Well first off I can tell you what kind of SA it is. It is called Raleigh as it is the only variety that can possible grow that far north.

The other thing I can tell you is wait till next spring, it is way to late in the year to try to sprig SA. I would encourage you to consider sod rather than sprigs. In the sunny areas the Bermuda will dominate, and in the shady areas the SA will do fine.

Bummer. I have already put down a few hundred plugs. It says hot here until at least late September. You don't think any will root in that time? Should I kill off the Bermuda this fall in anticipation of plugging Augustine there next spring perhaps? That area gets moderate sun. About 3-4 hours of direct and that has seemd to be enough to keep the Bermuda going thus far.

Bummer. I have already put down a few hundred plugs.

I thought you said your sprigging? Plugs and Sprigs are very different.

Which one is it?

Sorry, they are sprigs. Little root growth at each joint. I dipped them in Rootone before planting.

keith there is the problem with sprigging, it is very labor intensive. Saint Augustime is especially difficult to sprig because it has to be done just right by cutting so you have at least one node, dipping it in rooting compound, and some delicate planting techniques.

Might I dare suggest this. By one pallet of SA, cut into 4" x 4" plugs and plant on 1-foot centers. Or sod they darn thing and be done with it.

I'm sold on your plan. Do I have to wait until next spring? Do you have an suggestions on where I can find a pallet of Raleigh SA? Although there are quite a few yards with it around here I don't recall ever seeing any at any local of the local HW stores. Thanks for the help!

Looks like I am out of luck on buy St Augustine locally. I tried all of the local turf and garden shops an no one sells it.

kieth where are you at in Virgina?

Just how cold does it get in the winter? If it's mild enough, I would suggest Floratam plugs that you can order. It is one of 2 very aggressive grower. You probably can plant 5 feet apart and it will fill in before winter comes. Sapphire is another one as well. If the winter is mild enough, I'd go with floratam for its superior drought tolerance. Raleigh isn't all that great. Palmetto is probably better choice if the winter is too cold for Floratam. Palmetto has twice the better drought tolerance of Raleigh. Floratam is 4 times better than Raleigh...

Well if you come back to follow up, there is only one sod farm in VA that grows Saint Augustine. It is not too far from you in Zuni.

Southern Belle Turf
757-242-3383

Thanks for the input. I am in Virginia Beach. We are pretty close to the ocean and the winters are fairly mild. We do have some extended days of frost but not too frequent. I am in the very south eastern part of VA. Looking at zone charts I am in zone 8 but bordering 7. From what I can see on seedland.com, I might be in the wrong area for Floratam or Palmetto. I will give Southern Belle a call. Thanks!

Frost and Floratam do not get along very good. That is why it is restricted to the gulf coast regions. Raliegh is the most cold tolerant of the SA varieties. I did not check Southern Belle, but I would wager they have Raleigh.

I have Floratam up here in Zone 8 and I see a lot of freezing nights. I've hit as low as 14*F a couple years ago and they have recovered just fine. I have asked Dallas County extension office about it and they actually grow Floratam on their plots along with countless of grass species/variety. They told me that they have done pretty well most years. I think it would take around 5-10*F to see any severe damages as it had happened here in the 1980s (reached minus 1*F) and it doesn't happen VERY often. That's probably biggest reason for not recommending Floratam this far up north despite for such rare events. Palmetto has survived as low as 5*F with little damage, I think, from what I've read.

Give Floratam a try in the sunny area and see what happens. It's only one tray for the fun of it. At the worst, they get killed by 100 year winter storm!

Virginia Beach Weather and Climate Chart - Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), USA

The following are the normal daily temperature ranges for Virginia Beach:

Maximum
Minimum

Virginia Beach weather in January
8°C / 46°F
-4°C / 25°F

Virginia Beach weather in February
10°C / 50°F
-2°C / 28°F

Virginia Beach weather in March
15°C / 59°F
2°C / 36°F

Virginia Beach weather in April
21°C / 70°F
7°C / 45°F

Virginia Beach weather in May
25°C / 77°F
12°C / 54°F

Virginia Beach weather in June
30°C / 86°F
17°C / 63°F

Virginia Beach weather in July
31°C / 88°F
20°C / 68°F

Virginia Beach weather in August
31°C / 88°F
19°C / 66°F

Virginia Beach weather in September
27°C / 81°F
15°C / 59°F

Virginia Beach weather in October
22°C / 72°F
8°C / 46°F

Virginia Beach weather in November
16°C / 61°F
3°C / 37°F

Virginia Beach weather in December
10°C / 50°F
-1°C / 30°F

It doesn't seem hot enough to grow st augustine long period of the year. They don't typically start growing rapidly till overnights hit over 60*F and daytime over 80*F.

Where did you get st augustine sprigs? In your town? If so, how did it look round year?

Yes I got them in my town. There are a bunch of yards in the neighborhood behind my office that have SA that I have been raiding and my mom has SA as well that has done well for her a number of years. I got another bag today. I am going to continue sprigging through the next few weeks to see if it will take. The lawns that I have seen up here with SA seem to stay green and lush until around December.

I've done sprigging before and it works okay. It's just that a lot of sprigs just die off so it takes a while to fill in. Floratam and Sapphire varieties seem to be pretty easy to sprig as they establish pretty quick and start growing right away. Palmetto variety isn't as easy as others. I've seen Floratam and Sapphire take over large bare ground in a blink while Palmetto just sits there. Floratam is very tough when it comes to drought tolerance. They all escaped from my backyard into the empty lot behind it and Floratam is humming along while others fizzled out. It has been very hot and dry summer so I am impressed with it.

I went ahead and ordered two flats of Floratam. I appreciate the input.

Come back next summer and let us know how it does up there!