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Popular Bermuda Grass Varieties in Southern Texas
Are you a homeowner in Southern Texas looking for the best bermuda grass sod for your lawn? If so, you aren’t alone; bermuda sod is one of the most popular choices for Southern Texas lawns. Bermuda grass is a warm season variety that’s perfect for the often stifling heat Southern Texas lawns endure. Able to withstand periods of drought, bermuda grass is a smart choice for the often dry Southern Texas climate. The fine, dark look and feel of bermuda grass makes it beautiful and gives it curb appeal that homeowners love. Here are a few of the many reasons bermuda grass is the best grass for Southern Texas home lawns:
- Bermuda grass is a warm season turfgrass, meaning it will flourish in areas located in the southern two-thirds of the United States. This includes Southern Texas.
- Bermuda grass has the ability to tolerate high temperatures and grows in warm, tropical or subtropical climates.
- It tolerates prolonged periods of drought and heat, which are big challenges for growing a healthy lawn in Southern Texas.
- Bermuda grass grows a very dense canopy, which makes the grass durable to foot traffic and it outcompetes weeds easily. Its fast growing patterns allow it to recover from traffic quickly.
- Its vigorous, dense turf is well adapted to most soils found in Texas and has a high salt tolerance for coastal regions.
Bermuda grass can be purchased in sod, seed or in plug form—any of these are great options for lawn application as bermuda grass establishes quickly. Bermuda grass plugs take a little more time and effort to establish. Read When to Use Sod, Plugs or Seed for more information.
There are a few excellent bermuda grasses available for Southern Texas homeowners. Here are some of the top options that we recommend.
Celebration Bermudagrass
This striking blue-green grass has been a top performer in numerous studies for wear tolerance and recovery, drought resistance and tolerance, and even shade tolerance. The combination of its stunning aesthetic appeal and excellent performance has made Celebration® Bermudagrass a favorite among some of the most prestigious sports and golf venues in the world, but home application makes just as much sense—particularly in the Southern Texas climate.
This finer-bladed bermuda grass features grass blades that are finer than other bermuda grasses on the market. Celebration also forms an exceptional root system that allows for rapid recovery when wear or damage takes place above the surface of the soil. For this reason, Celebration is the top choice for families with furry loved ones or kids who enjoy playing outdoors. Be sure to check out a research summary on Celebration to see how it compares to some of the other bermuda grasses available.
Celebration Bermudagrass Characteristics
- Ideal Use: Golf, commercial landscapes, sports fields, parks and home lawns
- Mow Height: 0.5–1.5 inches
- Blade Width: 1.7 mm
- Wear Tolerance: Excellent
- Injury Recovery: Excellent
- Shade Tolerance: Very Good
- Drought Tolerance: Excellent
- Insect Resistance: Very Good
- Disease Resistance: Excellent
- Weed Control: Very Good
Latitude 36 Bermudagrass
Developed at Oklahoma State University, Latitude® 36 Bermudagrass is another top-rated NTEP Bermudagrass. This grass is mostly known for its reputable visual aesthetic. With its fine texture and gorgeous color, Latitude 36 will surely make your home and lawn stand out in the neighborhood. South Texas homeowners will appreciate its tensile strength and high traffic tolerance as well its excellent drought and heat tolerance.
For homeowners who are still anxious about the occasional South Texas cold snap, Latitude 36 is one of the highest rated bermuda grasses for cold tolerance while still standing up to the heat during those long summer months. Check out a few of Latitude 36’s supporting research documents below.
Latitude 36 Bermudagrass Characteristics
- Ideal Use: Golf, commercial landscapes, sports fields, parks and home lawns
- Mow Height: 0.5–1.5 inches
- Blade Width: 1.67 mm
- Wear Tolerance: Very Good
- Injury Recovery: Excellent
- Shade Tolerance: Good
- Drought Tolerance: Excellent
- Insect Resistance: Very Good
- Disease Resistance: Excellent
- Weed Control: Very Good
Tifway 419 Bermudagrass
Another grass favored by the sports industry, Tifway 419 Bermudagrass is tough and resilient. Its ability to grow back quickly makes it quick to recover from damage, which is great for home lawns that may endure a lot of wear and traffic. Tifway is able to withstand seasons of drought and can be tightly mowed for easier maintenance. Additionally, Tifway is weed resistant because of its aggressive growth habit—a feature that many South Texas homeowners appreciate. Lastly, Tifway is known for its beautiful look with a dark color and medium-fine texture.
Tifway 419 Bermudagrass Characteristics
- Ideal Use: Commercial landscapes, golf, sports fields and home lawns
- Mow Height: 1–2 inches
- Blade Width: 5–7 mm
- Wear Tolerance: Very Good
- Injury Recovery: Very Good
- Shade Tolerance: Good
- Drought Tolerance: Very Good
- Insect Resistance: Excellent
- Disease Resistance: Very Good
- Weed Control: Very Good
TifTuf Bermudagrass
This grass was developed with long hot summers in mind. Needing 38 percent less water than other similar grasses, TifTuf is a good option for South Texas locations that are especially prone to drought and may want to save money on irrigation bills. This grass stays green well into the autumn, offering a longer season of curb appeal. TifTuf is shade tolerant for a bermuda grass, has a fine texture and a leafy green growing pattern.
TifTuf Bermudagrass Characteristics
- Ideal Use: Commercial landscapes, golf, sports fields and home lawns
- Mow Height: 0.5–2 inches
- Blade Width: 1.7 mm
- Wear Tolerance: Excellent
- Injury Recovery: Excellent
- Shade Tolerance: Very Good
- Drought Tolerance: Excellent
- Insect Resistance: Good
- Disease Resistance: Good
- Weed Control: Good
Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass
Similarly to Latitude 36, Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass was also developed at Oklahoma State University with the overall goal of having excellent turfgrass quality and cold tolerance. This is great for those breif cold snaps Southern Texas may encounter during the cooler months of the year. Tahoma features a finer texture, early spring green-up and wear tolerance. It is also another drought resistant bermuda grass variety that will endure longer periods of water in the dry heat. Tahoma 31 demonstrated exceptional cold hardiness and resistance to winterkill in the NTEP trials. As other bermuda grass cultivars were killed by the same colder weather, Tahoma 31 actually greened up.
Tahoma 31 Characteristics
- Ideal Use: Commercial landscapes, golf, sports fields and home lawns
- Mow Height: 0.5–1.5 inches
- Blade Width: 5–7 mm
- Wear Tolerance: Very Good
- Injury Recovery: Very Good
- Shade Tolerance: Excellent
- Drought Tolerance: Very Good
- Insect Resistance: Good
- Disease Resistance: Good
- Weed Control: Good
In summary, it’s very important to weigh all of your options accordingly so that you can make an educated decision upon making a large investment on a home lawn. The bermuda grasses listed above are some of the top-performing, best varieties available to homeowners in Southern Texas. However, each one ranks differently comparatively.
Oftentimes, the best bermuda grass variety all depends on what you are looking for. If you have a lot of shade in your yard, for example, Celebration is probably your best option. If you’re really after visual appeal, either Latitude 36 or Celebration are great options. They’re also perfect choices for those who want to perform as little maintenance as possible or have pets and children that love to play outside.
Be sure to take a look at a few other related articles like The Best Grass for Low Maintenance in Southern Texas, The Best Grass for Pets and How to Get Your Newly Sodded Bermuda Grass Off to a Healthy Start.
