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Late winter during the time when Live Oaks drop their leaves, I am often told “Leaves are killing my lawn!” Well, that’s not what is happening. Leaves do not kill your lawn. Cutting the water back during cooler weather, wearing you lawn out by raking leaves and tree roots – that will kill your lawn - but Oak leaves are not killing your lawn.

I am on 3000 lawns per year – up close and personal – spraying – walking - studying. That amounts to about 15 million square feet of St Augustine grass pass under my feet in a year’s time. And after 10 years, I have learned a lot about St Augustine grass - all of it can be summed up in 3 essentials.

St Augustine grass always looks better when mowed with a sharp mower blade. The St Augustine grass leaf contains rigid cells made of a very tough plant material that is difficult to cut. Mowing St Augustine grass with a dull mower blade creates a frayed tip

After heavy rains, high humidly and warm nights, it is not uncommon to have large white mushrooms growing out of your lawn in the morning. Often these mushrooms form a circle or an arc on the outer edge of a circle of darker greener turf. This is a fairy ring.

A recent study by funded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) proves St Augustine lawns do not pollute.This is good news to lawn owners for two reasons:

1 - The study proves that a St Augustine grass lawn is best ground cover for urban environments to reduce pollutants in our water bodies and,

2 - Eliminates Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) reasons for reducing water and fertilizers usage on St Augustine Lawns because state funded research clearly shows that lawns are good for the urban environment.

The first time I walked across a healthy St Augustine lawn, I thought to myself “Thatch!” The lawn looked great, it was the middle of the summer (prime time for heat and water stress) and I recommended verti – mowing (sometimes called dethatching). Now 9 years later and a  lot more experience with St Augustine turf, I do not recommend verti-mowing (dethatching). Thatch is a minor problem and the verti-mowing causes more damage to the lawn the thatch will cause.

A beautiful St Augustine lawn can fail and become an ugly mess. Often the first response is to replace the lawn - costing $3000 to $4000 for a small lawn. But for free you could renovate the lawn, yes free!

How? Once St Augustine has been established and then fails, a small amount of St Augustine will survive. Renovation is the process of pampering the surviving St Augustine until it becomes a beautiful lawn once again.

The best way to reduce pollution in and around your home  is to install a giant filter around your house that eliminates  dust and pollen, filters the rain water, reduces CO2 emissions, purifies the air you breathe and uses no energy. That would be a healthy, thriving St Augustine Lawn!

Trees, especially the Oaks, have surface roots that can form a thick twisted interwoven mat several inches deep. This is great for the tree: the tree can explore and mine nutrients and minerals from just about every nook and corner of a yard. But the thick mat of roots form a barrier to grass roots reaching the soil below and a physical barrier to water and nutrients. It is like growing grass on a sheet of plywood.