Raleigh St. Augustine
Raleigh is the grass for yards that don’t get much sun. Bred in North Carolina back in 1980 for cold hardiness, it ended up becoming the default St. Augustine across most of Texas for a different reason: nothing else on our list holds its color under tree cover the way this does.
Broad, soft blade, the widest of the four. Placeholder texture, replace with a photograph of the real sod.
What it’s actually good at
Holds real color with as little as 3 to 4 hours of direct or filtered sun a day.
Fills in bare or thin patches faster than most other St. Augustine varieties.
Handles Texas clay soil without the drainage issues finer-bladed grasses run into.
Resists SAD virus, a disease that’s wiped out entire St. Augustine lawns in the past.
Keeps its color from spring through fall without heavy fertilizing.
The specs
| Sun requirement | Full sun to moderate shade (3-4 hrs minimum) |
| Traffic resistance | Moderate |
| Mowing height | 2.5" to 4" |
| Water needs | Moderate to high |
| Cold tolerance | High, the best of any St. Augustine variety |
| Soil | Handles heavy Texas clay well |
A detail worth knowing before you order
Mow this one short and you’re actually hurting it. St. Augustine grows from runners called stolons that sit close to the surface, and cutting below 2.5 inches exposes them to heat stress. It’s the one grass on our site where “mow it shorter for a tidier look” backfires.
Care once it’s down
Keep the mower deck between 3 and 4 inches. New sod needs daily watering for the first two to three weeks; once it’s rooted, about 1 inch a week is enough outside of peak summer, when it climbs closer to 1.5 inches.
Common questions
Will this actually survive under my trees, or just slow down?
It’ll hold real color with 3 to 4 hours of direct or filtered sun a day. Deep, all-day shade under a dense canopy will still thin it out over a couple of seasons — no grass beats that.
How does Raleigh compare to other St. Augustine varieties like Floratam?
Better cold tolerance, finer blade. Raleigh is the standard pick in Central and North Texas; Floratam shows up more along the Gulf Coast where winters stay mild.
Can I plant this next to Tahoma 31 Bermuda in the same yard?
You can zone them — shade areas in Raleigh, full sun in Tahoma 31 — but avoid blending them in one continuous bed. Growth rates differ enough that the seam between them will always show.
Ready to order Raleigh St. Augustine?
Order 2+ pallets for delivery, or 1 pallet for pickup at the yard. Call us first if you want a second opinion on the fit.
