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Palmetto St. Augustine is a popular choice for grass in Texas for many reasons! It’s used across the Southern region from North Carolina to California due to how easily it can adapt to a wide variety of climates and soil types. Palmetto grass can withstand shade, heat, humidity, drought and cold temperatures very well thanks to its extensive root system, making it a top choice for Texas lawns and landscapes. Let’s get into what makes Palmetto St. Augustine different compared to other grass types we offer.

What is Palmetto St. Augustine Grass?

Palmetto St. Augustine is a warm-season grass that features a medium blade slightly smaller than Raleigh St. Augustine, soft texture, and a dark emerald green color when fertilized properly. It was developed in central Florida in the 1990’s as a small, niche grass with improved shade tolerance versus other St. Augustine grasses and is now the most-sold patented turfgrass in the world. Palmetto also has excellent cold and drought tolerance which attribute to its popularity in Texas, but outstanding shade tolerance is what makes Palmetto stand out over others. It is the most shade tolerant variety of any St. Augustine grass. Palmetto can thrive on only four to five hours of direct sunlight per day with filtered sunlight throughout the rest of the day. Palmetto is slightly more expensive than Raleigh, but if shade is of any concern, Palmetto would be the best St. Augustine to use.

Palmetto St. Augustine has a massive root system compared to Raleigh St. Augustine, which is what allows it to tolerate the shade better. However, it thrives in full sun. Its massive root system also allows it to have great drought tolerance even for a St. Augustine variety. Palmetto forms a soft, dense turfgrass that helps alleviate unwanted weeds for a pristine dark green look for your lawn. The striking dark green grass has a rounded, tapered end and is the softest St. Augustine grass out there! Further, Palmetto is a semi-dwarf meaning it doesn’t grow as high as other St. Augustine grasses. This means less mowing to keep it at a manageable height. Paired with its soft texture and dense turf, it’s an ideal surface for pets and kids to enjoy and play on.

What is Palmetto St. Augustine Grass?

Palmetto St. Augustine is a warm-season grass that features a medium blade slightly smaller than Raleigh St. Augustine, soft texture, and a dark emerald green color when fertilized properly. It was developed in central Florida in the 1990’s as a small, niche grass with improved shade tolerance versus other St. Augustine grasses and is now the most-sold patented turfgrass in the world. Palmetto also has excellent cold and drought tolerance which attribute to its popularity in Texas, but outstanding shade tolerance is what makes Palmetto stand out over others. It is the most shade tolerant variety of any St. Augustine grass. Palmetto can thrive on only four to five hours of direct sunlight per day with filtered sunlight throughout the rest of the day. Palmetto is slightly more expensive than Raleigh, but if shade is of any concern, Palmetto would be the best St. Augustine to use.

Palmetto St. Augustine has a massive root system compared to Raleigh St. Augustine, which is what allows it to tolerate the shade better. However, it thrives in full sun. Its massive root system also allows it to have great drought tolerance even for a St. Augustine variety. Palmetto forms a soft, dense turfgrass that helps alleviate unwanted weeds for a pristine dark green look for your lawn. The striking dark green grass has a rounded, tapered end and is the softest St. Augustine grass out there! Further, Palmetto is a semi-dwarf meaning it doesn’t grow as high as other St. Augustine grasses. This means less mowing to keep it at a manageable height. Paired with its soft texture and dense turf, it’s an ideal surface for pets and kids to enjoy and play on.

Whether you’re a first-time homeowner or someone with many years of experience tending to a yard, if you want to minimize maintenance on your lawn Palmetto St. Augustine may be the grass to choose.

Palmetto St Augustine Grass
Palmetto St Augustine Grass

Palmetto St. Augustine

Most Shade Tolerant St. Augustine
Most Drought Tolerant St. Augustine
Softest Textured St. Augustine
Vivid Emerald Green Color
Chokes Out Weeds
Tolerates heat & humidity
Cold-hardy grass

What makes Palmetto St. Augustine different?

Check out these key features to see if Palmetto St. Augustine would be best for your lawn or landscaping project.

Most Shade-Tolerant St. Augustine

Palmetto is the best St. Augustine grass for shade, without a doubt! It has a massive root system under the ground which allows it to retain nutrients to tolerate the shade better than other grass types. Palmetto only requires four to five hours of direct sunlight per day, so if you have any skepticism about shade in your space, opt for Palmetto.

Palmetto St Augustine Pallet
Palmetto St Augustine Pallet

Most Drought-Tolerant St. Augustine

While not necessarily considered a typical drought-tolerant grass, Palmetto is the most drought-tolerant grass of any St. Augustine variety. Since it develops such a deep root system, it can retain water for longer and is more prone to retain color through dry spells. If you live in the southern region and want your grass to thrive and stay green throughout the droughts, Palmetto St. Augustine should be at the top of your list.

Handles Heat, Humidity, and Cold Well

Palmetto St. Augustine is ideal for the Southern climate because it handles heat, humidity, and cold temperatures very well. It has slightly more cold tolerance, will retain its color better, and will withstand hard freezes with a little bit more ease than other St. Augustine grasses. Palmetto St. Augustine is well-suited for hot, humid, and dry climates and does great in scorching Texas summer weather.

Palmetto St Augustine Sod Installed
Palmetto St Augustine Sod Installed

Chokes Out Weeds

Palmetto has a medium, but finer textured blade than other St. Augustine grasses, meaning the individual grass blades can grow close together and create a very dense turf that more naturally chokes out weeds. This natural growth pattern helps reduce the need for herbicide treatment and ensures a lush green lawn without interference from unwanted weeds.

