Mobile is perfect St Augustine country. The old original St Augustine that seems to do just fine is called common. The newer ones are distinct varieties or hybrids which have been selected due to their ability to perform differently. Some grow slower. Some grow better in sun than in shade. Some resist disease better.

If you find friends willing to let you dig up their yard, you will have to cut "plugs" that are 6x6 inches minimum. If you get smaller than that you are just chopping up the stolons and it will be very slow to take. Be sure to get at least 3/4-inch of soil under the sod so you have some roots to work with.

A couple years ago I bought one piece of Floratam St Augustine and placed it in the middle of my back yard. The back had been left to die the season before and transformed into common bermuda. I cut out the bermuda the size of my one piece of Floratam (18 x 24 inches) and placed it in. I nursed the SA and did not cater to the bermuda for 2 years. After that time the SA had taken over fully. Now we have a new puppy, so I'll be doing that again in the near future after he settles down.

Thanks so much for your advice. I wish I had posted here before I started all my online research -- it would have saved me much distress. I called a couple of grass farms in the area to ask what kind of st augustine they grow --- the didn't know. They basically said "just the regular St Augustine." One thing I have learned is to forget about internet research until you know what's available in your own community because many of the varieties will not be available. I ended up choosing Geo Zoysia. It will be coming from a local farm. Sure hope I made the right decision.
Thanks again

Awwwww, Jessica! I was only a day late getting you a reply!!

I think you might be disappointed with zoysia. Quite often I drive through an affluent neighborhood of San Antonio. Even there, only the wealthiest and stubbornest have stuck it out with zoysia. The problem is that if you have any problem with it during the growing season, the problem spot will go dormant until next April. So if the grass dries out - brown 'til April. If it gets a disease (common, by the way) - brown 'til April. If it gets a hot spot from too much fertilizer in a summer application - brown 'til April. If it gets too much shade - brown FOREVER. What usually happens in this neighborhood is someone new will buy a house and renovate the lawn from St Augustine to a fine bladed zoysia. About 3-4 months later they get a disease from over watering. Then they renovate with new St Augustine sod. I've seen that time and again. There are about 1,000 St Augustine lawns, 100 bermuda lawns, and three zoysia lawns in the neighborhood. The all look good for now.