Turf selector

Six questions. The answer follows Texas A&M AgriLife and Oklahoma State University Extension guidance on where each warm-season grass fits. It runs in your browser.

Soddesk currently quotes Tifway 419 Bermuda only. This tool may point you to another grass when the site calls for it. It is general guidance, not a site recommendation.

Compare the grasses in more detail: Tifway 419, Zoysia, and St. Augustine. Writing a spec? See specs for specifiers.

Where the logic comes from

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Turfgrass Selection for Texas (SCSC-PU-124) — Table 3 ratings for shade, water need, drought, traffic, and cold; clonal hybrid bermudas such as Tifway 419 are denser, need more mowing and nitrogen, and are better suited to fairways and sports fields than home lawns; zoysia needs less nitrogen than bermuda and takes moderate traffic; St. Augustine is the most shade-tolerant and may be killed by severe winters in the northern third of Texas; buffalograss is best where annual rainfall is 25 inches or less, needs full sun, and is invaded by weeds when overwatered.
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, How to Select and Install Sod (SCSC-PU-125) — improved hybrid bermudas need more mowing and fertilizer than common types; Common is among the bermudas sold as sod; St. Augustine needs low to moderate maintenance.
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Turfgrass Establishment for Texas (B-6239) — seeded warm-season types are typically not sold as sod, with a few exceptions.
• Oklahoma State University Extension, Establishing a Lawn in Oklahoma (HLA-6419) — Table 1: bermudagrass statewide in full sun; buffalograss western Oklahoma, full sun, excellent drought resistance, marginal wear; zoysiagrass eastern half, full sun to light shade; St. Augustinegrass extreme southeastern Oklahoma, poor winter hardiness.
• TxDOT Item 162 and ODOT Section 230 — roadway sodding: TxDOT spot sodding uses only Bermudagrass; ODOT's sodding section is Bermuda grass sod.