# St Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum)

Canonical: https://plantguide.ae/plants/st-augustine-grass · Updated: 2026-09-30
Source: Ghaf Gardens (https://plantguide.ae/plants/st-augustine-grass)

St Augustine grass · also called Buffalo grass  
grass · exotic · family Poaceae · grows 0.1–0.3 m tall, 0.3–1 m wide · moderate growth  
sun to part shade · high water need  
Ratings for Dubai (1–5, 5 is best): heat 3 · salt 3 · drought 2 · shade 5 · ease of care 2  
Sow or plant: Mar–May, Sep–Nov  
Uses: lawn  
Garden styles: tropical, manicured

The most shade-tolerant common lawn grass, with broad, soft blades — but it is thirstier and less salt-hardy than bermuda or paspalum, and a niche choice in Dubai.

## About

Meet St Augustine grass, the lawn for the one shady corner nothing else will cover properly. Where bermuda and paspalum demand open sky, this grass was built for a humid Gulf Coast climate with real tree cover and reliable rain, and it carries that heritage into a Dubai garden as genuine shade tolerance — a rare trait among warm-season turf grasses, and the entire reason to choose it here.

Underfoot and by eye it reads differently to the finer lawns around it: broader, softer blades in a deep, slightly coarse green that feels closer to a tropical resort lawn than a crisp manicured one. It spreads by stolons rather than seed, knitting together steadily rather than quickly, and it holds its density in dappled light where a sun-loving grass would thin and brown.

It asks for more in return — more water, more attentive irrigation, watchfulness for pests that favour humid, well-watered turf — so it earns its place only where shade genuinely limits the alternatives, a courtyard under mature trees rather than an open, sun-baked lawn.

St Augustine grass is grown across the humid Gulf Coast of the US for one main reason: shade. North Carolina State Extension calls it the most shade-tolerant of the common warm-season lawn grasses, and it is the closest thing to a real lawn you can grow under fairly heavy tree cover. It has a coarse, broad-bladed, dark green texture that reads differently underfoot and by eye than the finer bermuda or zoysia — a lusher, more tropical-looking turf rather than a tight, manicured one.

That coastal, humid-climate origin is also its limitation in Dubai. It is native to warm, humid regions with reliable rainfall, and it has shallow roots and a comparatively high water demand — it does not carry drought the way bermuda does, and needs consistent irrigation to avoid thinning out in Dubai's dry heat. Evidence on its salt tolerance is mixed: some US coastal guidance rates it highly for salt spray, but comparative turfgrass trials rank it below bermuda and paspalum for salinity stress, so it is not a safe default for brackish or recycled irrigation water here.

In practice it suits a specific spot rather than a whole Dubai garden: a shaded courtyard or an area under a broadleaf canopy, on clean irrigation water, where the owner is prepared to water more often and watch for the pests — chinch bugs and gray leaf spot — that trouble it in humid climates. For most sunny Dubai lawns, [Bermuda grass](https://plantguide.ae/plants/bermuda-grass.md) or [Seashore paspalum](https://plantguide.ae/plants/seashore-paspalum.md) will need far less water for a denser result.

Against the two grasses that dominate UAE turf supply, St Augustine occupies a narrow but real niche. It beats bermuda and paspalum outright on shade, it loses to both on drought and to paspalum on salinity, and it sits closer to zoysia than to either of the sun-loving grasses in overall character — soft, shade-seeking, and best treated as a specialist solution for one difficult corner of a garden rather than the grass for the whole plot.

## Through the year

St Augustine grass holds decent colour through a Dubai winter with only a modest slowdown from December to January, helped by the emirate's mild cool season compared with its native Gulf Coast range. Spring and autumn are the best windows for laying new sod, giving roots time to establish before summer heat or winter's slower growth. Through peak summer, from June to August, its shallow root system means it dries out and shows stress faster than bermuda or paspalum in the same spot, so consistent watering becomes non-negotiable rather than optional. Shaded areas are prone to thinning at any time of year if watering lapses, since shade plus drought stress together is where this grass struggles most.

| When | What | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mar–May, Sep–Nov | Plant: Best turf-laying window | Lay sod in the cooler shoulder seasons; its shallow root system is slow to establish drought hardiness, so avoid planting straight into summer heat. |
| Oct–Feb | Feed: Main feeding season | Moderate nitrogen through the cooler months keeps colour and density; avoid heavy feeding in summer, which pushes soft growth vulnerable to disease. |
| Oct | Overseed: Autumn renovation | Dethatch and patch bare or thinned areas — shaded St Augustine lawns are prone to thin patches that need topping up. |
| Jun–Aug | Heat stress: Peak summer heat | Its shallow roots mean it dries out faster than bermuda or paspalum in Dubai's summer; consistent watering is essential, not optional. |
| Dec–Jan | Dormant: Winter slowdown | Growth slows in cooler weather, with some loss of colour, though Dubai's mild winters are less severe than its native Gulf Coast range would suggest from US guidance alone. |

