David Rodriguez, Bexar County Horticulture Agent
Special Thanks to Drs. Tom Harris and Jerry Parsons, local gardening experts with help on this informative chart.
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Condition
|
Type of Grass
|
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Common Bermuda
|
Hybrid Bermuda
|
Emerald Zoysia
|
El Toro & Jamur Zoysia
|
Raleigh*
St Augustine |
Stampede
Buffalo |
609
Buffalo |
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|
Shade
Tolerance |
No
Full sun is best. |
No
Full sun is best. |
Yes
Fair shade tolerance. |
Yes Fair shade tolerance. |
Yes
grows best in full sun, tolerates dappled sun. |
Yes
Grows best in full sun, tolerates dappled sun. |
No
Poor shade tolerance. Good for sunny locations. |
No
Poor shade tolerance. Good for sunny locations. |
|
Traffic
|
Yes |
Yes
Tolerates traffic well. |
Yes
Fair traffic tolerance. |
Yes |
Yes
Moderate tolerance. |
No
Does not tolerate traffic. |
No
Does NOT tolerate traffic. |
No
Does NOT tolerate traffic. |
|
Water** Requirements
|
1/2 inch or less per week to stay green.
|
1/2 inch or less per week to stay green.
|
Needs 3/4 inch per week to stay green, 1/2 inch will sustain.
|
3/4 inch per week to stay green.
|
Most drought tolerant. 3/4″ per week for growth, 1/2″ per 2-3 weeks if dormant.
|
Needs 3/4 inch per week for growth, 1/2″ per 2-3 weeks if dormant.
|
Needs 1″ per month to stay green. Almost no water if dormant.
|
Needs 1″ per month to stay green. Almost no water if dormant.
|
|
Drought Tolerant
|
Yes
Almost no water if dormant. |
Yes
Almost no water if dormant. |
Yes
Goes dormant; comes back with rain. |
Yes
Goes dormant; comes back with rain. |
Yes
Goes dormant after several hard frosts. Not very cold tolerant. |
Yes
Goes dormant after several hard frosts. Best cold tolerance. |
Yes
Native grass. Goes dormant in early fall or in drought. |
Yes
Native grass. Goes dormant in early fall or in drought. |
|
Low Mowing/
Maintenance |
Gets thicker with frequent mowing.
|
Gets thicker with frequent mowing.
|
Highly weed resistant. may get rust in the fall.
|
Best with reel-type mower–can tolerate rotary if weekly.
|
Mow at 3″ increasing to 4″ in summer. Mow every 5-6 days.
|
Mow at 3″ increasing to 4″ in summer. Mow every 5-6 days.
|
Looks best at 5-6 inches. Tolerates heavy soil.
|
Looks best at 4k-5 inches. Tolerates heavy soil.
|
|
Seed or Sod
Low Initial Cost |
Yes
Seed or sod. Creeping growth habit. |
Yes
Sod. Creeping growth habit. |
No
Expensive sod. Slow growing. |
No
Sod. El Toro fairly fast growing, jamur is slow growing. |
Yes
Sod or plugs Grows quickly by stolens. |
Yes |
No
Sods or plugs. Moderately expensive. Thin sods but spreads quickly. |
No
Sods or plugs. Moderately expensive. Thin sods but spreads quickly. |
|
“Carpet” Turf Appearance
|
Yes
Medium-textured grass. |
Yes
Slightly wider blade than common. |
Yes
Dark green color. |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes/No
Thin turf. |
Yes/No
Tufted or lumpy. |
|
Pest and Disease Resistant
|
Yes
|
Yes
Well suited for lawns. |
Yes, once established, may see rust in fall.
|
Yes
May see rust in fall. All similar in appearance. |
Yes
Resistant to St. Augustine Decline, brown patch, chinch bugs. |
No
Susceptible to bown patch chinch bugs. |
Yes
Goes dormant in early fall. Likes heavy soil. Weeds can invade. |
Yes
Goes dormant in early fall. Likes heavy soil. Weeds can invade. |
|
Mower
Setting |
1 1/2 inches
Gets thicker with mowing. Reel mower is best. |
1 inch
Gets thicker with mowing. |
2 inches
Do NOT use rotary mower, reel only. |
2 inches
Reel-type mower is best, rotary tolerated. |
3 inches increasing to 4 inches in hot summer.
|
3 inches increasing to 4 inches in hot summer.
|
Looks best at 4-5 inches.
|
Looks best at
4-5 inches. |
|
Mow when at or before this height
|
2 1/4 inches
|
1 1/2 inches
|
3 inches
|
3 inches
|
4 1/2 inches
|
4 1/2 inches
|
6 inches
|
6 inches
|
*Raleigh is the most common one used in our area.
**All dormant grass needs 1 inch of water every 2 weeks in lieu of rain.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on Turfgrasses, visit the Texas A&M University turfgrass Program at http://aggieturf.tamu.edu
David Rodriguez is the County Extension Agent-Horticulture for Bexar County. He represents Texas AgriLife Extension Service with the Texas A&M University System.
For any landscape or gardening information, call the Bexar County Master Gardeners Hotline at 210-631-0400 e-mail questions to info@bexarmg.org, or visit our County Extension website at http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu and click under Horticulture and Gardening.