Softest St. Augustine Grass

With its finer texture, rounded, tapered ends, and tendency for minimal scratchy weeds, Palmetto is the softest St. Augustine grass there is. With a lush look and soft-to-the-touch feel, it’s an ideal surface for pets and kids to run around and play on. A lawn with an unpleasant feel and coarse texture is not as enticing, so if you plan to spend time barefoot on your lawn, you should highly consider Palmetto St. Augustine.

Palmetto St Augustine Sod
Palmetto St Augustine Sod

Low Maintenance Appeal

Palmetto St. Augustine is a great, low-maintenance type of grass. Its semi-dwarf status leads to it growing at a lesser height than other St. Augustine’s, meaning you can cut it less frequently to maintain an optimal height. Spend more time doing things you love when you choose a low-maintenance grass like Palmetto St. Augustine for your lawn.

Palmetto St. Augustine grass stands out as an ideal choice for Texans seeking shade-friendly, striking dark green, luscious, low-maintenance grass. Its adaptability to hot climates, minimal direct sun requirements, and cold hardiness make it a top contender for homeowners and landscapers in Texas and across the Southern region. Palmetto St. Augustine is slightly more shade-tolerant and drought-tolerant than Raleigh St. Augustine, giving it more prominent popularity in Texas. Enjoy the benefits of a lush and low-maintenance lawn when you choose a Palmetto lawn for your landscaping project.

The Grass Store has all your farm-fresh turfgrass needs covered. Look no further when it comes to grass, sod, mulch, soil, gravel, rock, stone, installation services, and much more – our expert team is here to provide friendly service throughout the entire process. Contact us today for your residential and commercial sod solutions and grass installation needs!

Palmetto St. Augustine grass stands out as an ideal choice for Texans seeking shade-friendly, striking dark green, luscious, low-maintenance grass. Its adaptability to hot climates, minimal direct sun requirements, and cold hardiness make it a top contender for homeowners and landscapers in Texas and across the Southern region. Palmetto St. Augustine is slightly more shade-tolerant and drought-tolerant than Raleigh St. Augustine, giving it more prominent popularity in Texas. Enjoy the benefits of a lush and low-maintenance lawn when you choose a Palmetto lawn for your landscaping project.

The Grass Store has all your farm-fresh turfgrass needs covered. Look no further when it comes to grass, sod, mulch, soil, gravel, rock, stone, installation services, and much more – our expert team is here to provide friendly service throughout the entire process. Contact us today for your residential and commercial sod solutions and grass installation needs!

FAQ's

Palmetto thrives in Houston’s heat and humidity. It’s also one of the better St. Augustine grasses to choose if you have a shady yard.

Definitely. Palmetto St. Augustine is one of the best grasses for shady lawns in Houston. It does better in low light than most varieties and maintains a nice green color.

Absolutely, it thrives in it. It’s often confused that shade tolerant grasses like Palmetto might prefer shade and not grow in full sun, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

There are 450 square feet of Palmetto St. Augustine grass on a full pallet.

No there is not a minimum purchase, we sell pieces of Palmetto St. Augustine as well as full pallets.

Pre-emergent herbicide is ideal for saving time and effort in removing unwanted weeds later. The most common broadleaf weeds in St. Augustine grass are usually chickweed, henbit, clover, and dollar weed. Some of the grassy weeds that are frequently spotted in St. Augustine grass are Poa annua, crabgrass, dallisgrass, and bermudagrass.

Raleigh St. Augustine and Palmetto St. Augustine grass are the top 2 grasses for Texas. Raleigh is the most used, but Palmetto has a slight edge when it comes to shade tolerance.

St. Augustine grasses are vulnerable to chinch bugs, sod webworms and grubs, so using a careful balance of insecticides will help.

All St. Augustine grasses including Palmetto are susceptible to fall brown patch. It’s important to reduce irritation when we transition from summer to fall and apply a preventative fungicide to keep brown patch at bay.

Zeon Zoysia is the most shade-tolerant grass we carry. Check out our blog post Best Shade Grass for Texas to learn more.

The biggest difference is Palmetto has better shade tolerance than Raleigh. As far as heat and cold tolerance both Raleigh and Palmetto cultivars are very similar. Palmetto also holds an edge with its soft texture and drought tolerance over Raleigh St. Augustine.

Palmetto St. Augustine is the most shade-tolerant St. Augustine variety and typically requires about 4-5 hours of direct sunlight to fully thrive.

A rotary mower with a sharp blade will work great to cut Palmetto St. Augustine grass.

Thatch maintenance is a natural part of St. Augustine lawn care since it grows so thick. A thin layer (anything from a half inch or more) is fine, but more than that can deter from nutrients penetrating the root zone. Dethatching and regular lawn aeration can assist with breaking up thatch and is recommended as needed.

Palmetto Sod Installation
Palmetto Sod Installation

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Insect Control

Insects, pests, and lawn diseases are easy to prevent with the right lawn maintenance. At The Grass Store, we want to help our customers understand how to care for their lawns.

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Watering

How much you water your grass depends on several different factors. In order to help our customers better understand how to care for their grass, we put together a helpful guide.

LEARN MORE –>

Fertilizer Schedule

Fertilizing your lawn is an essential part of its care. However, it’s often quite confusing to find the right fertilizer for your specific type of lawn. In our guide, we help you sort it out.

LEARN MORE –>

Insect Control

Insects, pests, and lawn diseases are easy to prevent with the right lawn maintenance. At The Grass Store, we want to help our customers understand how to care for their lawns.

LEARN MORE –>

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