The Best Drought Tolerant Grasses for North Texas Lawns
North Texas is situated close to the planting transition zone, which means that it can be difficult to decide what type of grass works best for your lawn. Whether you choose warm or cool season grass, it’s a good idea to pay close attention to the amount of water the variety you pick needs. Sticking to drought tolerant varieties like the ones below is better for the environment and your pocketbook.
Tall Fescue
While all fescues aren’t necessarily good options for this region, turf-type fescues in particular can work well. Turf-type fescue that has been cultivated specifically for the warmer parts of the United States is drought resistant and can tolerate a lot of heat. When blended with other cool season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, the resulting mix is often quite shade tolerant, which is something that’s hard to find with warm season grasses.
Kentucky Bluegrass
This type of grass is also a cool season variety, which means it’s very cold tolerant, but it’s also moderately heat and drought tolerant as well. Kentucky bluegrass tends to go dormant when exposed to prolonged heat and drought, but will revive quickly when temperatures decrease and water increases.
In North Texas, Kentucky bluegrass is most often seen in blends that increase its drought and heat tolerance. Your seed store or lawn service can help you choose a blend that has the characteristics you want.
Buffalo Grass
This is the most cold tolerant of the popular warm season grasses. It’s very resistant to drought, which is why it’s becoming especially popular in areas that get less than two feet of rain annually. Buffalo grass can be slow to establish, but it makes up for this by requiring little maintenance. It grows in soil with low fertility and doesn’t need to be mowed very often.
Good choices of cultivars for North Texas include Bowie (which has excellent turf quality) and Cody (which has a fast establishment rate and good winter hardiness). A mix of the two gives you the best qualities of each for an excellent, very drought resistant lawn.
Bermuda Grass
While bermuda grass is well suited to full sunlight, it isn’t ideal for shade. As long as there’s sufficient sunlight, it’s a good choice for North Texas lawns. The Common and Tifway 419 cultivars are both well-suited for home lawns.
Because Bermuda grass spreads both above and below ground, it’s aggressive in its growth. This means it can compete with most species of weeds, but it also means that it has a tendency to invade nearby flowerbeds. Stay on top of edging to make sure it doesn’t spread too much.
Homeowners in the North Texas area have many choices when it comes to drought-resistant turfgrass. The decision of which ones to plant should be based on your preferences for color, hardiness, and heat tolerance.