## Care in Dubai

- **Watering in summer:** Water more often than a bermuda or paspalum lawn; DEWA advises watering before 8am or after 6pm to limit evaporation losses.
- **Watering in winter:** Reduce frequency but don't let it dry out completely; its shallow roots have little drought buffer even in cooler weather.
- **While establishing:** Keep the soil consistently moist for the first few weeks — shallow new roots dry out quickly in Dubai's heat.
- **Soil:** Prefers well-drained, reasonably fertile soil; Dubai's sandy ground needs organic amendment to hold enough moisture for it.
- **Feeding:** Moderate nitrogen through the growing season; avoid heavy summer feeding, which encourages disease-prone soft growth.
- **Pruning:** Mow high, around 65–100 mm — cutting it short scalps the coarse blades and exposes soil to heat and weeds.
- **Planting:** Sod is the reliable method; plant in the cooler shoulder seasons in a shaded or part-shaded site with non-saline irrigation water.
- **Pests and problems:** Chinch bugs; Gray leaf spot

## Good and bad

**Pros**
- The most shade-tolerant common warm-season lawn grass — better under tree canopy than bermuda or zoysia
- Broad, soft-bladed texture reads as a lush, coarse lawn
- Spreads reasonably quickly by stolons once established
- Coarse blades resist some wear near paths and edges

**Cons**
- Least drought-tolerant of the common warm-season lawn grasses — shallow roots need consistent watering
- Weaker, more variable salt tolerance than bermuda or paspalum, so a poor fit for saline irrigation water
- Susceptible to chinch bugs and gray leaf spot, both more troublesome in Dubai's irrigated, humid microclimates
- Coarser leaf texture than bermuda, zoysia or paspalum
- Not widely stocked as turf rolls in the UAE compared with bermuda and paspalum

## Common mistakes

- Planting it as a full-sun lawn expecting it to match bermuda or paspalum on toughness — its one genuine advantage is shade tolerance, and in full sun it offers little that a more drought-hardy grass doesn't do better and cheaper.
- Using brackish or borewell irrigation water on it — its salt tolerance is weaker and more inconsistent than bermuda or paspalum, and it will decline faster on saline water than either.
- Mowing it too short in an attempt to tidy a coarse-looking lawn — scalping below its recommended height exposes soil, stresses the grass and invites weeds.
- Underwatering because 'it's just grass' — its shallow root system genuinely cannot buffer drought the way bermuda can, so a missed watering cycle shows up faster here than on other lawns.
- Choosing it by default without checking local stock — it's a specialist, less commonly available turf in the UAE, and sourcing it can take more effort and cost than the standard bermuda or paspalum rolls.

## Good to know

- It is not one of the two standard turf-roll grasses sold in the UAE (bermuda and paspalum), so sourcing it typically means a specialist supplier rather than a standard nursery order.
- Its salt tolerance rating is genuinely disputed between sources — some US coastal guidance rates it well for salt spray, while comparative turfgrass trials place it below bermuda and paspalum for salinity stress, so treat it as unsuited to brackish irrigation unless a local trial says otherwise.
- Chinch bugs and gray leaf spot, its two main pest problems, both favour the warm, humid, well-irrigated conditions a well-watered Dubai lawn can create even in an otherwise arid climate.
- DEWA's general irrigation guidance — watering before 8am or after 6pm to cut evaporation losses — applies to this grass as much as any other Dubai lawn, and matters more given its higher overall water demand.

## Using it in a garden

Roles: Shaded lawn, Courtyard turf

Use St Augustine grass only where genuine shade rules out the sun-loving alternatives — under a broadleaf canopy, along a shaded courtyard wall, or beneath a pergola with filtered light. It needs clean, non-saline irrigation water and a commitment to more frequent watering than bermuda or paspalum, so it is not a good fit for a villa relying on brackish groundwater or treated wastewater. Keep it away from full, reflected Dubai sun, where its water needs climb further and it still won't outcompete the drought-hardy grasses on density.

