St. Augustinegrass is a warm-season grass. Southern zones. Extremely sensitive to certain herbicides; ensure strict database checks against grass_safety schemas. It greens up around 65°F soil temperature.
It needs mild winters (zones 8–10) and won't survive hard freezes up north.
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The typical dates our alert engine would have texted a st. augustinegrass lawn, replayed with today's rules on archived weather from 2019 to 2025. Each range runs from the earliest to the latest city we tested in that zone; open a zone for its cities and the month-by-month calendar. Simulated dates, not texts we sent or observed emergence.
| Zone | Spring pre-emergent | First feeding | Fall pre-emergent | Cities tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 7Marginal | Mar 2 to Mar 23 | May 3 to May 6 | Aug 16 to Sep 29 | Oklahoma City, Shelbyville, Knoxville, Nashville, Richmond |
| Zone 8 | Feb 5 to Feb 28 | Apr 6 to Apr 16 | Sep 10 to Oct 12 | Jackson, Dallas, Macon, Forsyth, Birmingham |
| Zone 9 | Jan 15 to Feb 7 | Mar 3 to Mar 17 | Oct 9 to Oct 20 | Brandon, Houston, New Orleans, Lake Charles, Tallahassee |
| Zone 10 | Year-round rounds: Jan 3, Apr 3, Jul 3 and Oct 3 | Mar 3 to Mar 6 | Rounds instead | Naples, Fort Myers, Vero Beach, Orlando, Phoenix |
How these dates are set, how much they move year to year, and what to do if you are early or late: When to apply pre-emergent for crabgrass.
Grass facts from University of Florida (UF/IFAS) Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension guidance. How our timing models work
When the soil says so, which moves by zone and by year. Replaying our alert engine on recent weather, the spring pre-emergent text for st. augustinegrass went out Mar 2 to Mar 23 in zone 7; Feb 5 to Feb 28 in zone 8; Jan 15 to Feb 7 in zone 9. Your ZIP's live soil reading decides the actual week.
Not until the lawn has fully greened up and the soil holds near 65°F. In our replays the first feeding text went out May 3 to May 6 in zone 7; Apr 6 to Apr 16 in zone 8; Mar 3 to Mar 17 in zone 9; Mar 3 to Mar 6 in zone 10.
St. Augustinegrass does best in USDA zones 8, 9, 10 and can be grown with extra care in zone 7. St. Augustinegrass is a warm-season grass. It needs mild winters (zones 8–10) and won't survive hard freezes up north.
About 2.5–3.5″ in spring and fall and 3–4″ through summer, never taking more than a third of the blade in one mowing.