Install guide
Tifway 419, Zoysia, and St. Augustine in North Texas and Oklahoma
General guidance for commercial landscapers, not a site-specific recommendation and not professional advice. Soil, irrigation, slope, and weather change the job. When a detail matters, check the sources below, your county extension office, and the grower supplying the sod.
This page is educational. It is not an offer to supply every grass it names. The Start a job form currently offers one grass: Tifway 419 Bermuda. Other grasses can be discussed with a grower later if a partner supplies them. Until then, do not send a job expecting Zoysia or St. Augustine through this site.
Tifway 419 Bermuda
Tifway (419) is a hybrid bermudagrass, a cross of common bermudagrass and African bermudagrass. AggieTurf lists Tifway 419 among hybrids that are planted from sod or sprigs because the seed is not a reliable way to establish them. AgriLife groups Tifway with the improved bermudas used for lawns, golf, and sports fields.
AgriLife's species note: bermudagrass tolerates drought and traffic and does not grow well in shade. Improved hybrids have a finer leaf than common bermuda and generally need more frequent mowing and more fertilizer than common types. That is a maintenance cost, not a flaw, and it is why many commercial specs in full sun still call for a 419-type bermuda.
OSU's turfgrass table lists bermudagrass for full sun statewide in Oklahoma, with excellent drought and heat tolerance and a low irrigation requirement relative to cool-season grasses, and notes that winter injury is more of a concern farther north in the state. Across Oklahoma, bermudagrass is the usual warm-season choice, with more winter risk the farther north the job is. North Texas is the same kind of climate for this purpose: full sun favors bermuda; deep shade does not.
Zoysiagrass
AgriLife: zoysia is adapted to a similar part of Texas as bermuda. It is drought-tolerant but may turn brown sooner than bermuda in a long drought. Shade tolerance is light to moderate, depending on the cultivar, and it is not as shade-tolerant as St. Augustine. It handles moderate traffic, not the heavy wear bermuda is chosen for. It is slower to fill in from plugs or sprigs than bermuda, so sod is the usual way to get an immediate cover. Improved types often need less nitrogen than bermuda. OSU lists zoysiagrass for central and eastern Oklahoma, full sun to light shade, very good drought resistance.
Choose it in a conversation with the owner when the site has some shade, traffic is moderate, and they will accept slower recovery from damage. It is not what this site's job form can place today.
St. Augustinegrass
AgriLife: St. Augustine is the most shade-tolerant of the warm-season turfgrasses. It is less tolerant of long drought than bermuda or zoysia. It does not tolerate high traffic. It can be killed by severe winters in the northern third of Texas, which includes North Texas, so a hard winter is a real risk, not a footnote. It is a coarse lawn grass, maintained higher than a hybrid bermuda. OSU limits St. Augustinegrass in Oklahoma to the south, along the Red River. Farther north in Oklahoma it is not a practical choice. It is a shade lawn, not a sports field.
A short way to choose
| Tifway 419 Bermuda | Zoysia | St. Augustine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Full sun. Poor in shade. | Sun to light or moderate shade, by cultivar. | Best warm-season choice for shade. |
| Traffic | The one of these three chosen for wear. | Moderate. | Poor. |
| Drought | Strong, among warm-season grasses. | Strong, but may brown before bermuda. | Weaker than the other two. Needs more water in a dry spell. |
| Winter | Goes dormant. Standard in North Texas and Oklahoma. | Generally more cold-tolerant than St. Augustine. | Winterkill is a known risk in north Texas. |
| Mowing | Finer hybrids need more frequent mowing than common bermuda. | Often less nitrogen than bermuda; mowing depends on the cultivar. | Lower maintenance mowing frequency than a hybrid bermuda, at a higher cut. |
| Through Soddesk right now | Yes. This is the grass on the job form. | No. Educational only. | No. Educational only. |
Exact mowing heights and fertilizer pounds are left off this table on purpose. AgriLife's selection publication has tables, and they vary by cultivar. A wrong height on a fine zoysia or a hybrid bermuda is worse than no number. Ask the grower who cuts that variety.
If the site is full sun and the spec says Bermuda, Tifway 419 is the grass this site can pass to a partner grower. If the site is heavy shade, do not force 419 under trees and hope. Say so on the job notes, or do not send a 419 job for a shade yard.
Not sure which fits? The turf selector asks six questions and also weighs buffalograss and common bermuda.
Sources
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, How to Select and Install Sod (SCSC-PU-125) — species notes for bermudagrass (including Tifway), St. Augustinegrass, and zoysiagrass.
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Turfgrass Selection for Texas (SCSC-PU-124) — shade, drought, traffic, and maintenance comparisons among warm-season grasses.
- AggieTurf, Bermudagrass — Tifway 419 is a hybrid (Cynodon dactylon × C. transvaalensis) established from sod or sprigs.
- Oklahoma State University Extension, Turfgrass Management in Oklahoma — statewide bermudagrass; St. Augustinegrass along the Red River in southern Oklahoma; zoysiagrass in central and eastern Oklahoma, with the sun and drought notes in that table.
Put a number on the job
Use the calculator for square yards, then send the job to a partner grower. The only grass that form offers right now is Tifway 419 Bermuda. Soddesk does not set the price.