Florida is home to St. Augustine grass, a warm-season turf that thrives in tropical and subtropical climates. St. Augustine grass is a rich, dark green grass with thick blades. It forms a dense layer of stolons, or runners, aboveground which makes it difficult for weeds to penetrate through. When installing or replacing St. Augustine turf in Manatee, timing is critical. Miller Pest Solution can help you install new sod in your yard, making your house the green envy of the neighborhood.
St. Augustine grass is naturally dormant in cool and cold temperatures, which is why you don’t have to mow your lawn often or at all during the winter. To ensure your sod forms healthy roots and survives the long haul, the temperature can’t be cool enough to make the turf dormant.
The ideal temperature for installing sod in Manatee is 65-70 degrees at night and 80 degrees or hotter during the day. St. Augustine thrives at these temperatures and will quickly grow. The sod installation experts at Miller recommend you install your sod during early summer to give your new grass several weeks of warm weather in which to form a strong root system.
Installing your sod in late summer or early fall is risky, as cool temperatures may start to show up before your grass has formed a sufficient root system. If the soil temperature drops below 55 degrees, St. Augustine grass will stop root growth. If this happens, your lawn can suffer major dieback throughout the cooler months.
Installing sod in the spring isn’t ideal either. If you install the turf before the soil has warmed up enough, it will simply stay dormant, failing to create a root system until the temperatures rise. This gives weeds ample opportunity to grow between sod patches. If you must install sod in the spring, try and install in an area with a lot of sunlight which will help to increase air and soil temperatures.
St. Augustine sod is fragile when first installed. To ensure your Manatee lawn will be healthy and green, try to install sod during the ideal temperatures. Make sure to water the grass immediately after it’s installed. From then on, carefully monitor soil moisture. Depending on the weather, you may need to water your lawn daily to keep the soil moist, which promotes root growth. In ideal conditions, St. Augustine grass should take about two weeks to be firmly rooted.
For more information on sod installation in Manatee, give Miller Pest Solution a call today at (941) 702-7777 fill out the contact form on our website.