Planting Grass Seed in Texas
Below are the majority of grasses used in lawns throughout the great state of Texas.
Texas is a large state with many different climate conditions and no one type of grass seed can be grown successfully throughout the entire state. Be sure to choose the correct grass seed type for your specific climatic conditions to achieve the best looking lawn. Warm-season grasses are best established when planted in the late spring or early summer. Plant cold-season grasses in late summer or early fall for best establishment.
Warm-Season Grasses
Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass are found extensively throughout Texas. St. Augustine can be successfully grown in many warmer regions of the state but is more adaptable to the coastal Gulf areas of Texas. St Augustine is also the best warm-season grass for shade tolerance. Bermuda grass has better tolerance to both heat and drought. It’s widely used throughout the state because, though it will go dormant in the fall and turn brown, it can be easily over-seeded with perennial rye grass to maintain a green lawn throughout the year. St. Augustine grass and zoysia grass don’t over-seed easily but can provide a nice turf grass surface if managed correctly. Buffalograss is found in the dryer areas where rainfall is less than 20 inches annually. Centipede grass grows well in the central and southeastern regions of Texas, especially on sandy, well-drained soils.
Cold-Season Grasses
Tall fescue is found extensively in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and northern Texas. Fine fescue and Kentucky bluegrass are limited to the colder regions of the state, mainly in the high mountainous regions and around the Texas panhandle. Perennial rye grass can be over-seeded in the fall to keep your Bermuda grass green during the winter.
Click on one of the grasses for planting details. Then visit our Planting Grass Seed page for detailed instructions on how to correctly prepare your soil and plant grass seed for your lawn.