What Should You Know About Dallas’ Warm-Season Grasses?
Uncover Professional Turf Tips to Keep Your Lawn Looking Fantastic
Most lawns across the southern half of America are covered with warm-season grass types. Being where they are, these types tend to handle drought even better and require less maintenance. Another great thing about them? They can retain color during hot summer temperatures.
Learn all about the different varieties of warm-season grasses, continuing below for information on watering, feeding, and cutting. You will also learn how to differentiate different varieties of warm-season grass and more. Understanding your turf and trusting GroGreen can help you maintain a healthy lawn all year long.
Warm-Season Grasses Thrive In Texas
The southern third of America provides the best growing conditions for warm-season grasses. These species can handle blistering summers and extreme heat without stress. They like to grow in areas where winters do not have extended freezing temperatures that would damage their crowns.
Problems start a bit further north, in the Transition Zone. This middle region is subject to summer heat that’s too strong for true cool-season kinds but winters too cold for warm-season kinds. It’s toughest for homeowners in this area to figure out how to meet their yard’s specific needs. Depending on which type you plant, your grass may turn brown in summer or winter.
The Transition Zone is often planted with tall fescue or zoysia to better handle extreme temp swings. This isn’t perfect, but it beats having brown grass that can’t survive weather conditions half the year.
Best Grass Types for Dallas, TX
Bermuda types create the thick, carpet-style grass you see on well-maintained southern properties. With a delicate feel and rich green shade, it looks great and handles direct sunlight and lots of foot traffic without a problem.
The catch is that it requires regular maintenance. It must be frequently cut, fed properly, and irrigated during dry periods. Bermuda grass spreads via underground stems known as rhizomes and above-ground runners called stolons, allowing it to recover rather well after being damaged. It is quite resistant to drought once it is mature but will go dormant and turn brown in winter when temperatures are below 50°F.
St. Augustine has wider blades than Bermuda or zoysia and thus is coarser in texture. It is also the most shade-tolerant warm-season variety, making it the best choice for shady estates. St. Augustine spreads by stolons and establishes with ease.
The main drawback of St. Augustine is how much water it needs. It requires more watering than other types. It also doesn’t handle heavy use well. In moist climates, specific bugs and fungal problems (chinch bugs and brown patch) particularly target St. Augustine.
Zoysia has several varieties, but all are favored by homeowners for its dense grassy appearance, as it crowds out weeds and feels soft under bare feet. Zoysia requires sun but tolerates shade much better than Bermuda. It’s adaptable to different soil types-it grows well whether your soil is clay-heavy or sandy.
Zoysia grass grows very slowly, especially in comparison with Bermuda grass. On the plus side, it doesn’t need mowing as much as many other species. That means you can have beautiful grass with much less maintenance. Another plus: some zoysia varieties can weather cold conditions way better than other warm-season options, which makes it a good choice for Transition Zone dwellers.
What about mixing types of grass? For warm-season kinds, the mixing generally isn’t as successful as with cool-season grass. For example, Bermuda takes over and will push out zoysia or St. Augustine eventually. Most lawn experts suggest picking one type and sticking with it.
That said, you might see bermuda and zoysia types growing together, but Bermuda takes over mostly in the sunny areas while zoysia hangs on in shadier spots.
Warm-Season Lawns May Have These Issues
Compaction and thatch. These cause several troubles, particularly in heavy clay dirt. Aeration in late spring or early summer when your grass is actively growing, helps fix these troubles while letting the grass recover fast.
Nutrient lockout sometimes creates yellowing or weak growth in grass growing in acidic southern dirt. Soil testing identifies exact deficiencies and pH troubles. Lime raises pH if that’s a problem, and sulfur drops it, for those in areas with alkaline dirt.
Fungal issues are very prevalent within warm-season types, especially within hot and humid southern regions. The brown patch and gray leaf spot usually occur in St. Augustine and Zoysia, while Bermuda usually has dollar spot and spring dead spot.
These typically appear as circular brown areas, thin zones, or off-color grass. What are the easiest ways to prevent lawn disease in the South? Good lawn care. Water in early morning, cut at proper height, avoid overfeeding in peak heat, watch grass drainage.
Pest infestations: Grubs and chinch bugs can quickly, and quietly, destroy your yard. These insects feed on grass, causing it to die within days or even hours. Obvious indications of a bug problem in your lawn include wilted, yellowed, or dead patches.
5 Quick Mowing Tips
- Keep your lawn mower blades sharp. Sharper blades make cleaner cuts. Dull blades allow more chances for fungal diseases to take hold.
- Adjust frequency with seasons. During spring, mowing twice weekly may be required. During summer, every two to three weeks typically suffices since growth decelerates somewhat.
- Leave clippings on turf. Bagging clippings wastes time and strips nutrients from your lawn. Mulching mowers and side-discharge mowers effectively distribute clippings.
- Cut in recommended quantities: Never remove more than one-third of the blade height at one mowing. If you maintain your mower at 3 inches, mow when the grass height reaches 4 inches.
- Take into account how much sun your yard is getting. If your lawn is shady, mow 0.5 to 1 inch higher than the usual recommended height.
Follow these mowing recommendations for the best results. Mowing too short damages root development and allows insects, disease, dryness, and foot traffic to make bigger impacts. It also allows weeds to invade your lawn.
