St. Augustine grass care in Mount Dora

Mow high

The most common mistake with St. Augustine is cutting it too short. A taller blade shades the soil, holds moisture in Mount Dora’s sandy ground, and crowds out weeds. UF/IFAS recommends:

Follow the one-third rule: never remove more than a third of the blade in one cut. In the summer growing season that means mowing every week. Source: UF/IFAS, St. Augustinegrass for Florida Lawns.

Water on your day, and not in the heat

Mount Dora is under a Phase III water shortage order from the St. Johns River Water Management District. As of September 2026:

• SaturdayOdd-numbered addresses
• SundayEven-numbered addresses
• TuesdayBusinesses and HOA common areas

No irrigation between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. The limits cover city water, reclaimed water and private wells. Newly laid sod gets extra watering days for its first weeks. Rules can change when the order is lifted, so check the City of Mount Dora’s water page.

With one watering day, water deeply rather than lightly: about three-quarters of an inch, early in the morning. A tall-mowed lawn and mulched beds hold that water far longer.

The summer fertilizer ban

Lake County’s fertilizer ordinance bans fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus from June 1 through September 30. It also bans fertilizing before heavy rain, and keeps fertilizer 15 feet back from lakes and wetlands. In Mount Dora, with Lake Dora, Lake Gertrude and Lake Beauclair all nearby, that runoff goes straight into the water. Source: Lake County fertilizer ordinance.

We don’t apply fertilizer or weed control ourselves. We keep the grass mowed at the right height and the clippings on the lawn, where they return nutrients to the soil.

Shade under the live oaks

St. Augustine is the most shade-tolerant warm-season grass in Florida, but heavy oak shade still thins it. Two things help: mow the shaded areas higher than the sunny ones, and clear the oak leaves off the lawn during the spring drop so they don’t smother it. Where the shade is too deep for any grass, a mulched bed is the better answer than bare dirt.

Watch for chinch bugs

The southern chinch bug is the most damaging pest of St. Augustine grass in Florida. Damage shows up in the hottest, driest spots first, along driveways and sidewalks, as yellow patches that turn brown and keep spreading. In north and central Florida it’s worst from spring through fall and peaks in midsummer. Source: UF/IFAS.

If you see patches like that, it’s worth having a licensed pest control company look at them. Mowing high and watering properly make a lawn less inviting to them in the first place.

Replacing dead patches

St. Augustine doesn’t grow from seed, so bare spots are fixed with plugs or sod. Late spring into early summer, when the grass is growing fastest, is the best time. There are sod farms right on the edge of Mount Dora, and new sod gets extra watering days under the current order.

Want someone else to keep it mowed? Send the address or call (352) 383-9213. See how our mowing works.