The complete resource for coastal and southern lawns. Master shade management, chinch bug control, salt tolerance, and cultivar selection for America's premium warm-season shade grass.
By Anton Schwarz, Resident Grass Expert
The only guide that treats shade management as the primary focus—not an afterthought. Detailed strategies for 30-70% shade conditions.
Salt tolerance protocols, hurricane recovery, coastal pest management. Written specifically for Gulf Coast and Atlantic regions.
Comprehensive chinch bug identification, monitoring, and control. The #1 pest challenge solved with proven strategies.
University research from UF, Texas A&M, LSU, and more. Real-world validation from 15+ years managing St. Augustine across climate zones.
Create a lush lawn under trees. Finally understand why your St. Augustine struggles—and how to fix it.
Maintain multiple properties efficiently. Standardized programs that work across diverse coastal sites.
Become the St. Augustine expert. Serve coastal clients better, reduce callbacks, charge premium rates.
Manage large-scale installations. Commercial properties, HOAs, and municipal landscapes along the coast.
Resident Grass Expert & Turfgrass Specialist
Anton Schwarz has dedicated over 15 years to testing and managing grass varieties across three distinct climate zones, with extensive experience in coastal environments. His expertise with St. Augustine grass spans from residential shade lawns to commercial coastal properties, giving him unique insight into this challenging but rewarding grass type.
This St. Augustine Grass Master Guide represents Anton's synthesis of university research from Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and other Gulf Coast institutions, combined with practical problem-solving across hundreds of coastal St. Augustine installations. Every recommendation is backed by research and real-world validation.
Anton's approach makes professional-grade knowledge accessible to homeowners while providing reference-quality depth for landscape professionals managing coastal properties.
"Chinch bugs are the #1 pest of St. Augustine grass, causing more turf loss than all other insects combined. They're tiny (1/8 inch), blend into the thatch layer, and their damage looks identical to drought stress—leading homeowners to water more, which actually makes the problem worse."
The guide walks you through comprehensive chinch bug management: early detection methods using the float test, life cycle understanding to time treatments correctly, resistant cultivar selection, cultural practices that reduce populations, targeted insecticide applications, and monitoring protocols to prevent reinfestations.
Every major pest, disease, and cultural practice follows this same comprehensive, actionable format.
"St. Augustine is shade-tolerant, not shade-proof. Most cultivars thrive with 4-6 hours of direct sun or bright filtered shade all day. Below that, you'll fight a losing battle—the grass can survive but won't thrive. The solution isn't more fertilizer or water; it's tree canopy management or cultivar selection."
Real-world guidance, not theoretical advice. The guide includes light level measurement techniques, shade vs sun fertility adjustments, when to prune trees vs when to switch grass types, and cultivar-specific shade tolerance data from university trials.
Every recommendation backed by research from leading institutions: University of Florida, Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, University of Georgia, NC State, and coastal agricultural extension programs. Includes citations to peer-reviewed studies and regional trial data.
By Anton Schwarz
Complete St. Augustine Management System
Digital PDF Download • Lifetime Updates • Money-Back Guarantee
If this guide doesn't deliver more value than any St. Augustine resource you've ever used, I'll refund every penny. No questions asked.
Anton Schwarz is our resident grass expert with over 15 years of hands-on experience testing and managing grass varieties across three climate zones, with extensive coastal experience. This guide represents his synthesis of university research, regional trial data, and real-world coastal lawn management.
Yes. While St. Augustine is most popular in Florida, the guide covers all regions where it grows: Gulf Coast (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), Atlantic Coast (Georgia, South Carolina), California coast, and transition zone applications (Zone 8). Regional chapters provide specific guidance for each area.
It depends on the cultivar. The guide includes detailed shade tolerance data for each major variety: Palmetto and Seville handle 50-60% shade, Floratam needs more sun (30-40% shade max), while newer cultivars like CitraBlue and Captiva fall in between. You'll learn how to measure your actual shade levels and match them to the right cultivar.
Yes—chinch bugs are responsible for more St. Augustine grass loss than all other pests combined. The guide provides comprehensive identification, monitoring, and control strategies proven to eliminate chinch bugs and prevent reinfestations. This alone could save you thousands in lawn replacement costs.
The guide covers cold tolerance extensively. While St. Augustine is primarily for Zones 9-11, several cultivars (Raleigh, Palmetto, Captiva) survive Zone 8 winters with proper management. You'll learn winter preparation, cultivar selection for northern limits, and when St. Augustine makes sense vs when to choose zoysia.
Yes. The guide presents both conventional and organic approaches for fertility, pest management, and disease control. You'll learn which organic methods work (and which don't) based on university research and field trials, not marketing hype.
Digital PDF download. Fully searchable, works on all devices (computer, tablet, phone), print sections you need. Includes bookmarked navigation for instant access to any topic. Future updates included free for life.
This guide synthesizes information from dozens of university extension publications into one comprehensive, cross-referenced resource. Instead of searching through 20+ different PDFs from UF, Texas A&M, LSU, and others, you get everything organized by topic with practical decision-making tools and real-world application guidance.
Stop fighting your lawn. Start working with St. Augustine's unique characteristics using proven, research-backed strategies by Anton Schwarz.
Shade Management • Chinch Bug Control • Coastal Adaptation • Cultivar Selection
Get Notified at Launch