weed killer kill my baby Avocado trees and will it burn my St. Augustine grass? also can i spread the grass food and weed killer at the same time? i have two baby avocado trees and my lawn has been overtaken by weeds.

How do I make St. Augustine grass take over? I've got St. Austine grass, but it doesn't look like it's completely dominating the rest of the yard (and it hasn't for a while, even though it's one of the most dominant grasses). What can I do to make my yard completely one type of grass?

What's the best pesticide for chinch bugs in St. Augustine grass? I live Florida with St. Augustine grass.

Will over seeding with Bermuda get rid of St Augustine grass? My neighbor has their St Augustine grass creeping over into my yard..We do not like St Augustine grass at all..The long vines of growth are easy to trip over...Our yard is Bermuda grass..If I mow the St Augustine grass real short in that spot in my yard and over seed it with Bermuda grass..will it crowd out the St. Augustine...I have tripped over that St. Augustine way too many times to count....

What maintenance does st. augustine grass need during the fall and right before winter? Specifics things the grass needs such as N-P-K fertilizer, aeration and watering during the fall season.

How to protect St Augustine Grass? We just bought a new home and the builder planted ST. Augustine Grass, but the yard has no shade. We have since planted some trees for shade, but what can we do in the mean time? We live in Texas. Is there a product out there that will protect it from the summer heat?

I planted St.Augustine grass in my front yard one year ago, but failed to level the ground under the grass? Now the grass is very bumpy. Besides ripping up the grass and resoding, are there any options to get the grass level?

What can I use to get rid of dandelions and clovers on St. Augustine Grass.? I used fertilizer and grass got green but I now have clovers and dandelions. Scotts is not reccomended and I have used it before but have burned my grass. Help I am being overgrown

What is an excellent product to buy for killing weeds with St. Augustine grass? Florida: I tried Scotts Weed and Feed and it turned my backyard into Hay to say the least. The grass is growing back but I am not interested in making the same mistake.

What is the best fertilizer to use for St. Augustine grass, to promote a healthy green color and kill weeds? I live in Central Florida and the humidity is high and the heat index can be very high as well. I also want to make sure that the turf is strong.

The St. Augustine grass in our development is yellow and burned in a few areas. How can we get it back? The gardeners here cut it down way too much for one thing. And may be over or under watering it as well. Where we live it's hot right now! Can i put some fertilizer on these bad spots? What kind?

How many days a week should i water my St. Augustine grass in Houston, TX? i heard watering grass everyday is not a good thing because it leads to shallow rooting? is this true?

I recently fertilized my St.Augustine grass with Scott's fertilizer and? a few days later my grass is dying. What can be done to save it. Will it all die or if I water it enough will it come back? Right I got that scotts is terrible but how does that help me now?

Best methods for maintaining St. Augustine Grass? I am use to Fescue, so St. Augustine is new to me? How often should I water? Fertilize? How do I green it up?

What is the cheapest, but easy way to aeriate my st. augustine grass yard? I have mostly clay soil and there are some parts of the lawn that are green but are not thick like other areas... is this an aeriation problem or thatching? help me decide which..... I have used a Robowmower for four (4) years and it's great! It is a great compromise between using a lawn service and mowing it yourself. I saw some aeriation shoes on line (kinda funky spiked shoes but I wonder if they really do the trick...)

what's a good seed mix to fill in st Augustine grass spots? I have st Augustine grass in both front and backyards. There are some dry/dead spots i would like to fill in...wondering whats a good seed mix to fill in those spots that will blend well with st Augustine grass

Anyone have a good recommendation for getting rid of dollarweed on St Augustine grass? Reals answers please!? I have a dollarweed infestation on my lawn. What can I do to get rid of it while still maintaining the integrity of said lawn? I bought some stuff from a local gardening store that was supposed to do the job, but it was absolutely useless. Thanks, in advance. Thanks for the info, Rustskip. I will try it.

Will swimming pool salt generators harm my St. Augustine grass here in Florida? Are there steps to minimize i I have a new pool and we've been raining constantly. The pool drain has been operative allowing all the excess water to drain onto my new sod. I'm concerned it may hurt the new sod.

how do i get rid of st. augustine grass? i would like to grow bramuda insted but i heard st. augustie was dominit. how do i get rid of it?

I just planted the st augustine grass sod in a place that i cant get anything to grow will it grow there? WHAT IS A GOOD STARTER FERTILIZER? HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD I PUT ON IT? HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE ROOTS TAKE HOLT?

What is the best fertilizer to use on St. Augustine grass, and kill weeds at the same time?

