What are some of the common turfgrasses found in East Texas?
Do you know what kind of grass you have? Let’s take a look at the most common turfgrasses in the East Texas area and the basics to care for them. Once your turfgrass is identified, a proper lawn care plan can be established.
Zoysia
First, let’s look at Zoysia grass. Zoysia is a warm season grass that spreads by rhizomes and stolens. Meaning that it stretches out and forms roots where it touches the ground. It also has stems underground that puts out lateral shoots. Zoysia grass is drought tolerant and require less fertilizer than your Bermuda grass. It is also slightly shade tolerant, but just slightly.
Zoysia is a turfgrass that is tolerant of moderate traffic. This grass needs a moderate amount of water and has a low potential for disease.
This turfgrass needs to be mowed at least every 5-10 days. Therefore, a Weekly or Biweekly schedule works best. It should also be mowed to a height of 0.5-2 inches depending on time of year.
Bermuda Grass
This is a common turfgrass grown throughout Texas. It is an excellent choice if you are looking for a drought tolerant turfgrass. It spreads the same way Zoysia grass spreads, rhizomes and stolens. There are many varieties of Bermuda grass. You will find some available from seed and some as sod, sprigs, or plugs.
It loves the sun, and as a result, does not do well in shade. It will need a low to moderate amount of water to stay healthy. In addition, Bermuda can standup to high traffic and has a low to moderate potential for disease.
Bermuda needs to be mowed every 3-7 days. This is a turfgrass that you would want to put on a Weekly Lawn Maintenance Plan. It also needs to be mowed at a height of 1-2 inches.
Centipede Turfgrass
If you are looking for low-maintenance, turfgrass Centipede turfgrass is for you. Of all the turfgrasses, it is best suited for East Texas. It spreads by stolens, above ground runners root where they make contact with the soil. It has a course leaf texture similar to that of St. Augustine.
It will grow well in full sun to light shade. This turfgrass needs a moderate amount of water to stay healthy, but is moderately tolerate of drought conditions. Unfortunately, it is not tolerant to high traffic or prolonged drought conditions. Therefore, you will have to set it up on an irrigation system of some sorts.
Common Centipede is available as sod or seed. Seeds just may take a little longer to get started.
This is another of the turfgrasses that is best suited for mowing every 7-10 day, Weekly or Biweekly. You will want to mow it at a height of 1.5-2 inches.
St. Augustine
I think most of us in the area are fairly familiar with St. Augustine. It is better adapted for our southern East Texas counties, but is grows in the Northern counties, too. Those in Northern East Texas may have to provide more water. Your mowing frequency may be more and the turfgrass may need a little more fertilizer. St. Augustine may also be more susceptible to colder temperatures.
St. Augustine is the most shade tolerant of all the warm-season turfgrasses. It needs a moderate amount of water to stay healthy. It can not handle drought conditions as well as other turfgrasses we have mentioned either.
Like Centipede it can not tolerate large amounts of traffic. If you have pets or a path that you walk regularly, you will see it break down.
Mowing is recommend Weekly, every 5-7 days. You should mow at a height of 2.5-3 inches.
So, what next…
Before anything else, you must first know what turfgrass is in your lawn. This will allow you to establish the proper care plan. At that point, you can set up how often you need to be mowing, water, and fertilize. If you have questions regarding proper care or just need help identifying what turfgrass is in your yard, we are here to help.
We can always pay you a visit and identify your turfgrass, assess the current conditions in your lawn. Furthermore, providing you with a proper maintenance and care plan to best suit your situation.