raninFL – posted 11 February 2004 17:49
I’m planning on aerating and verticutting my St. Augustine grass. Which should I do first and how far apart should they be (a day, a week, etc.)? Thanks!!!
ted – posted 13 February 2004 16:19
i’ll have to pass this one on to the florida folks, but at texas a and m they generally frown on the dethatching- it’s harder for the grass to recover from s.a.d.- aeration ok however.
jr – posted 13 February 2004 16:58
Agreed. St. Augustine should never need dethatching anyway with proper care. However, on the few occasions that I’ve seen where St. Augustine has had a serious thatch problem, it would be cheaper and easier to replace the lawn, because dethatching a St. Augustine lawn can turn into a real nightmare very quickly.
ted – posted 14 February 2004 10:39
that’s been the official texas a & m line for a while, since they were the developers of floratam. however i dethatched mine prior to winter reseeding every fall and never had a problem. just be prepared for a whole bunch of cleanup with the debris!
Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 04 March 2004 00:00
St Aug has stolons. Verticutting cuts each of the stolons and cuts them off from the roots. That’s not a good idea. Are you doing all three of the following?
1. Watering deeply (1-2 hours per zone) and infrequently (no more often than weekly).
2. Mulch/mowing as high as your mower will allow.
3. Fertilizing regularly.
These will do the most for your lawn. You may never need to aerate or dethatch again.