In comparing Emerald Zoysia versus St. Augustine grass, what’s better for your project? Houston Grass Owner Michael Romine answers that question in this video. If you need advice about picking the perfect grass for your project, please call us at 281-431-7441 for expert help. We deliver the best grass sod in Houston, so please call us!
Summary of Emerald Zoysia versus St. Augustine Grass
Grass is looking great. We had one pallet of emerald zoysia delivered to fill our town home yard and it has established very nicely, even with three dogs! The section where the dogs don’t go has immaculate, deep green, and healthy grass. The section with dog traffic takes more maintenance and we had trouble with brown spots; but after a follow up call to Houston Grass, an application of fertilizer, and some other dog specific treatments, even this heavy traffic area is on track to look fabulous! I would definitely recommend Houston Grass for those looking to install high quality sod (we installed it ourselves, but in they offer installation services as well). Thank you!
Christopher Mayer
Google ReviewEmerald Zoysia versus St. Augustine. If I’m going to make a comparison with the Emerald Zoysia and another grass, you should lump Cavalier Zoysia in there with Emerald. Emerald and Cavalier are both fine bladed Zoysias that we carry, and it’s very hard to tell the difference between the two. But if you’re going to compare the fine bladed Zoysias to St. Augustine, they are worlds apart.
Differences in Appearance – Emerald Zoysia versus St. Augustine
The St. Augustine is what we are all familiar with here in along the Texas Gulf Coast and greater Houston area. It’s the thicker bladed, and it grows with the runners that it sends out.
Emerald and Cavalier are very fine bladed. They have an appearance similar to some of the fine bladed Bermuda grasses that you might see on a well-manicured golf course. So the first thing you’re going to notice in comparing Emerald Zoysia versus St. Augustine is a huge difference in texture between the two.
The biggest difference with Emerald Zoysia versus St. Augustine would be aesthetics and the feel of it. The St. Augustines have the real coarse leaves that we’re all used to. The Zoysias are very aesthetically pleasing. I’m sorry, all the ones we carry are various aesthetically pleasing. They look different.
So people who want a grass that is a little nicer and something that looks a little different for a specific area might choose Emerald Zoysia over St. Augustine. They can certainly be an answer for that.
Differences in Growth Habit
If you had both of them in different areas of your lawn, you would also notice difference in the growth habit. The fine bladed Zoysias are not going to encroach into flowerbeds. It’s going to kind of stay put. St. Augustine has got the real aggressive growth habit. It can get up in your flower beds and it grows out onto the sidewalk with those runners.
You’re probably not going to have to mow Emerald or Cavalier Zoysia as often because they grow slower. That the slow growth habit has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are the less mowing, and not growing where it’s not supposed to up in your flower beds and out onto the sidewalks.
The disadvantage to that slower growth habit is that the Cavalier and Emerald Zoysia grasses take much longer to repair damage. When the grass thins out for some reason because of too much traffic in the area, pet damage, fungus damage or insect damage, it’s going to recuperate a lot slower.
You’re never going to see a fine bladed Zoysia out on the sports field. Sports fields use the Bermuda grasses because they recover the fastest. It would take forever for a fine bladed Zoysia to like Emerald and Cavalier to do that.
With the St. Augustine grasses, that aggressive growth habit allows itself to repair itself much more quickly. Areas worn thin by traffic, fungus, insects or other damage will be filled in with new grass pretty quickly.
Differences in Shade Tolerance Depend on the St. Augustine Variety
Another thing that comes to mind is shade tolerance. The fine-bladed Zoysias have fairly good shade tolerance. They can survive on four or five hours of direct sunlight each day. Raleigh St. Augustine need six or seven hours of direct sunlight. However, Palmetto St. Augustine looks very similar to Raleigh St. Augustine and it can survive on about the same amount of sunlight as the fine bladed Zoysias which is four or five hours of direct sunlight.
Cost Is a Significant Difference between Zoysia Grass and St. Augustine Grass
I guess, cost would be another point of comparison between Emerald Zoysia and St. Augustine. The St. Augustines are significantly less expensive than any of the Zoysias, whether we’re talking about the Palmetto or the regular Raleigh St. Augustine. The St. Augustine grasses are both significantly less expensive than any of the three Zoysias and specifically the Emerald and the Cavalier.
So if you have any questions about any of them please give us a call and we’ll see what we can do to guide you in the right direction.
Call 281-431-7441 for Expert Help in Picking Your Perfect Grass
You can call us or use our contact form or quote form for expert help in picking the best grass variety for your next project. We can vouch for the high-quality of our grass because it’s grown on our family farm in Bay City, TX. Our family has been in the grass business since 1981, so our long experience helps us help you select the best grass variety to meet your requirements.
