Replanting runners

dwm042 – posted 04 July 2006 00:25

I have a mixed yard of grasses that I plugged with Saint Augustine last year. I can see some runners that are extending onto my driveway, and I’m tempted to find some roots and transplant the whole thing. I’m in a marginal zone for Saint Augustine, and what I have is relatively precious. But once established, it seems to be doing well.

Is there an especially good procedure for turning a St Augustine runner into something transplantable?

Thanks in advance.

David.

TexanOne – posted 04 July 2006 00:56

I don’t know if I would bother trying to transplant St Augustine runners. St Augustine is naturally very aggressive and rapid spreading. The time involved in transplanting runners and then waiting for the new transplant to come out of transplant shock and take off just doesn’t seem to be a good idea – my opinion…

A much better option would be to use a plugging tool or a tulip bulb planter and transplant some plugs from where the SA is growing well and move them to where you want them. However, you will still have to deal with transplant shock for some weeks even under the best growing conditions.

Your location in Georgia, Zone 7b (+10 to +5 deg F) should be fine for SA survival provided you use a cold-tolerant variety like Raleigh. I have a decades-old, offshoot variety of Texas Common SA in my yard that seems to be SAD resistant and has survived to minus 5 deg F twice – 1983 & 1989 and came back just fine the next spring. I’m in Texas – Zone 7a (+5 to 0 deg F). One tip about SA cold survival that is rarely mentioned is to mow it high before the cold weather hits, about 3” to 4” and leave it at that height all winter long. This will allow the dormant sod on the surface to act as a insulation blanket for the live runners underneath.

Tungsten – posted 07 July 2006 08:18

It can be done but it just takes longer to get full coverage plus a lot of watering keep the soil moist and spreading more quickly because bare soil will dry out pretty quickly. I would only recommend agressive variety ones like Floratam or Sapphire since they seem to root in quickly. Others, forget it.