It happens on almost every estimate we go out on. A homeowner walks us around the yard, points at their lawn, and says, "I just need to match my St. Augustine" or "I want to add more St. Augustine in the back." And when we ask which variety they have, we get a blank stare.
That's not a knock on homeowners — it's just the reality of how grass gets bought and installed in Florida. Most people don't know there's more than one kind. They hear "St. Augustine," they see a lush green lawn, and that's the end of the thought. But St. Augustine isn't a single grass. It's a family of varieties, and each one looks, performs, and ages differently.
Knowing which variety you have — or which one you're about to install — matters more than most people realize.
St. Augustine Is a Family, Not a Single Grass
There are over ten cultivated varieties of St. Augustine grass. Each has a different blade size, color, growth habit, shade tolerance, and pest resistance profile. The most shade-tolerant varieties — Seville, Palmetto, and CitraBlue — can thrive on as little as 3 to 4 hours of sun per day. The most popular variety, Floratam, needs at least 6 to 8 hours and will fail in partial shade.
Installing the wrong one — or trying to patch your lawn with a different variety than what's already there — can create a mismatched lawn that never looks quite right, or worse, a lawn that struggles because the grass isn't suited to your yard's conditions.
The Most Common Varieties in Central Florida
The most mass-produced variety. Stolons often appear purplish in full sun. Grows aggressively and needs frequent mowing.
Dwarf growth habit stays neat between mows. Looks more refined and manicured than Floratam. Premium choice for shady or mixed-light yards.
Strong all-around performer. Good cold and drought tolerance. Resistant to Sugarcane Mosaic Virus. Popular premium option for mixed sun/shade yards.
Newer variety developed by University of Florida. Distinctive blue-green color. Strong disease resistance. Slower vertical growth means less frequent mowing.
How to Figure Out What You Have
Here's a practical guide to narrowing it down by visual inspection:
| What You See | What It Likely Means |
|---|---|
| Wide, thick, coarse blade — almost prickly barefoot | Almost certainly Floratam |
| Fine, narrow blade with blue-green color, low and compact | Likely Seville |
| Emerald green color, medium blade, smooth feel | Likely Palmetto |
| Deep blue-green, dense, very low horizontal growth pattern | Likely CitraBlue (common in newer installs) |
| Shaded areas look as thick as sunny areas | You have a shade-tolerant variety (Seville, Palmetto, or CitraBlue) |
| Shaded areas are thin, patchy, or dying out | You likely have Floratam — it can't handle shade |
| Lawn grows very fast, needs cutting constantly | Points to Floratam — aggressive upright growth |
| Lawn stays neat even if you miss a week | Points to a dwarf variety — Seville or CitraBlue |
Why It Matters When You're Patching or Re-Sodding
This is where the "I have St. Augustine" assumption causes real problems.
Say your lawn is Seville and you call a sod company. They show up with Floratam — because it's what they stock and what most people buy. They lay it in the bare spots. A few months later, you have two clearly different textures and shades of green in the same lawn. The Floratam patches look coarser and taller than everything surrounding them. The lawn looks pieced together no matter how well it was installed.
The same problem happens in reverse. If you have Floratam and someone patches it with Seville, the new sections will always look finer and shorter. It never blends fully.
The disease risk: If your Floratam lawn has had disease issues and you re-sod with Floratam again, you may be setting yourself up for the same outcome. Floratam is uniquely susceptible to Lethal Viral Necrosis — and replacing dead Floratam with new Floratam in an infected area will result in reinfection. This is one of the most important reasons to know what you have before re-sodding.
What We Do Differently at Strada Landscape
Before we ever quote a job, we look at what grass is currently in the ground, assess your yard's sun exposure, and ask questions about how the lawn has performed in the past. We don't default to the cheapest available pallet and call it a day.
If you need to patch, we match. If you're starting fresh, we recommend the variety that actually fits your yard — not the one that's easiest for us to source. That's the difference between a lawn installation that looks great for a season and one that holds up for years.
Not Sure What You Have?
Give us a call or request an estimate. We'll take a look at your existing lawn, identify the variety, and give you a straight answer on the best path forward.
Get a Free Estimate Call 407-267-1856Strada Landscape, Inc. specializes in residential sod installation throughout Orlando and Central Florida, including Windermere, Winter Park, Dr. Phillips, and Lake Nona.