Balanced nutrition is at the core of a healthy lawn. For example, a 10lb bag of 12-12-12 is 12% nitrogen, 12% phosphorous, and 12% potassium. … St. Augustine is a beautiful, lush, frustratingly high-maintenance turfgrass. Chinch bugs are a major pest of St. Augustinegrass, and can cause a lot of damage. If you've got a lawn mower that isn't working properly, there are ways you can tell if it's your spark plug or another engine part that is the problem. In April I put down Scotts Bonus S not long after the new sod had taken hold to get things to green up and control any weeds. It kills invasive weeds, like dollarweed and clover, but also repels and kills insects, like fire ants and fleas. During cooler weather, St. Augustine is susceptible to many different fungi and diseases that thrive in cool, moist environments. While all turfgrass maintenance has the same underlying principles, each yard is different, and every homeowner will have a different vision for their ideal lawn. Sharpen your blade at least once per season. Proper fertilizer choice and a timely application schedule is the key to a truly healthy St. Augustine turf. St. Augustine goes dormant once the soil reaches 550. Fertilizing during this time will encourage weak, unsustainable growth that will be susceptible to disease. However, it does require a decent amount of maintenance, and one of the most important things when maintaining a St Augustine lawn is fertilization. Follow the 1/3rd rule, but be sure to maintain a height of at least 2.5” for St. Augustine. Apply postemergence herbicides (e.g., atrazine) in May as needed for control of summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds such as knotweed, spurge, lespedeza, etc. Using too little fertilizer will not produce that lush, dark green color or rapid growth for which St. Augustine is known. Todetermine the amount of fertilizer product required to apply 0.5 pound of nitrogen per thousand square feet,divide 0.5 by the first number (%) in the fertilizer ratio. It also has a low, compact growth habit. When to fertilize your lawn depends on a few things, but the biggest rule is to fertilize only when your lawn is actively growing. Compost is an extremely slow-release type of fertilizer, but it also helps with water retention and keeping pests at bay. Warm, humid environments are the perfect growing climate for St. Augustine. Use a thicker topdressing in the spring and a thinner topdressing in the fall, when your lawn is about to slow down. Sick lawns get sick. If you have established weeds, use a broadleaf weed killer, like 2-4D, and spot-treat your lawn as needed. And, just like a muscle, a lawn can only repair itself if it has adequate nutrition. However, it does not endure flooded land or prolonged periods of cold weather. This is the time to begin fertilizing. Apply compost as a topdressing in the spring and in the fall to help build up healthy topsoil and replace a few synthetic fertilizer applications. St. Augustinegrass produces a green to blue-green dense turf that is well adapted to most soils and climatic regions in Florida. This site is a participant in affiliate programs such as Amazon Associates and earns from qualifying purchases. Healthy irrigation schedules saturate the soil and then allow it to breathe. So, before you begin any maintenance schedule, make sure you are putting your effort into sustainable, healthy growth. Fertilizing during this time will encourage weak, unsustainable growth, which is a prime target for cooler-weather diseases like brown patch fungus. Fertilize the St. Augustine lawn grass in late fall or early spring, when it is still brownish-yellow and starting to grow. Be careful not to set the mower too low, as it may scalp the lawn. Fertilizing Your Florida Lawn. St. Augustinegrass is the most commonly used lawn grass in Florida (Figure 1). If you are looking for a natural lawn fertilizer that is safe for pets and children, be sure to read this article. St. Augustine goes dormant during cool weather, so a shot of fertilizer at the wrong time can force new, green growth when the plant is trying to rest. The key to a healthy mowing schedule is to remove enough growth to trigger new growth, but not so much that the lawn is unable to recover. Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are absolutely crucial for plant growth and health and are also the most difficult nutrients to maintain in soil. Examples provided of tested products are actual products owned, tested, and used regularly by the author. It has relatively good salt tolerance, and certain cultivars have better shade tolerance than other warm-season grass species. With the right nutrition, hydration, and physical maintenance, it’s easier to fight off disease and stay healthy. Roots need an equal amount of water and oxygen in order to absorb and use nutrients. Divide 100 by 15 to get 6.6; this is the number of pounds of slow-release fertilizer needed to apply one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. For clay soils, you may need to extend time between irrigation and for sandy soils, you may need to irrigate more often. When can I begin transitioning my lawn to a regular fertilizer schedule? For best prices, order compost from a local nursery supply company. They increase the overall health of the soil, which makes fertilizers even more effective because it creates a healthy foundation for the lawn to grow into (source). Climate zone, weather patterns, and proximity to the coast will affect the exact timing of certain maintenance tasks. What causes fuel to sputter from a lawnmower's gas cap, and can the issue be fixed? We’ve included a detailed maintenance schedule/tracker in our free printable download. Note: Preemergence herbicides will not control weeds which are actively growing. If you mow too short, St. Augustine will be constantly trying to get back to square one, instead of filling in your entire lawn and choking out weeds. She has an A.A.S. These amounts are represented on fertilizer bags by three numbers, like 12-12-12, 8-4-6, or 10-10-10. These nutrients help support root growth and other chemical processes that contribute to the whole plant structure. In a hurry? A healthy St. Augustine lawn will choke out weeds and other grass strains. It provides all of the 16 nutrients that plants need to thrive, plus it introduces beneficial microbes and compounds that support the overall health of the entire lawn. Do not apply fertilizer until you’ve applied a systemic fungicide at a curative rate and your grass has recovered. After you’ve mowed a few times, the lawn will be triggered to grow deeper roots and to send out runners to fill in bare patches of soil. Saturate the soil 6” deep. Plants, unlike animals, don’t need to store up much nutrition for the winter. The appearance of soft leaf St Augustine grasses can become extremely pale when lawn fertilization is either forgotten or neglected. But, it will provide sustainable nutrition that supports your plants as a whole. The fertilizer should be used at the rate of 6 lbs. This will result in a strong turf that resists pests and diseases (source). St. Augustine takes off during the summer. Mowing:Mow the lawn slightly lower than the regular summer mowing height. This height reduction should be done just before the lawn greens up, which usually occurs during late April or early May. Small doses will result in a slow, controlled top growth during the growing season along with supporting nutrients to encourage root growth. This is why they are the star players in fertilizer, while the other 13 equally-important nutrients are all but ignored unless plants show signs of deficiency. 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