Why Can't I Find St. Augustine Grass Here?

St Augustine grass growing in Las Vegas during the 1980s in a residential lawn. Notice how coarse it is in texture.

Q.Why can't I find St. Augustine grass here in Las Vegas? I can find it in Odessa Texas. It grows well in the shade.

A. St. Augustine grass, grown in Arizona, does very well here and was offered for sale during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. It never became popular. People in southern Nevada preferred the all-green, winter lawn that tall fescue provided.

St. Augustine grass in a residential lawn

            Overseeding in the fall for a green winter lawn, as you can with Bermudagrass, is not possible with St Augustine grass. Even if it could be overseeded, the “winter brown” lawn that St. Augustine grass provided was a “hard sell” for Las Vegans.

            Generally, there is a lack of enthusiasm here for the warm season grasses such as Bermudagrass, Zoysiagrass, Buffalograss, St. Augustine and Seashore Paspalum. So these are a few of the reasons southern Nevada is different, horticulturally, from Odessa, Texas. It is a desert here in many ways.