Written and checked by the USA Sod team · Published November 9, 2026
Full sun: pick Floratam St. Augustine. Some shade: pick Palmetto St. Augustine. Salt spray: pick Icon zoysia. Big lot with no sprinklers: pick Bahia. USA Sod commonly offers all four in the Sarasota and Bradenton market: check your ZIP code for today's list.
What your yard is up against
Many Florida coastal areas have sandy, high-pH soil. Test your soil before you plant. Close to the Gulf, salt reaches the grass three ways: in irrigation water, through seawater seeping into the ground and as spray off the water. Shade narrows your choices too, since most warm-season grasses want a fair amount of sun.
When to lay sod in Sarasota and Bradenton
UF/IFAS counts everything south of a line from Tampa to Vero Beach as south Florida, and Sarasota and Bradenton sit below that line. In south Florida, St. Augustine goes in best from late fall through spring. Avoid extreme heat or cold when you can, especially if a freeze is in the forecast. Bermuda and Bahia can go in during any month across much of Florida.
For the first 7 to 10 days, water new sod in several short runs of 5 to 10 minutes through the day so it does not dry out. Then water once a day for another 7 to 10 days, and after that two or three times a week. By three to four weeks it should be established; from then on, water when it shows it needs it.
St. Augustine
St. Augustine copes with salt fairly well, and some varieties take more shade than other warm-season grasses. The trade-offs: it may need extra water through long dry stretches, and repeated foot or car traffic wears it down.
- Floratam is the St. Augustine Florida plants most. It has a coarse blade and needs at least 6 hours of sun a day; below that it struggles to persist.
- Palmetto takes full sun or part shade, though not deep shade.
- ProVista comes from Floratam genetics, with a darker green color and better shade tolerance. It also grows more slowly, so you mow it less often.
- CitraBlue has a blue-green color and a flatter, denser habit that lets it hold off weeds better than Floratam.
Torn between Palmetto, ProVista and Floratam? Match the variety to the hours of sun your yard gets.
Zoysia for salt spray and traffic
Zoysia holds up to shade, salt and foot traffic. Icon has very high salt tolerance, makes strong sod and builds up very little thatch, and large patch disease has not turned up in it. Empire is the zoysia Florida uses most and does well statewide, but large patch can hit it. If your yard catches spray off the water, look at Icon.
Plan for dry weeks: in a drought, zoysia turns brown and goes dormant within about a week, then greens back up once rain or irrigation returns.
Bermuda for full sun and play
Bermuda stands up very well to wear, drought and salt, but it handles shade poorly. It spreads hard by runners above and below ground and can creep into flower beds. Celebration takes traffic well and tolerates a bit more shade than other Bermudas. Bimini is very new on the Florida market, with growth between Celebration and the hybrid types. Weighing Bermuda grass vs. St. Augustine? Bermuda wins on wear, St. Augustine on shade.
Bahia for big lots
Bahia gets by on little water and fertilizer, which makes it a good fit for large lots, acreage and any yard without a sprinkler system. Expect a looser lawn: today's Bahia varieties do not form a dense, carpet-like turf, and Bahia handles salt less well than zoysia, Bermuda or St. Augustine.
Ordering sod in Sarasota and Bradenton
USA Sod commonly offers Bahia, Bimini Bermuda, Celebration Bermuda, CitraBlue St. Augustine, Empire Zoysia, Floratam St. Augustine, Icon Zoysia, Palmetto St. Augustine, ProVista St. Augustine and Viridian St. Augustine in this market. Availability changes week to week, so enter your ZIP code for today's list, or see the market page.
Quotes here use 400 square feet per pallet, and sod is sold in full pallets because it is cut to order. Delivery is a flat $200 no matter how many pallets you order. In this market an on-site measurement is $199, credited toward your sod order.
Late fall through spring is the St. Augustine window here, so start your Sarasota or Bradenton lawn in the lawn designer or call 1-866-886-2763.
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