- [Zoysia grass](https://plantguide.ae/plants/zoysia-grass.md): Where a lawn spans both shaded and sunnier ground, zoysia can take the brighter zone while St Augustine covers the deepest shade, giving continuous turf across mixed light.
- [Ghaf](https://plantguide.ae/plants/ghaf.md): Ghaf's light, dappled canopy creates exactly the kind of filtered shade St Augustine tolerates best, without blocking light completely.
- [Fiddle-leaf fig](https://plantguide.ae/plants/fiddle-leaf-fig.md): As a container or courtyard specimen near a shaded lawn edge, a fiddle-leaf fig shares the same preference for filtered rather than full sun.

## Varieties sold in the UAE

| Variety | Traits | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Palmetto | Semi-dwarf, medium-textured, soft underfoot. Does well in sun and part shade, not dense shade. Mow at 75-100 mm. | Part-shaded villa lawns under a light tree canopy. |
| Seville | Fine-leaved, dark green dwarf type. Tolerates sun and shade; mow at 50-65 mm. Prone to thatch and sensitive to cold. | Compact, tidy shaded lawns that want a finer blade. |
| Floratam | Coarse, dark green and vigorous. Needs 6-8 hours of sun, with poor shade and cold tolerance. Mow at 90-100 mm. | Open sunny lawns wanting a lush, broad-bladed St Augustine. |
| Sir Walter | Broad, soft, dark green Australian buffalo type. Good shade tolerance, needing about 3-4 hours of sun; marketed as salt tolerant. | Shaded gardens wanting a soft, low-allergy leaf. |

## Lawn facts

- Mowing height 65–100 mm · traffic tolerance 2/5
- Salinity: Mixed evidence — sometimes marketed as salt-tolerant thanks to its coastal origins, but comparative turfgrass trials rank it below bermuda and paspalum for salinity stress.
- Shade: Excellent — widely rated the most shade-tolerant common warm-season lawn grass; the practical choice under real tree canopy.

## FAQ

**Is St Augustine grass a good choice for Dubai?**  
Only for a specific spot: a shaded courtyard or an area under fairly heavy tree canopy, on clean (non-saline) irrigation water, where you're prepared to water more than a bermuda or paspalum lawn would need. For an open, sunny lawn it's outperformed by bermuda and paspalum on both water use and cost.

**Why is St Augustine grass hard to find in Dubai nurseries?**  
It's not one of the two standard turf-roll grasses sold here (bermuda and paspalum), because its higher water demand and weaker salt tolerance make it a niche fit for the UAE's climate and typical irrigation water. It's available through specialist suppliers rather than as a default lawn option.

**What pests should I watch for with St Augustine grass?**  
Chinch bugs and gray leaf spot are the two most commonly reported problems in warm, humid growing conditions, both of which can appear in a well-irrigated Dubai lawn even though the wider climate is arid.

**Can St Augustine grass handle salty irrigation water?**  
Not reliably. Evidence on its salt tolerance is mixed, but comparative turfgrass trials consistently rank it below bermuda and, especially, seashore paspalum for salinity stress — so it is not the grass to choose for a borewell or treated wastewater supply.

## Related plants

[Zoysia grass](https://plantguide.ae/plants/zoysia-grass.md) · [Bermuda grass](https://plantguide.ae/plants/bermuda-grass.md) · [Seashore paspalum](https://plantguide.ae/plants/seashore-paspalum.md)

## Photos

![Starr-160716-0140-Stenotaphrum secundatum-habit with Quercus sp-Boca Regional Hospital-Florida (29668096745)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Starr-160716-0140-Stenotaphrum_secundatum-habit_with_Quercus_sp-Boca_Regional_Hospital-Florida_%2829668096745%29.jpg)  
Photo: Forest and Kim Starr / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr-160716-0140-Stenotaphrum_secundatum-habit_with_Quercus_sp-Boca_Regional_Hospital-Florida_(29668096745).jpg))

![Stenotaphrum secundatum at the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, California, USA.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Staugustinegrass.JPG)  
Photo: Stickpen / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Staugustinegrass.JPG))

![Stenotaphrum secundatum - Flickr - Kevin Thiele](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Stenotaphrum_secundatum_-_Flickr_-_Kevin_Thiele.jpg)  
Photo: Kevin Thiele from Perth, Australia / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stenotaphrum_secundatum_-_Flickr_-_Kevin_Thiele.jpg))

## Sources

- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Stenotaphrum secundatum](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/stenotaphrum-secundatum/)
- [Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: St. Augustinegrass Lawn Management (EHT-144)](https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/St.-Augustinegrass-Lawn-Management.pdf)
- [DEWA: Irrigation advice for consumers](https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/consumer/Sustainability/sustainability-and-conservation/irrigation)