Bermuda Grass vs St. Augustine Grass: Which Warm-Season Grass Is Right for Your Lawn?

If you live in the southern United States, the Gulf Coast, or any warm, humid region of the world, chances are your lawn choice comes down to two grasses more than any other: Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) and St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum). 

Both are warm-season grasses. Both are tough, vigorous, and capable of producing a beautiful lawn in the right conditions. And yet, they have very different personalities.

Choosing between them is not just a matter of personal taste — it is a practical decision shaped by your climate, soil, sun exposure, lifestyle, and how much effort you are willing to put into lawn maintenance. Get it right, and your lawn will thrive for years. Get it wrong, and you may spend years fighting a grass that simply does not suit your conditions.

This guide gives you an in-depth, honest comparison of Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass. It covers their origins, appearance, growth habits, climate needs, maintenance requirements, pest and disease vulnerabilities, and much more. By the end, you should have a clear sense of which grass belongs in your yard.

What Are Warm-Season Grasses?

Warm-season grasses grow most vigorously when soil temperatures are between 80°F and 95°F (27°C–35°C). They thrive in spring and summer, go dormant and turn brown during cooler months, and are best adapted to the southern United States, coastal regions, and tropical or subtropical climates worldwide.

Both Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass fall squarely in this category. They are the dominant lawn grasses across the Sun Belt — from Florida and the Carolinas west through Texas, California, and into Hawaii. Understanding where they overlap and where they diverge is key to making the right choice.

Bermuda Grass: An Overview

Bermuda grass is one of the most widely used turfgrasses in the world. It is found on golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns, roadsides, and pastures across every continent except Antarctica. Its adaptability, durability, and recovery speed make it one of the most reliable warm-season grasses available.

Origins

Despite its common name, Bermuda grass did not originate in Bermuda. It is native to Africa and parts of southern Asia and was likely introduced to North America in the 1700s, possibly through Bermuda — which is how it acquired its name. It naturalized rapidly and is now found throughout the warm regions of the world, sometimes invasively so.

Appearance

Common Bermuda grass has a fine to medium texture with narrow, grayish-green blades. Hybrid Bermuda cultivars, developed for turf use, tend to have finer textures, denser growth, and a richer green color. The grass forms a tight, dense mat when well maintained. Its appearance when properly cared for is genuinely impressive — uniform, firm underfoot, and visually clean.

How It Spreads

Bermuda grass spreads aggressively through both above-ground stems called stolons and underground stems called rhizomes. This dual spreading mechanism makes it one of the most vigorous grasses available. It fills in bare patches quickly and recovers from damage — whether from foot traffic, drought, or mechanical wear — faster than almost any other warm-season grass.

This same aggressiveness, however, means Bermuda grass does not respect boundaries. It will invade flower beds, crawl into neighboring lawns, and push into areas where it is not wanted. Managing its spread requires consistent edging.

Climate and Adaptation

Bermuda grass is best suited to USDA Hardiness Zones 7 through 10. It demands heat and full sun to perform well. In Zone 7, it may experience significant winter dormancy but recovers reliably in spring. Below Zone 7, it becomes increasingly vulnerable to cold damage and winterkill.

It is highly drought-tolerant once established, making it well suited to regions with periodic dry spells. Its deep root system — which can extend several feet into the soil — allows it to access moisture unavailable to shallower-rooted grasses.

Establishment

Bermuda grass can be established from seed, sod, sprigs, or plugs. Common Bermuda grass is widely available as seed and is the most affordable option. Hybrid varieties, which offer better turf quality, must be established vegetatively through sod or sprigs because they do not produce viable seed.

Germination from seed is relatively quick — typically 7 to 14 days under warm conditions. Full coverage can be achieved in a single growing season with proper irrigation and fertilization.

St. Augustine Grass: An Overview

St. Augustine grass is the most widely used lawn grass in Florida and is extremely popular throughout the Gulf Coast, southern California, and tropical regions worldwide. It has a look and feel quite different from Bermuda grass — broader, softer blades and a lush, carpet-like density that many homeowners find deeply appealing.