How hard is it to plant St. Augustine grass if you currently have Bermuda? I live in Northeastern TX.

Why can't you buy "St Augustine" grass seed? I can buy all the other types of grass seeds at Home Depot, etc.., but it seems like no easily accessable store sells the St augustine style. Is it so I have to buy those half-dead square pieces of sod to throw in my yard?

what is an easy way to pull up st. augustine grass? i trying to make a garden but i am having trouble with pulling up the grass

what is the best way to kill broadleaf weeds on St augustine grass and what is the best time?

fungus infected St. Augustine grass? I bought a commercial strength fungicide (thick yellow stuff) which I sprayed all over my St. Augustine lawn (which has lots of brown patches caused by a fungus). I followed instructions, using a pump sprayer, using the correct dilution, correct amount, etc. etc. Now, 3 hours later, we have had an afternoon thunderstorm with lots of rain. Does this mean that it will be washed away and not effective? Do I need to re-apply it tomorrow? Or can I wait 7-10 days, as it says on the container? Also, do you have any tips for making sure the fungus doesn't come back? I know it's caused by having it wet overnight, but I can't stop it from raining, can I. Once I have this cured (hopefully!) how often should I keep applying the fungicide to prevent it from coming back? Crabgrass and other weeds are now growing where the grass has been killed by the fungus. Why doesn't the fungus kill them as well??? I'm going to dig them up and hope that the grass grows back before they do. Any tips?

I think that i burnt my st augustine grass with Scotts weed and feed with the purple label,? How do i get my grass back green? Will I have to resod? Help!

Where I can but St Augustine grass seeds online? Please let me know where online I can buy these. Thanks!

Maintenance on St. Augustine grass? I'm in Southern California and I have St. Augustine grass. The front yard has patches of perfect green thick blades of grass mostly in the center, the sides and edges are becoming dry and thinning out. Athough we water it daily, those dry areas still crack when you step on them. Someone told me to try to find someone to thatch it and/or aerate it. What exactly does that do to the lawn and where can I find someone to do it?

Name of the best product for chinch bugs and mole crickets on St. Augustine grass? I 'msodding my front yard after it was destroyed by chinch bugs it is completley dead and I don want it to happen again. Oh !yes I have a sprinkler system too in place now.

Can guinea pigs eat St. Augustine grass the same as timothy hay? I'm looking for a grass I can grow for my guinea pig that I'm not allergic to.

How can you tell what variety of St. Augustine grass you have in your yard? I got about 5 sprigs out of my sister-in-laws lawn in 1994, now its got about half of my yard covered, its got chinch bugs.

I have St. Augustine grass (floratam). What is best weed killer and when should I use? I have used Scott's weed and feed but weeds prevail. Because it is the Floratam variety I can't use many products because the grass is killed along with the weeds.

"Needle Like" Grass/Weeds growing in St. Augustine? I live in North Houston, TX and I have a small patch (3' x 3') of St. Augustine Grass that is slowly being taken over by some sort of weed that looks like green pine needles sticking out of the ground. They don't grow very tall, roughly 3-4" taller than the St. Augustine but it grows very fast. I pick what I can and in two days, it has returned. It is starting to spread so I want to stop it before it becomes more of a problem. Anyone know what I'm dealing with and how to go about getting rid of it? After looking at pictures, I don't think it's nutgrass. It doesn't bloom and it doesn't have leaves. It is literally like green pine needles sticking up from the ground. While picking them, once in a while I'll get a root, which is red, that has half a dozen or so needles.

what is a good fertilizer, insect killer, weed killer, and turf builder for st. augustine grass in jax,fl? my yard was sodded with st augstine grass about 4 weeks ago and i'm new to yard maintence so i could use some advice and a schedule of when to put down the product, if possible.

what is the difference between Bermuda and St Augustine grass?

How do you get rid of brown spots in st augustine grass?

How long can St augustine grass go without water during summer?

I have recently planted pathches of St. Augustine grass, but we have had a lot of stickers come up...? and crab grass, what can we use to get rid of the stickers but not kill the new grass? We were told to use 20-20-10 fertilizer by a landscaping company, but have had no luck in finding some locally. Can any one give me some other advice?

has anyone had success killing chickweed in bahia and st augustine grass.? I was told that the product Image is the best thing for chickweed. Has anyone in Florida used it and what kind of results did you have. I am in Tampa.

How can I keep my St. Augustine grass green during the winter months?

I am having problems with dead spots in my St Augustine Grass. Tips? ? I inheirited the most beautiful lawn. I have mowed and watered and used St Augustine Fertilizer. I am sadly watching my lawn turn into brown patches. please any hints? Should I bag my grass?