Many people will say that St. Augustine is better because it is easier to pull out of flowerbeds. If you have a lot of sun in your yard, Bermuda will be fine too. Just keep it trimmed to the ground next to your flowerbed edging and it will stay out of the flowerbeds. If you have more shade in your yard, then definitely go with St. Augustine. The St. Augustine will choke out the weeds and any Bermudagrass that pops up.

jmo but l like st augst. better because i like the darker (cooler) color and how it feels on barefeet...

i have both and as mentioned the st augst does work better in the shade and my bermuda is harder to keep out of my beds...

:)

Our lawn areas are mixed with bermuda but mostly St. Augustine. I don't have trouble pulling out the bermuda that gets in the beds as long as I keep everything mulched. If not, you get another lawn in there quickly. I think bermuda is easier to trim than St. Augustine, and it sure does spread quickly!

Thanks for the input, my backyard is full sun, no shade at all. Actually I hate to kill the healthy green bermuda patch I have right now, but it's difficult to pull it out of my flower beds. I'll hold on to the bermuda killer bottle for now and sleep on it for a couple more days.

Give that Bermudagrass a little fertilizer and you will be surprised to see that it will fill in your lawn pretty quickly this summer.

Mulch those beds, and stick a metal border or something down around the edges a few inches deep to slow it down. I have to edge my beds weekly this time of year no matter what the grass is, or I have grass going in and groundcover sneaking out.

I saw another thread on Bermuda, I think I will try and do Mike&Barb on planting plugs. I will let the Bermuda grow since it's not near any flower beds. I will check Lowe's if they have St. Aug plugs, I want to take advantage of this rain.

I got St. Augustine plugs at Lowe's a couple years ago and also saw them at Home Depot also this spring. If you can't find the plugs, then get sod and cut it up with a sharp shovel and use those pieces as plugs.

I would try Lowes or Depot for plugs. Sometimes they sell Delmar variety which has to be the SLOWEST spreading st augustine ever. Palmetto is alright. Raleigh is alright. Sapphire st augustine is best at plugging because they spread so fast. I'd try Floratam in Zone 9, maybe zone 8b. They spread pretty fast compared to Palmetto or Raleigh. Avoid Delmar. I have no idea where to get Sapphire plugs though but maybe you can get 18x12" pieces somewhere. You might have to call around.

http://www.sodsolutions.com/retail.shtml - plugs?
http://www.sodsolutions.com/wholesale.shtml - 18x12" pieces?

What about chiggers and Bermuda?

I would stay away from the Delmar. I have used it before and while it looks decent, it is really SLOW to fill in compared to other St. Augustine. If you can't find plugs you can always try and find a place that sells sod and pick up a few pieces and cut it up. It would be a lot cheaper that way too.

You can also get on Craig's List or Freecycle and offer to dig out St. Augustine people don't want. We are building a huge new bed in our backyard right now, and that's how I got all the grass dug out. Took 3 people to get rid of it all, but I didn't burn one calorie, and the beds are ready to be worked. Any sod place in your area will sell the squares for less than you'll pay for plugs at the big hardware stores. I think Miller Grass in east Dallas asked less than $.80/square, and it might be a lot less than that this year with all the rain.

I wouldn't mess with getting rid of the bermuda, though. Let it stay green, and the St. Augustine will eventually mix and then choke it out.

I went to Lowe's and Home Depot yesterday and yielded nothing. It might be too late, 2-3 weeks ago, I was at Lowe's I saw somebody hauling St. Aug sod and she said they were on sale, I thought it was too late to sod because we're getting into the hot season already. How wrong I was and how lucky she is. Now where is Miller Grass?

St A is kin to crabgrass so if you use something to kill out your crabgrass, it will get your St A too. However, it will not kill your Bermuda. I think Bermuda does best up your way anyhow...and if you have no shade, you are golden. You can always hydromulch (after the crabgass is gone) and have a full green Bermuda lawn in about a month or so. Just keep it watered.

There are many different kinds of carpet grass(St. Augustine) and many kinds of bermuda.

The bermuda here, gets a much deeper green colour, and is a bit more drought tolerant.

I have at least 5 different kinds growing here, and at work, there is a spot where there used to be an old house, where there is bermuda that I have never seen before. It stays much shorter than any other bermuda grass I have ever seen, and it also stays a deep green, and is drought tolerant.

I have been trying to get some started here at my home. I like it much better than St Augustine, which I used to prefer.

Kt