Looking for more mowing tups? Check out these mowing recommendations from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
Just What Is a Warm-Season Grass?
Southern property owners probably notice their grass looks best from late spring through early fall. Most southern yards contain warm-season grass species. Warm-season types thrive when air temps sit between 80°F and 95°F.
Warm-season kinds handle photosynthesis differently than cool-season varieties. They like hot temps, which helps them resist scorching weather, bright sun, and dry conditions. They also slow growth by going dormant when cold temps arrive. Some stay green during winter while others turn brown and remain alive underground.
How to Learn If It’s a Warm-Season Grass
Not sure what kind of grass is growing in your yard? Here are some tips that might help.
- Growth habit: Bermuda aggressively spreads both through rhizomes and stolons. This allows for quick ‘take-over’ of grass either for better or worse. St. Augustine only expands through stolons running above ground and rooting at joints. Zoysia expands both through its rhizomes and stolons but more slowly than Bermuda.
- Color and texture: St. Augustine has a blue-green color and is coarse. Bermuda goes from deep green to gray-green and is fine. Zoysia is medium to deep green with thick, carpetlike texture, stiffer than Bermuda
- Seedhead: Bermuda produces distinctive seedheads with 3-7 finger-like spikes emanating from a central point. St. Augustine rarely produces seedheads in mowed turf. Zoysia produces small, fuzzy seedheads that stand upright like little brushes, but many varieties don’t seed much.
- Ligule and auricles: St. Augustine reveals hair fringe where the blade attaches to the stem instead of a membrane. Bermuda reveals white hair circle at the ligule. Zoysia exhibits short hairs along the ligule. None of these three varieties have noticeable auricles.
- Leaf blade: Look at blade width and texture. St. Augustine has the widest blades at about 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide with rounded tips. Bermuda grass has fine, narrow blades with pointed tips. Zoysia is intermediate with medium-width blades that are stiff to the touch.
The different types aren’t difficult to identify once you look at them a bit closer. Still unsure what is on your property? Just ask! A lawn professional can identify your grass type in seconds.
Thatch: What Is It?
For the health of your grass, watch how much thatch you have. You know, that organic material layer building up right above the dirt.
The good: A little bit. It protects the soil and cushions it. The bad: Too much thatch blocks water and air, ties up fertilizer, and encourages disease and bug problems.
Thatch builds up from over-feeding, over-watering, soil packing, and just time going by. When the thatch layer gets too thick, roots grow in the thatch layer instead of soil. Since thatch holds little water, your grass suffers heat stress, cold stress, and drought stress.
Why Does Grass Go Dormant?
When temperatures remain below 50-55°F for successive days or weeks during late fall and winter, warm-season turfgrasses go dormant and naturally turn brown. They aren’t dead. That’s just how they overwinter; don’t be alarmed! Your grass is still alive underneath the ground.
You can’t really keep warm-season turf green through winter dormancy, whereas cool-season varieties remain green year-round. Fertilizing or overwatering dormant warm-season turf won’t help and might even cause additional damage. Some southerners prefer to overseed with annual ryegrass in fall for temporary winter coloring, but it’s optional and purely aesthetic.
Give your turf the best possible start after dormancy by doing some winter lawn care during colder months. For example, avoid heavy traffic on frozen or dormant turf, and never apply herbicides during dormancy.
When spring arrives and you begin having consistent temperature highs in the 65° range, your turf will green up on its own. Once active growth resumes around March to April of the South, you could start your regular watering and fertilization routine.
Questions About Warm-Season Grasses in TX
Can I mix warm- and cool-season grasses?
It’s not a good idea to mix both warm- and cool-season grasses in a single yard because of differences in how they grow throughout the season. Your lawn would have patchy, uneven grass as a result.
How long does grass seed take to grow?
It varies by type, but typically, Bermuda sprouts in 7-14 days, and some types like bahia need longer (21-30 days). Of course, it all depends on soil temp and moisture. Note that many southern homeowners pick sod or plugs instead of seed for faster results, especially with St. Augustine and zoysia.
What’s the best grass for shade?
Of warm-season grasses, St. Augustine handles shade best, followed by Zoysia. Keep in mind, though, that grass loves sun in general. So no type really thrives in deep shade where it gets less than 4-6 hours of sun each day.
Can I grow warm-season grass in winter?
It’s not ideal to plant in winter; it needs warm soil temperatures, around 65° Fahrenheit or higher, to sprout and establish. The best time for planting it is late spring through early summer when the soil is warm. It is at this point that your grass has a full growing season to build roots.
Expert Lawn Care for Warm-Season Grass
Warm-season types of grass must be mowed, watered, and fertilized at the right times to be healthy and look their best. At least now you have some helpful tips at your fingertips
If you don’t want to use your free time (and energy) to take care of every little lawn care detail, get in touch with GroGreen today!
We proudly serve the greater DFW area, ensuring high-quality lawn care and pest control services for these communities:
- Allen, TX
- Carrollton, TX
- Coppell, TX
- Fairview Farmers Branch, TX
- Flower Mound, TX
- Frisco, TX
- Lucas, TX
- McKinney, TX
- Murphy, TX
- Parker, TX
- Plano, TX
- Prosper, TX
- Richardson, TX
- Sachse, TX
- St. Paul, TX
- The Colony, TX
- Wylie, TX