Grasses used in Texas for lawns are dependent on largely where in this large state they will be planted. Growing season ranges from 185 days in Northern cooler areas to over 300 days in the Southeast. Rainfall is also a factor in lawns with a wide range from over 50+ inches in the East to less than 10 in the western areas. Due to these factors, cool season and warm season grasses are used.
Cool-season grasses: Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea). Tall fescue will tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, but like most turfgrasses grows best with a soil pH between 5.5 and 6.5. Turf-type tall fescues are used extensively in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and Northern Texas, but generally will require irrigation to survive heat/drought. Fescue can be used in any part of the state in shady areas.
Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Ryegrass is suited for overseeding warm season grasses throughout Texas. They can be used as a temporary winter cover on new lawns that have not been permanently established. Ryegrasses are also used for overseeding, that is, to provide a green cover on a warm-season grass during the winter.
Kentucky bluegrass - Kentucky bluegrass is a persistent and attractive species that is used in many home lawns, institutional grounds, parks, and athletic fields. This species has a medium to fine leaf texture and a medium- to dark-green color when properly fertilized. It produces extensive underground stems, called rhizomes, which provide good sod-forming characteristics and superior recuperative potential when compared to most other cool-season turfgrasses. Kentucky bluegrass is cold tolerant, wear tolerant, and moderately heat and drought tolerant. It makes optimum growth during the spring and fall and becomes semi-dormant under prolonged periods of heat and drought. It usually recovers quickly from dormancy with the advent of cooler temperatures and adequate soil moisture. Kentucky bluegrass is limited in use to mainly panhandle areas of Texas.
Warm-season grasses: Bermudagrasses (Cynodon Spp). All bermudas thrive in hot weather but perform poorly in shade. Bermudas spread so rapidly by both above-and-below-ground runners that they are difficult to control around flower beds, walks and borders. If fertilized adequately, they require frequent mowing. The bermudagrasses are adapted to the entire state and tolerate a wide soil pH.
Centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides). This is a low, medium textured, slow growing but aggressive grass that can produce a dense, attractive, weed-free turf. It is more shade tolerant than bermudagrass but less shade tolerant than St. Augustine and zoysiagrass. Since centipede produces only surface runners, it is easily controlled around borders of flower beds and walks. It is well adapted as far north as Atlanta and Athens.
Centipede is the ideal grass for the homeowner who wants a fairly attractive lawn that needs little care. Centipede does not require much fertilizer or mowing, and compared to other lawn grasses, is generally resistant to most insects and diseases. It will, however, respond to good management and provide a very attractive turf. Centipede can be established from either seeds or sprigs. Since it is slow growing, it takes longer than bermuda and St. Augustine to completely cover. Centipede is used in North Texas and Panhandle areas.
Centipede is subject to "decline" problems that can be prevented by proper management. This includes care not to overfertilize, prevention of thatch accumulation, irrigation during drought stress, particularly in the fall, and maintaining a mowing height of 1-1 1/2 inches. Centipede is well adapted to soils of low fertility with a pH of 5.0 to 6.0 but grows best, like most grasses, at a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.5.
Buffalograss - These warm season stoloniferous grasses, due to their drought resistance, are becoming popular in the dryer areas where rainfall is limited to less than 20 inches annually. Buffalograsses are resistant to heat and drought. They are well adapted to a wide range of soils, but especially to alkaline conditions and soils of low fertility. Buffalograsses are slow to establish and they require infrequent mowing.
This vigorous, fine-bladed cultivar adds color and density to any warm-season blend. Blackjack lawn seed produces a sun-loving turf that performs throughout the hottest summer months, and in addition, Blackjack shows remarkable cold tolerance even in cold winter areas. If planting sprigs or plugs makes your back sore, consider Blackjack seeded Bermudagrass. You'll get a dense green lawn all summer long. Bermudagrass is the species most adapted to and most frequently used throughtout the state. Many new and improved seeded varieties have been developed and released during the last 10 years.
Combat Southern is a 3-way mixture of turf type fescue and Hybrid Bluegrass which is heat and drought tolerant enough to be used in USDA Zones 8 - 10 (partial shade recommend for USDA Zone 9 and 10). This mixture is approximately 90% turf type fescue grass seed and 10% hybrid bluegrass seed by weight. By seed count, this makes almost a 50/50 blend of fescue and hybrid drought tolerant bluegrass.
Wear Tolerant
Cost Efficient
Lawns
USDA ZONE MAP
Below is the USDA Zone Map for Texas so you can determine which zone you reside in. Below that are our picks for your state which will do best in your area. Next on this page are tables which list various grasses and their characteristics so you can compare before you decide on your purchase. Click on the product name (ie. La Prima) for more information about that grass and to make your purchase.
USDA Zone Map For Texas
Compare Various Grasses For Their Characteristics
Cool Season Grasses
Leaf Texture
Establish Rate
Nitrogen Use
Water Use
Drought Tolerance
Salinity Tolerance
Shade Tolerance
Fescue - Hard
Fine
Slow to Moderate
Low to Very Low
Moderate
Excellent
Low to Moderate
Excellent
Fescue - Creeping
Fine
Moderate
Low to Moderate
Moderate
Good
Low
Excellent
Fescue - Turf Type
Moderate to Coarse
Moderate
Moderate to High
Low to Moderate
Excellent
Low
Good to Excellent
Ryegrass - Perennial
Fine to Moderate
Very Fast
Moderate to High
Moderate to High
Good
Poor to Moderate
Poor to Moderate
Warm Season Grasses
Leaf Texture
Establish Rate
Nitrogen Use
Water Use
Drought Tolerance
Salinity Tolerance
Shade Tolerance
Bahiagrass
Coarse toVery Coarse
Slow to Moderate
Low
Low
Excellent
Excellent
Moderate to Good
Bermudagrass
Fine to Moderate
Moderate to Fast
Moderate
Moderate to High
Excellent
Very Good
Poor
Centipedegrass
Moderate to Coarse
Slow
Low
Low
Good
Moderate
Moderate to Good
Seashore Paspalum
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Excellent
Excellent
Good
Compare Various Grasses For Their Characteristics - Continued
