LSU AgCenter calls it the most shade-tolerant warm-season grass, and two parish districts in Metairie exist to keep the old canopy standing, so a lot of lawns here will always be partly shaded.
St. Augustine GrassMetairie
St. Augustine Sod for Shaded Metairie Yards
St. Augustine sod in Metairie is our usual answer for a yard under big trees.
St. Augustine for your Metairie yard
Parish
Jefferson ParishBest for
Shaded front yards, oak-lined lotsPallet coverage
About 450 sq ft eachEstimates
FREE on all servicesLicensed & Insured, Best Price GuaranteeFREE Estimates4 Grass Varieties14 Metro Cities
01 · Metairie
Will St. Augustine grow under Old Metairie’s oaks?
Under most of them, yes, as long as the lawn still gets sun for part of the day. LSU puts the floor for most turfgrass at 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight, and it’s blunt about the limit: even St. Augustine won’t grow well in dense shade. Live oaks with wide, spreading limbs can make some of the darkest yards you’ll find.
In Old Metairie and the Metairie Ridge tree district, those trees are protected. Oaks other than water oaks, plus elms, magnolias and sycamores, count as significant at 8 inches across the trunk or more, and the parish code bars digging, grading or filling that could harm one without approval. You work with the shade here instead of cutting it back, which is exactly the job St. Augustine is suited for.
Two habits help shaded St. Augustine:
- 01
Mow higher
Mow higher: LSU suggests 2.5 to 3 inches in sun and 3 to 3.5 inches under trees, so the blades catch more light.
- 02
Feed lighter
Feed lighter: Shaded turf should get no more than 0.5 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in any one feeding.
- 03
Count the sun hours
Count the sun hours: Under 4 hours of direct summer sun is a warning sign, even for this grass.
- 04
Ask before limbing up
Ask before limbing up: Thinning a protected tree for light is a question for the parish first, not after.
02 · Metairie
How does Metairie soil pH suit St. Augustine?
LSU’s St. Augustine sheet puts the ideal near pH 6.5, slightly acidic to neutral. An older LSU guide gives 6 to 7.5 and warns that many yards will need lime. Here’s how Metairie’s mapped soils compare at the surface:
The marsh muck under much of the lake side has no pH value in the federal soil data, so test before you lay sod there.
| Soil and where it shows up | Surface pH | Fit for St. Augustine |
|---|---|---|
| Schriever clay, Bonnabel Place | About 7.3 | Inside the older range, a little above the 6.5 ideal |
| Westwego clay, Westgate | About 6.2 | Close to ideal |
| Cancienne loams, Old Metairie and Metairie Terrace | About 5.7 | On the acidic side; a soil test may call for lime |
| Allemands muck, near Lakeshore Playground | About 5.4 | Too acidic without correction |
03 · Metairie
Which pests and diseases hit St. Augustine in Metairie?
- Southern chinch bugs: LSU calls them primarily a St. Augustine problem, worst in thick thatch, full sun and hot, dry weather, with most damage in mid to late summer. A soap flush (1 tablespoon of lemon-scented dish soap in a gallon of water) brings them up; LSU treats at 25 to 30 bugs in a square foot.
- Large patch: A fungus of spring and fall, active when nights run 60 to 75 F. On St. Augustine the patch edge looks yellowish. Morning watering and nitrogen kept to recommended rates help.
- Take-all root rot: Extended rain and soil pH above 6.5 favor it, which puts the Schriever clay yards on watch. It can pass for chinch bug damage, so check before you treat.
- Winter decline: St. Augustine is one of the grasses hit most in wet, poorly drained soil, and every soil in Metairie is rated poorly or somewhat poorly drained.
04 · Metairie
What does a year of St. Augustine care look like here?
- 01
Spring
Growth picks up in March. LSU’s example schedule puts the first pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet down in April.
- 02
Summer
A second feeding in June, mowing at 2.5 to 3 inches, and a regular chinch bug check once afternoons reach the low 90s. Our summer care tips for St. Augustine go deeper.
- 03
Fall
An optional August feeding, then nothing more. Large patch comes back as nights cool, so keep watering to early mornings.
- 04
Winter
Metairie ZIP codes are all zone 9b, with average extreme lows of 25 to 30 F. St. Augustine has the lowest cold tolerance of the grasses we lay, so a hard freeze can injure it, and wet ground makes decline more likely.
St. Augustine or something else for your Metairie yard?
If your lawn is shaded and you don’t play ball on it, St. Augustine is hard to beat here. For a sunnier yard, compare it with Bermuda in our Bermuda versus St. Augustine breakdown, or look at zoysia for partly shaded Metairie lots. See the full St. Augustine sod service, how we prep and lay sod in Metairie, or our Metairie lawn overview, then book a free estimate.
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