If you reside in the south or transition zone where warm season grasses are dominant, you already know choosing a variety and maintaining it can be challenging. The warm season grasses are commonly started vegetatively in the lawn as sod or stolons and require good soil to get a good start. Unlike the cool season grasses, warm season grasses grow best with temperatures between 80 to 95 degrees F.
As most warm season grasses will turn brown with the arrival of cooler temperatures, it is common to overseed (also called winter overseeding) with ryegrass each fall. The ryegrass helps the lawn maintain a green color during the winter months and then go dormant in the heat of summer when the warm season grasses are at their best.
When considering a warm season grass, consider the features that are important to you in the grass characteristics and the type of "use" your lawn will experience. Below is a chart of the different warm season grasses and inherent characteristics of each variety.
Properties of selected warm season grasses
| Feature |
Buffalo |
Centipede |
Common Bermuda |
Hybrid Bermuda |
St Augustine |
Tall Fescue |
Zoysia |
| Drought tolerance |
High |
Low to medium |
Medium to high |
Low to medium |
Medium |
Low |
Medium to high |
| Traffic tolerance |
Medium to high |
Low |
High |
Medium to high |
Low |
Medium |
High |
| Shade tolerance |
Low |
Medium to high |
Low |
Low to medium |
High |
High |
Medium to high |
| Fertilizing requirement |
Low |
Low |
Medium to high |
High |
Medium |
Medium |
Fine to medium |
| Leaf texture |
Fine |
Medium to coarse |
Medium |
Fine |
Coarse |
Medium |
Fine to medium |
| Mowing height |
High |
Medium to high |
Medium |
Low |
High |
High |
Medium |
| Cold tolerance |
High |
Medium to high |
Medium |
Low to medium |
Low |
High |
High |
| Heat tolerance |
High |
High |
High |
High |
High |
Medium |
High |
| Thatching tendency |
Low |
Medium |
Low |
High |
Medium to high |
Low |
Medium to high |
| Acid soil tolerance |
Low |
Medium |
Medium |
Medium |
Low |
High |
Low to medium |