Hi, I currently have centipede in my front lawn (columbia,sc), but it is really patchy and crappy. I put in a sprinkler system last year and I reseeded many of the patched areas. I fertilized the areas as well, but it really only grew in a couple places.

What I really want to do (since I have 2 big honkin' oak trees in the front) is to replace the centipede with st augustine since much of the front yard is shaded.

How should I go about doing this? I was told by many that you cannot get st augustine seed in north america, only plugs and sod.

If I sod, do I have to rent a sod cutter and take out everything? If I do plugs, can I just plug everywhere throughout the lawn amidst the centipede grass?

Or should I just go buy some kerosene and light my yard on fire and roast weenies?