Origins

St. Augustine grass is native to the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean region. It is a naturally occurring coastal grass, often found growing near beaches, marshes, and tropical shorelines. This coastal heritage explains much of its character — it tolerates salt spray, humidity, and mild temperatures but does not handle cold or drought particularly well.

Appearance

St. Augustine grass has the most distinctive appearance of any common warm-season grass. Its blades are broad, flat, and rounded at the tip — noticeably wider than Bermuda grass, tall fescue, or most other lawn grasses. The color is a medium to dark green, and the texture feels somewhat coarse but creates a thick, visually lush lawn.

Newer cultivars, particularly dwarf varieties like Seville and Captiva, have finer textures and a denser, more refined appearance. Still, St. Augustine grass has a characteristic look that is immediately recognizable — bold and tropical in character.

How It Spreads

St. Augustine grass spreads exclusively through stolons — above-ground runners that creep along the soil surface and send down roots at nodes. It does not produce rhizomes. This makes it somewhat less aggressive than Bermuda grass in spreading laterally, though it can still invade beds and borders.

Because it spreads only above ground, St. Augustine is also more vulnerable to damage. Its stolons can be cut, dried out, or killed more easily than underground rhizomes. This matters in terms of recovery time and cold hardiness.

Climate and Adaptation

St. Augustine grass is best suited to USDA Zones 8 through 10. It prefers warm, humid coastal climates and performs best in areas that do not experience hard freezes. Below 20°F (–7°C), St. Augustine grass can suffer severe damage to its above-ground stolons. Extended cold temperatures — even without a hard freeze — can significantly weaken it.

It is not nearly as drought-tolerant as Bermuda grass. In regions with dry summers, St. Augustine requires regular irrigation to stay green and healthy.

Establishment

St. Augustine grass does not produce reliable seed and is almost always established through sod or plugs. This makes it generally more expensive to establish than Bermuda grass. Sod establishment is fast — a new lawn can be functional within a few weeks — but the cost is noticeably higher than seeding Bermuda grass.

Bermuda Grass vs St. Augustine Grass: A Head-to-Head Comparison

1. Sun Requirements

This is one of the most important practical differences between the two grasses. Bermuda grass needs full sun — a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day. It performs poorly in shade and will thin dramatically under tree canopies or in areas blocked by buildings. If your lawn has significant shade, Bermuda grass will struggle no matter what you do.

St. Augustine grass, by contrast, is the most shade-tolerant of the common warm-season grasses. It can survive and maintain reasonable density with just 4 to 6 hours of sunlight per day. Shade-tolerant cultivars like Palmetto and Seville can handle even lower light levels. This is one of the primary reasons St. Augustine grass dominates Florida lawns, where mature oak and palm trees create significant shade in residential neighborhoods.

Winner: St. Augustine Grass

2. Drought Tolerance

Bermuda grass has a considerable advantage here. Its deep, extensive root system — combined with its ability to go dormant and then recover quickly when moisture returns — makes it one of the most drought-resistant warm-season grasses available. It can survive extended dry periods that would severely damage or kill St. Augustine grass.

St. Augustine grass is moderately drought-tolerant at best. It requires consistent moisture to stay green and healthy, and its shallower root system means it becomes drought-stressed more quickly. In areas with regular summer drought, St. Augustine will need supplemental irrigation throughout the season.

Winner: Bermuda Grass

3. Heat Tolerance

Both grasses handle heat well, as is expected of warm-season species. Bermuda grass, however, has a slight edge in extreme heat. It continues to grow actively even when temperatures exceed 100°F (38°C), provided it has adequate moisture. St. Augustine grass may slow growth and show stress signs during extreme, prolonged heat, particularly if irrigation is insufficient.

For most homeowners in Zones 8 through 10, this distinction is minor during typical summers. It becomes more relevant during drought years or in regions with desert-like summer conditions.

