St. Augustine/Bermuda Mix in Austin, TX

shirl – posted 15 March 2004 15:36

One lawn care company recommended overseeding the bare areas in our St. Augustine lawn with Bermuda seed during this time of year. The St. Augustine grass really struggles to survive – especially during the full sun it receives in this TX heat. Any thoughts about that recommendation – and how to go about doing it successfully?

Yellow – posted 15 March 2004 16:12

If you want St. Augustine lawn with Bermuda then go for it. If you want nothing but ST Aug try fertlizer right now or cornmeal. Keep it watered only when it needs it and it should grow in. You can go to Home depot and by squares of sod for 97 cents, dig out the brown and fill in with new sod. Depending on how much you need it should be cheap.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 15 March 2004 23:30

Bermuda and St Augustine don’t look good together at all. I’d give that lawn care company about a zero on the credibility scale.

What part of Texas do you live in? St Augustine is dormant this time of year, and most of Texas hasn’t had any heat for six months.

shirl – posted 16 March 2004 08:25

Thanks for the input. We live in Austin, TX & our St. Augustine grass is still dormant. However last year – during the summer & fall, we ended up with several brown/dead grass areas & was told it was a number of things (from brown patch, to chinch bugs, etc..). One lawn care company suggested scraping the dead areas out, & said the St. Augustine grass would grow back. Another company said to just leave it – it would grow back next spring. This company we have now said that it won’t grow back in those areas, just overseed with Bermuda grass since it endures hot sun better than St. Augustine. So I’m at wits end about what to do.

I just had the lawn aerated, & it has been treated this year with a pre emergent & fertilizer. So I’m looking for suggestions on Next Steps – what to do to ensure a healthier lawn this season, & what to do about the bare areas (created last season), with little or no grass in them.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 17 March 2004 23:20

I guess I could have read the subject to find out where you were in Texas

Those guys are nuts. You had one or two problems. You could have had bugs and/or disease and that about covers it. Bugs are dealt with one way and fungus another, but both are easy and should not require reseeding or resodding. Certainly the addition of bermuda should NEVER be considered a solution to a St Augustine problem.

Since you’re using a lawn care company, you are very likely to get whatever they are putting down every month. If they cannot manage the pests and keep your lawn green, you need to look for a different lawn care company.

Alex_in_FL – posted 19 March 2004 19:41

Agree with Dchall_San_Antonio on all points except his rating of the lawn care company as zero. That was far to generous!!!

St A/Bermuda lawns look like heck. Get some St A. and fill in the areas, forget the bermuda over seeding.

Mouse – posted 19 March 2004 20:47

Hey, I’m in Dallas.

A friend of mine has a mix of Bermuda and St A. When his pool was put in, the contruction company decided to repair the bald spots they left in his st. a with bermuda.

He doesn’t mind it. I think it’s a terrible eye sore. From a GOOD distance, you really can’t tell.

shirl – posted 21 March 2004 09:15

Thanks everyone for your input. If I a add in St. Augustine – is this a good time of year to do that?

Giga – posted 30 March 2004 08:18

This may sound crazy but it works.

If you have brown spots in your St. Augustine grass, follow this procedure.

When the ground and is dry, rake the brown areas to rid the area of the excess. Thenmix a water solution with tide soap power or some type dish detergent and pour on those brown lawn spots and watch the new green growth.

Old southern plantation remedy.

shirl – posted 30 March 2004 15:55

Thank’s Giga for the “southern remedy” – I’m going to try it. How much soap do I use in the water – what part soap to water? Plus should I just apply the mixture once – or do it several times?

MaryR – posted 02 April 2009 18:54

My husband and I are a small business for lawn care and landscaping here in Austin. We have noticed alot of this problem here with the St. Augustine grass. We have found a supplier that has GREAT sod and we have been reapairing alot of yards. We have been cutting out the dead areas and replacing with new sod and this has been working really well. If you would like the name and number for this guy that sells great sod contact me at mr****@ya***.com. He is located North Austin right before Pfluggerville. Thanks and good luck to you.