Having a Saint Augustine lawn turning brown can cause concern for many homeowners. Saint Augustine lawns turning brown can be either a natural part of the life cycle of the lawn through the different seasons, or it may be an inherent trait in a particular Saint Augustine grass variety, or could be due to the lack of good lawn care practices being undertaken

by the lawn owner. So lets take a look at why Saint Augustine grass turns brown, and what we can possibly do to green up our lawns again.

Saint Augustine Grass Is Brown Throughout The Year

If the Saint Augustine lawn is brown for the entire year, then this tells us that something is wrong with our lawn care practices, or the lawn could possibly have a disease of some type.

When looking at lawn care factors we understand that we must not be giving the turf something which it desperately needs for its health, and as a result the Saint Augustine lawn is losing its color as a sign of weakness in the turf. The two biggest factors responsible for lawn health are nutrients from fertilizers and soils, and having adequate water. For without correct nutrients and water, all lawns will become sick and turn brown and lose their natural healthy color.

With this in mind, we should begin a good year round lawn care regimen which involves regular lawn fertilization, and being sure the turf is receiving adequate water at the right times, always aiming to water the lawn deeply and less often. Other factors such as regular lawn mowing will also assist the Saint Augustine lawn to stay green throughout the year.

Saint Augustine Lawn Brown In Winter

Some Saint Augustine grass varieties are more highly prone to going brown over winter than other Saint Augustine lawn types. So your Saint Augustine lawn may indeed be very prone to going brown over winter and there's probably nothing which can be done to change that fact to get the lawn to become greener over winter.

While we can never expect our lawns not to lose at least some of their green color over winter, there are a few things we can do to ensure the greatest chance of health in our lawns over the colder months.

We should have a good year round lawn care regimen in place, as a healthy lawn throughout the year will naturally stand up to the winter months and remain in better health.

Applying a good quality winter lawn fertilizer before winter arrives will do wonders in helping keep a Saint Augustine lawn green in winter, and will ensure the greatest green up of the lawn at the greatest speed when Spring arrives as well.

Raising lawn mowing heights in winter will also greatly aid in photosynthesis for the lawn over winter. In turn, this will ensure greater overall health to the grass over the colder months.

St Augustine Grass Grown In Colder Regions

Saint Augustine grass is not a lawn which likes cold climates very much, and as such we can expect our Saint Augustine lawn to be more prone to turning brown over winter, and for longer periods of time when this grass type is grown in colder climates.

If our lawn is being grown in a colder region, and after trying different methods to keep the Saint Augustine turf greener at this time of year, and if we're not having any success, then it may be time to consider removing the Saint Augustine turf, and planting a more cold tolerant lawn variety in its place.

Saint Augustine Lawn Disease

Most lawn diseases will show themselves as growing in spots or patches across different areas of the lawn, however sometimes and with some turf diseases, they can present themselves as covering the entire lawn, which in turn can make the lawn look brown and sick.

The worst of these St Augustine diseases is Take All Patch, which is a deadly St Augustine grass disease and is incurable, though may be able to be managed to some degree to lessen its severity.

If we've tried to improve our Saint Augustine lawn care throughout the year and the lawn is still looking brown, then it may be time to call out a turf expert to look at our lawn, and take soil and leaf samples to be analyzed for possible lawn disease, and appropriate measures taken to repair the problem, if possible.

Saint Augustine Lawn Pests

Black beetle often takes a lot of blame for bad lawn care by the homeowner. For some people who undertake no lawn care practices whatsoever and whose lawn is brown as a result, will often put the blame on black beetle, when in most cases this is not so, and poor lawn care is responsible for the poor quality Saint Augustine lawn. We're not saying that lawn beetle wouldn't be a cause a lawn to be in poor health, because this can indeed occur… the point is that in most cases, there will be another reason why our lawn is turning brown.

Other pests such as army worm or cutworm and others will be so destructive to the turf and in such a very quick span of time that our lawns won't just be brown all the time or turn brown slowly over time, but will instead begin browning off very suddenly and very quickly that we'll know that lawn pests are responsible for the sudden heavy damage of the Saint Augustine lawn.

Conclusion - Saint Augustine Lawn Turning Brown

There are two main reasons Saint Augustine lawn will turn brown, these are due to lawn care practices, or lack thereof, or will be due to the Saint Augustine turf itself, either the wrong Saint Augustine grass variety is being grown or we're growing Saint Augustine in the wrong region - or a combination of both.

Second behind this will be things such as lawn disease and lawn pests which may be responsible for the Saint Augustine lawn turning brown, but these things generally present themselves differently than just as a lawn which is brown or isn't holding its green color throughout the year.

So in repairing a Saint Augustine lawn which is brown, our first course of action is to begin to implement a good year round lawn care regimen for our St Augustine turf, and paying special attention to the pre-winter and mid-winter lawn fertilization. And then if the problem persists, we can then move onto other possible causes for our Saint Augustine lawn turning brown.