Winner: Bermuda Grass (slight advantage)

4. Cold Tolerance

Bermuda grass has better cold tolerance than St. Augustine grass, though neither handles freezing temperatures particularly well. Bermuda grass can survive short dips below freezing and is reliably hardy into Zone 7. Its rhizomes, being underground, are insulated from surface cold.

St. Augustine grass is more sensitive to cold because its spreading stolons run along the soil surface, exposing them to frost damage. A hard freeze can kill large sections of St. Augustine grass, requiring significant overseeding or sodding to repair. In Zone 8 and colder, homeowners often experience periodic winter kill of St. Augustine lawns.

Winner: Bermuda Grass

5. Shade Tolerance

As noted above, St. Augustine grass is the clear winner here. Bermuda grass has almost no shade tolerance and should not be planted in areas that receive less than 6 hours of direct sunlight. St. Augustine grass, especially shade-tolerant cultivars, can thrive in conditions where Bermuda grass simply cannot survive.

If your yard has large trees, a fence that blocks morning sun, or structures that cast significant shade, St. Augustine grass is almost certainly the better choice.

Winner: St. Augustine Grass

6. Traffic and Wear Tolerance

Bermuda grass handles foot traffic better than almost any warm-season grass. It is the grass of choice for sports fields, golf fairways, and high-use recreational areas for good reason. It is tough, resilient, and recovers from wear rapidly. Its dual spreading mechanism means that even heavily worn areas bounce back quickly during the growing season.

St. Augustine grass is moderately tolerant of foot traffic but is noticeably less durable under heavy or repeated wear. Its coarser stolons can be physically damaged by consistent traffic, and recovery is slower. It is perfectly adequate for typical residential use — family gatherings, children playing — but it is not the right choice for a backyard that sees intensive, daily activity.

Winner: Bermuda Grass

7. Maintenance Requirements

Bermuda grass is a high-maintenance grass. It grows vigorously and requires frequent mowing — often once or even twice per week during peak growing season. It should be mowed at a height of 0.5 to 1.5 inches for hybrid varieties, and 1.5 to 2.5 inches for common types. Missing mowing cycles leads to thatch buildup and a scalped appearance when mowing resumes.

It also requires heavy fertilization — typically 4 to 6 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year — and annual dethatching or core aeration to manage its dense thatch layer.

St. Augustine grass requires less frequent mowing and tolerates a higher mowing height of 3 to 4 inches. It produces thatch, but generally not as aggressively as Bermuda grass. Its fertilization requirements are moderate — around 2 to 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year, depending on the cultivar and region.

Overall, Bermuda grass demands more time and attention to maintain well. For homeowners with busy schedules or those who prefer a more relaxed lawn care routine, St. Augustine grass is the more forgiving option.

Winner: St. Augustine Grass

8. Pest and Disease Resistance

Both grasses have their vulnerabilities, and this category is genuinely close.

Bermuda grass is susceptible to several insects, including sod webworms, armyworms, and mole crickets. It can also develop fungal issues such as dollar spot and spring dead spot — the latter being a particularly frustrating disease that creates dead circular patches in late winter as the grass comes out of dormancy.

St. Augustine grass has its own serious pest challenge: chinch bugs (Blissus insularis). In Florida and along the Gulf Coast, chinch bugs are one of the most damaging lawn pests encountered by homeowners, and St. Augustine grass is their preferred host. They feed at the base of grass blades, injecting a toxin that causes irregular dead patches. 

Damage can spread rapidly in hot, dry weather and is often mistaken for drought stress — a delay that can result in extensive lawn loss.

St. Augustine grass is also susceptible to a viral disease called St. Augustine Decline (SAD), caused by Panicum mosaic virus. It causes mottled yellowing and gradual thinning of the lawn and has no cure. Planting SAD-resistant cultivars such as Floratam and Raleigh is the primary management strategy.

Brown patch (Rhizoctonia solani) and gray leaf spot are additional fungal concerns for St. Augustine grass, particularly during warm, humid periods.

