Raleigh St. Augustine You are here: Home > Grasses > Raleigh St. Augustine Raleigh St. Augustine grass was released by the North Carolina Experiment Station in 1980 as a cold tolerant, SAD resistant strain. Raleigh has a finer texture than Floratam and develops a dense turf much like the Texas Common strain of St. Augustine grass. Raleigh is also more shade tolerant than Floratam. Raleigh St. Augustine has a medium leaf and stolon size. It is the most shade tolerant warm season grass, although it still requires 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight along with filtered sun. It requires 2 or 3 fertilizer applications per year, with a 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer with slow release nitrogen source. Ideal mowing height is 2 - 3 inches with a rotary mower. It requires 1" of water every 3 weeks during the fall, winter and spring. This increases to a maximum of 1" of water every seven days during the extreme heat of summer. Potential disease problems are gray leaf spot in the summer and brown patch in the fall. Both of these diseases are enhanced by over watering and after fertilization. These diseases can be prevented by an application of a fungicide. Available at all of our farm locations. Turf Characteristics Winter Color Moderate Dormancy Hot Weather Resistance Good Shade Tolerance Very Good Wear Resistance Fair Salt Tolerance Very Good Mowing Height 1" Medium Recovery from Injury Fair Source: Texas Turfgrass Research (1984) [ Home | Locations | Services | Grasses | About Us | Links | Jobs | Contact Us ] Copyright © 2001 Quality Turf Farms, Inc. All rights reserved. Site design by PC Works!