Grass Selection

Selecting the right grass for your home is foundational. The choices for most Texas homeowners are limited to St Augustine, Bermuda, Buffalo, Centipede, Tall Fescue, and Zoysiagrasses. Each species has both positive and negative traits. For example, Bermudagrass can provide a beautiful, dense, fine textured lawn with proper care, but it has very low shade tolerance, so it is a poor choice for landscapes with shady areas. Each turfgrass species also has many varieties to choose from. In a recent national turfgrass tall fescue variety evaluation trial, there were more than 125 different varieties entered. For most warm season grasses there are typically less than 10 varieties available to homeowners.

The following tables will help select a grass species that would be best suited for your particular landscape, desired level of care, and location in Texas.

Tif 419 Lawns

St. Augustinegrass Lawns

Zoysiagrass Lawns

Tall Fescue Lawn

Grass Species	Shade Tolerance	Water Requirement	Traffic Tolerance
St. Augustine	High	Medium	Low
Bermuda	Very low	Med.-Low	High
Buffalo	Medium	Very Low	Medium
Centipede	Medium	Medium	Low
Tall Fescue	High	Medium	Medium
Zoysia japonica*	Med.-High	Medium	High
Zoysia matrella*	Med.-High	Medium	Medium

Grass Species	Cold Tolerance	Salinity Tolerance	Disease Potential
St. Augustine	Low	Medium	High
Bermuda	Medium	Med.-High	Med.-Low
Buffalo	High	Low	Low
Centipede	Low-Med.	Low	Med.-Low
Tall Fescue	High	Low	Low
Zoysia japonica*	High	Med.-High	Med.-Low
Zoysia matrella*	Medium	Medium	Med.-Low

Grass Species	Mowing Frequency	Mowing Height	Fertility Requirement	Leaf Texture
St. Augustine	5-7 days	2.5-3.5"	Medium	Coarse
Bermuda	3-7 days	1.0-1.5"	High	Fine
Buffalo	7-14 days	2.5-3.0"	Low	Fine
Centipede	7-14 days	1.5-2.5"	Low	Coarse
Tall Fescue	5-7 days	2.5-3.0"	Medium	Coarse
Zoysia japonica*	7-10 days	1.0-1.5"	Med.-Low	Medium
Zoysia matrella*	5-7 days	0.5-1.0"	Medium	Fine

* There are two species of zoysiagrass available to home owners, Zoysia japonica (a medium leaf grass well adapted for home lawns) and Zoysia matrella (a fine leaf grass that produces a very dense, beautiful turf, but may require more maintenance).

Grass Selection

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