Winner: Bermuda Grass (slight advantage, but chinch bug pressure is a significant factor in many regions)

9. Invasiveness and Edging

Bermuda grass is notoriously invasive. Its rhizomes travel underground, making it difficult to contain and challenging to remove once established. It will creep into garden beds, vegetable gardens, and neighboring lawns with determination. Managing its spread requires regular, deep edging — ideally with a mechanical edger rather than just a string trimmer.

St. Augustine grass spreads only through surface stolons, which are easier to see and control. It is still capable of invading beds and borders, but managing it is generally less frustrating than managing Bermuda grass. Homeowners who maintain well-defined garden beds often find St. Augustine grass more cooperative in this regard.

Winner: St. Augustine Grass

10. Cost of Establishment

Common Bermuda grass is one of the most affordable lawn options available. It can be seeded directly, and seed is inexpensive and widely available. Hybrid Bermuda grass requires sod or sprigs, which costs more, but is still competitive with other premium options.

St. Augustine grass must be established via sod or plugs, which is inherently more expensive than seeding. The cost per square foot of St. Augustine sod is generally comparable to or slightly higher than Bermuda sod, and the inability to establish it from seed removes the budget-friendly seeding option entirely.

Winner: Bermuda Grass (especially common varieties established from seed)

11. Salt Tolerance

Both grasses have reasonable salt tolerance — an important consideration for coastal homeowners. St. Augustine grass is particularly notable here, as its origins as a coastal grass give it natural adaptation to salt spray and saline soils. Bermuda grass also handles salt reasonably well, but St. Augustine has a historical edge in true coastal environments.

Winner: St. Augustine Grass (slight advantage in coastal applications)

12. Aesthetic Appeal

This is inherently subjective, but it is worth addressing directly. St. Augustine grass, with its broad, lush blades and rich green color, creates a lawn that many homeowners in the South find deeply satisfying. It has a tropical, full appearance that feels inviting and visually substantial.

Hybrid Bermuda grass, when perfectly maintained at a low mowing height with adequate fertilization, creates a dense, uniform lawn with a refined, almost carpet-like quality. Golf course fairways managed as Bermuda grass demonstrate the potential of this grass at its best.

However, for the typical residential homeowner who mows weekly and manages their lawn without professional-grade equipment, St. Augustine grass often looks more attractive with less effort. Its higher mowing height and lush texture are forgiving.

Winner: Depends on personal preference; St. Augustine for a lush, tropical look; Bermuda for a refined, dense turf

Can You Mix Bermuda Grass and St. Augustine Grass?

This is a question that comes up regularly among homeowners in the transition areas of the South. The short answer is: mixing is not recommended and rarely works well in practice.

Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass are both highly competitive. When planted together, Bermuda grass tends to invade and eventually dominate because of its more aggressive spreading and lower mowing preference. 

St. Augustine grass prefers a higher mowing height, and mowing at that height actually suppresses Bermuda grass — which prefers shorter cutting. The result is a lawn that is constantly in a state of competitive tension, looking inconsistent and requiring extra management.

In shaded areas of a lawn, St. Augustine may naturally prevail over Bermuda because of its shade tolerance. In sunny, high-traffic zones, Bermuda tends to win. Homeowners with mixed sun and shade yards sometimes end up with both grasses occupying different areas naturally — not by design, but because each settles into the conditions that suit it. While not ideal from a uniformity perspective, this can sometimes be the practical reality.

Deliberate mixing, however, is not a strategy most turf professionals would recommend.

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Which Grass Should You Choose?

Choose Bermuda Grass if:

• Your lawn receives full sun for 6 or more hours per day.
• You live in USDA Zones 7 through 10 with hot summers.
• Drought tolerance is a priority.
• Your lawn sees heavy foot traffic from children, pets, or outdoor activities.
• You want to establish a lawn from seed at lower cost.
• You are in a region with occasional cold winters (Zone 7–8 lower range).

