I assume you are prepared to do what it takes with the exception of the $250 a month upcharge on your water bill. That is what my neighbors pay to keep a small patch of St. Augustine alive in the San Antonio summer. Austin probably has similar water rates.

You should check into various types of Zoysia grass. They are high maintenance, but can look great and stay quite green with regular care.

Here is a link that might be useful: Austin Lawn grasses

rock oak deer

That is mostly because of bad information on how to care for st augustine lawn properly.

Did you know that 'Floratam' st augustine is more hardy than zoysia grass? Google 'Floratam' st augustine and san antonio... it's the only st aug variety that I'm aware that is allowed to grow. Significantly better drought tolerance than zoysia grass...

Shotime21,

It's called marketing scheme. They are just doing their job to sell houses. Rye grass is what is commonly grown over winter by overseeding st augustine/bermuda lawn. It just makes house look more attractive during winter... Very common method... You won't be able to keep them alive during the summer plus it can really make summer grass look bad during the summer... It isn't generally recommended by turf experts...

I'm a little further north than you, but I've found that St. Augustine is NOT a full sun grass in Waco without applying copious amounts of water.

Shade is MUCH cheaper than water and helps my St. Augustine stay green with regular watering. St. Augustine is often labeled a full sun grass, probably by "exeprts" that don't live in Texas. My St. Augustine LOVES the shade and thrives in it. Some of my St. Augustine gets as little as 2-3 hours if direct sunlight a day and it's usually the greenest during the summer. It greens later in the spring, however.

Justin,

My st aug is in full sun and I water it deeply every 2 weeks and I live on limestone rubbles. It's all about proper maintenance.

1) Mow high (3-4 inches)
2) Water deeply and infrequently. If I had good clay soil, I bet i can go a long time between watering...
3) Organic program seems to help st augustine do much better than synthetic program.

It makes a huge difference on which variety of st augustine you're growing. Floratam is very hardy IN FULL SUN. Drought tolerance is almost as good as bermuda. Other varieties can't even touch that. I have it in my backyard.

Here is a link that might be useful: Floratam

Home builders w/ green lawns? Have you checked for spray paint?

For your lawn, buy yourself some sunglasses w/ green shades.
:-)

Seriously, what part of the country are you from? I have friends that originally hail from Ohio and Pennsyvlvania and they have these kinds of dreams of super glorious green grass all summer long. It just doesn't happen here. DOESN'T HAPPEN HERE.

Everything goes dormant about mid-July through the end of August. Be prepared for shades of gray in your landscape and a crunchy lawn at this time of the year. Things will green up again in the fall when the temps cool off. No matter how much water you pour on your lawn...it just doesn't matter when the temps are over 100 for days on end. Unless it's shaded, it will burn.

Lou has good tips. Mow high. Water Deep. Use Dillo Dirt. Spread out the Dillo Dirt now. That will get your lawn ready for the high temps this summer. And it will provide fertilizer all season long that won't wash away with the next rain.

If you don't have good shade, plant some now and invest your water bill there. A shaded yard will look tons better than one in full sun.

If you want some quick protection, you can buy sun shade fabric and set it up over your lawn. This will work really well in your backyard and will also provide your family some sun protection too. Walmart, Lowes and Home Depot have rolls of it. If you go online, WM also has big sun sail shades like 17' square that can be strung up to your house or special poles. You can get different colors. I've read somewhere that plants will grow better under the green or blue shades.

We water our full sun, Empire Zoysia once a week and are on an organic program.

High maintenance?! News to me.........

We have some Tiff 419 in our back yard - get full sun and seems to be doing really, really good. It's a very thick grass once established which helps with weed control.

We kept our El Toro Zoysia nice and green all summer long, so yes it can be done.

The water bill was a bit steep though since our sod was installed in June so it was a nonstop battle all summer to get it established/keep it alive... This year will be the real test since we'll be cutting back on the watering.

Last week my husband went to the feed store, and bought something called Texas Tea, and spead it on our grass. Two days later, it was almost like someone painted our grass green, what a diffrence. Barbra,

The Texas Tea sounds great....what is it?
Molly

Texas Tee is phenomenal. In fact, I put it in everything I plant, too (flowers, herbs, tomatoes, etc.). For the lawn, I haven't found anything better. Took our brown, concrete hard yard to a nice, soft, lush green carpet in two weeks flat.

Are you referring to Texas Tee by Maestro-gro? Where is it available?
thanks
molly

Molly, Texas TEE is an organic fertilizer. Sometimes animal feed stores sell it.

I put down Texas Tee a few weeks ago. Looks like maybe it's working!