The 4 Most Common Grass Types in San Antonio

Texas is a warm season area for most of the year, and your lawn will thrive with a warm season grass. A clear understanding of what kind your lawn has ensures you’re grass cutting and maintaining appropriately. The most common warm season grasses used in Texas are as follows:

Bermudagrass

This is the most popular kind of grass in Texas. It’s known to be very resilient against disease and pests. The more you mow this grass, the thicker it grows. This also makes it more able to withstand traffic than other turf grasses, meaning Bermudagrass is best suited for families with pets and/or children.

You should keep Bermudagrass at 1.5 inches tall and have little to no shade over it. Mowing it when it reaches 2.25 inches will give the best results.

Raleigh St. Augustine grass

This is the second most popular grass in Texas, as it’s cheap and doesn’t require a whole lot of maintenance, but can’t handle a lot of foot traffic. This grass is best for use during the summer because it becomes brittle and brown in the winter. Overseeding with a cool season grass like Ryegrass during the winter is the best way to keep your lawn looking fresh if you primarily use Raleigh St. Augustinegrass.

One drawback of this grass is that it’s very susceptible to chinch bugs and brown patch disease. It’s best kept at 3-4 inches long and requires almost no shade at all.

Buffalograss

This grass is very low maintenance and is native to Texas. It’s typically found in West Texas growing wild along highways. It has low potential for disease and low fertilization and lawn mowing requirements. It’s best kept at a height of 5-6 inches and needs only 1 inch of water per month to thrive. It does not do well in shade.

Zoysiagrass

Zoysiagrass has the best shade tolerance of all the grasses on this list, making it perfect for East Texas where shade is much more abundant. It’s very low maintenance and handles traffic decently well.

It requires about .5 inches of water to sustain itself and about .75 inches during the growing season. It’s best kept at a height of 2 inches and should be mowed when it reaches 3 inches.