Choose St. Augustine Grass if:

• Your lawn has areas of moderate shade under trees or structures.
• You live in USDA Zones 8 through 10, particularly along the Gulf Coast or in Florida.
• You prefer a lush, tropical-looking lawn with less intensive mowing.
• Salt exposure from coastal proximity is a factor.
• You are willing to sod rather than seed for establishment.
• Your primary concern is shade coverage and visual density.

Recommended Cultivars

Bermuda Grass Cultivars

• Tifway 419 — The industry standard for athletic fields and golf courses. Fine texture, dense growth, excellent recovery.
• TifTuf — Exceptional drought tolerance and wear recovery; gaining popularity for residential use.
• Celebration — Strong drought and shade tolerance (relative to Bermuda grass); dark blue-green color.
• Common Bermuda — Budget-friendly from seed; coarser texture, suitable for utility lawns.

St. Augustine Grass Cultivars

• Floratam — The most widely planted variety in Florida; good chinch bug resistance; requires full sun.
• Palmetto — Excellent shade tolerance; finer texture; good cold hardiness for St. Augustine grass.
• Seville — Dwarf variety with fine texture; good shade tolerance; lower mowing requirement.
• Captiva — Superior chinch bug resistance; compact growth; ideal where chinch bugs are a persistent problem.

Summary Comparison Table

Feature	Bermuda Grass	St. Augustine Grass
Texture	Fine to medium	Coarse (medium in newer cultivars)
Color	Gray-green to dark green	Medium to dark green
Growth habit	Stolons and rhizomes	Stolons only
Sun requirement	Full sun (6–8 hrs minimum)	Moderate shade tolerant (4–6 hrs)
Drought tolerance	High	Moderate
Heat tolerance	Very high	High
Cold tolerance	Moderate (Zone 7–10)	Low to moderate (Zone 8–10)
Shade tolerance	Very low	Moderate to good
Traffic tolerance	Very high	Moderate
Maintenance level	High	Moderate
Establishment	Seed, sod, sprigs	Sod, plugs only
Cost to establish	Low (seed) to moderate (sod)	Moderate to high (sod only)
Key pest concern	Sod webworms, spring dead spot	Chinch bugs, SAD virus
Salt tolerance	Moderate	Good
Best climate zones	7–10	8–10
Invasiveness	High (hard to contain)	Moderate (easier to manage)

Final Thoughts

There is no objectively superior grass between Bermuda and St. Augustine. Each is genuinely excellent within its ideal conditions — and genuinely problematic outside of them.

Bermuda grass is the better choice for sun-drenched, high-traffic lawns where durability and drought resilience matter most. It rewards attentive maintenance with a dense, refined turf that can rival anything in the warm-season category. But it is demanding, invasive, and hopeless in shade.

St. Augustine grass is the better choice for homeowners who want a lush, visually satisfying lawn without the most intensive maintenance demands, particularly in shaded or coastal environments. It is more forgiving of casual care, more tolerant of shade, and more beautiful with less effort in the right climate. Its vulnerabilities — particularly chinch bugs and cold sensitivity — are real, but manageable with awareness and appropriate cultivar selection.

The most important thing you can do before making your choice is to assess your own yard honestly: how much sun does it receive, how much shade, how much foot traffic, and how much time are you realistically able to give to lawn care? Answer those questions truthfully, and the right grass will reveal itself.

References

1. Trenholm, L. E., & Unruh, J. B. (University of Florida IFAS Extension) — St. Augustinegrass for Florida Lawns. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/LH010
2. Unruh, J. B., & Trenholm, L. E. (University of Florida IFAS Extension) — Bermudagrass for Florida Lawns. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/LH009
3. McAfee, J. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension) — Turfgrass Selection for Texas. https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/landscaping/lawns-in-texas/
4. Hanna, W. W., & Elsner, J. E. (University of Georgia Extension) — Bermudagrass: The Sports Turf of the South. https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1308
5. Duble, R. L. (Texas A&M University — Department of Soil and Crop Sciences) — St. Augustinegrass. https://turf.tamu.edu/turfgrasses/st-augustinegrass/