9 Types Of Sod Grass That May Be A Good Fit For Your Lawn

Sod, also known as turf, is pre-grown grass that is held together by either the soil beneath it through a root system or a thin layer of another material that is typically bio-degradable.

Sod grass is used to enhance the appearance of residential and commercial landscapes. It is often used for lawns, recreational areas, and golf courses.

Every gardener wishes to have a lush, green lawn and has to choose between grass seed and sod. There are multiple arguments relating to selecting sod grass for a lawn; some are in favor of it while some are against it.

The common types of sod grass are -

1. Bermuda Grass
2. Centipede Grass
3. Fine Fescue
4. Kentucky Bluegrass
5. Ryegrass
6. St. Augustine Grass
7. Tall Fescue
8. Zoysia Grass
9. Bentgrass

We'll discuss them in depth in this post. First, a quick overview of the pros and cons of using sod grass.

Should you use sod grass? Pros & cons

If you're considering getting your lawn up and running with sod grass, here's a quick overview of the pros and cons.

Pros

First, let’s talk about the arguments in favor of sod grass. Sod is known to be effective for increasing the cooling effect in the atmosphere and improving the standard of air and water.

It is also known to boost flood prevention as it drains water very efficiently. It promotes erosion control in unprotected soil.

As long as you don’t have frozen ground, sod grass can be planted all year round. With grass seed, you need to observe and carry out the whole growth process.

However, with sod grass, installable sheets are already established. It’s also a time-saver; it can bear foot traffic in just 2 to 3 weeks after you have laid and watered your sod.

Cons

The first thing that goes against the use of sod grass is that it’s not very cost-effective when compared with regular grass seed.

The larger the area, the greater your expense will be. It also needs to be installed professionally for the best outcomes. Sod grass has limited varieties.

In addition to this, it is possible for your sod grass to get damaged in particular regions. Removing, replacing, and maintaining the whole thing can be difficult and expensive.

However, the many factors that favor the use of sod grass overshadow the cons. It instantly makes your lawn visually appealing. Here are a few types of sod grass that you can use to step up your lawn game.

Next, let's move on to discuss the various types of sod grass that are available out there.

Types of sod grass and their growing requirements

1. Bermuda Grass

Bermuda grass is typically dark green in color. It spreads and grows by stolons and rhizomes. This grass generally changes its color to brown in dry weather but recovers once it receives a lot of water. The leaves turn green with purple colored tips.

It is a warm-season grass. Due to its rapid growth, it is easily obtainable all year round. It grows back annually and is the most active from late spring through hot summer cycles.

Although it spreads greatly after heavy rainfall, it shows good tolerance in cold climates.

Bermuda grass thrives in full sun and well-drained soil. It is known to have good heat, drought, traffic and salt tolerance.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• It is best to plant Bermuda grass in spring.
• It is believed to be mandatory to mow this grass twice a week during its peak growth time.
• Maintaining the alkalinity of soil is recommended for best results.
• It is necessary to give 1 to 1.5 inches of water to Bermuda grass.

2. Centipede Grass

Centipede grass is green in color and the abundant use of fertilizers can be used to achieve an unnatural dark color, but it comes with long-term problems.

This grass is the easiest to cut and with some rainfall, turns back green after a small drought period.

It’s a warm-season and heat-tolerate glass. It is sensitive to cold to a greater extent than most other warm-season grasses. But if you grow it in mild climates, it can withstand winters as well.

This grass thrives on sandy soils with a limited amount of nutrients, tolerates moderate shade, and is sensitive to alkaline soil. Deep watering is recommended during times of low rainfall.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• Mow this grass regularly to the recommended height i.e. about 1 to 1.5 inches. Make sure you never clip more than one-third of the leaf length.
• Do not leave stagnant water unattended as it can cause the foliage to rot.
• If pests occur, call a professional for pest control.
• Remove dirt and debris regularly.

3. Fine Fescue

Fine fescue is a cool-season, bunch-type turfgrass. There are three types of fine fescue grass: creeping red fescue, chewings fescue, and hard fescue. All three of them can be grown alone or in combination with other turf grasses.

It is best to plant these seeds in spring or early fall. The soil needs to have low-medium fertility and be well-drained.

For best results, the pH of the soil should be between 5.0 and 6.5. You can use herbicides if required. The seeding depth should be ½ to ¼ inches.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• The mowing height is recommended to be 1.5 to 2.5 inches.
• If there are long periods of drought, then irrigation might be required for survival.
• Weeds, diseases, and pests can be controlled using herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides respectively.

4. Kentucky Bluegrass

It is a dark bluish green colored grass with a fine leafy texture. It can be grown alone or combined with other turfgrasses and has the ability to form a dense sod; therefore, it is typically used in sod mixtures along with tall fescue.

Kentucky bluegrass is known to have extraordinary tolerance towards cold and moderate tolerance towards heat and droughts. It thrives once it receives water after dry periods.

This grass thrives in full sun to partial shade. The soil needs to be fertile, moist, well drained, and have a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Kentucky Bluegrass responds well to nitrogen.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• If there are long periods of drought, then irrigation might be required for survival.
• Weeds, diseases, and pests can be controlled using herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides respectively.

5. Ryegrass

From the desired cool-season grasses like the fall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass is usually the first to acquire a lush green color.

This perennial has a fast germination rate and is suitable for permanent and temporary lawns.

The grass thrives in northern climates but southern gardeners use it to a great extent as well for a temporary green lawn during winters.

In southern climates, ryegrass is used in combination with other warm-season grasses. Once the southern heat strikes, it dies and the warm-season grasses start turning green.

Although ryegrass prefers sun, it can withstand light shade and cold conditions. Heat and drought tolerance differs by variety. Even though this perennial can adapt to alkaline and acidic soils both, optimum results are achieved with a pH of 5.5 to 7.5.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• If grown alone, the mowing height is recommended to be 1.5 to 2.5 inches. If grown in combination with Kentucky bluegrass then the recommended mowing height is 2 to 2.5 inches.
• The fertilizer and water needs are relatively high of this grass.
• During long periods of drought, irrigation might be required for survival and for color maintenance.

6. St. Augustine Grass

St. Augustine grass has a fast growth rate and has a medium to deep green color with coarse leaf texture and large flat stems. With proper maintenance and care, it provides a lush and dense lawn.

This warm-season lawn grass forms a thick cover and coats most of the weeds and other turf grasses.

This grass grows well in full sun or moderate shade. It is necessary to provide about an inch of water per week to it.

It has about three-quarters of an inch of total soil moisture reserve. If you start noticing gray patches and curled foliage, it means irrigation is required.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• Augustine grass is known to be sensitive to chinch bugs. Yellow spots, brown patches, and extreme withering are symptoms of chinch bugs. Hire a professional for insecticide application to control insects and pests.
• During long periods of drought, irrigation might be required for survival and for color maintenance.
• Fungicides and herbicides might be needed for disease and weed control respectively.

7. Tall Fescue

Tall fescue is known as one of the most vital cool-season grasses. It has a deep green color, coarse texture and is a bunch grass.

It can be used alone or with in combination with other various turf grasses, the most common of which are Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fine fescue.

Plant tall fescue grass seeds during spring or early fall for best results. As this grass has a substantial root system, it has greater tolerance levels towards heat and droughts than other cool-season grasses.

This grass thrives in full sun to partial shade. The soil should be fertile, well-drained, and a have a pH of 5.5-7.5 but it has a wide range of soil adaptability. The seeding depth is recommended to be ½ to ¼ inches.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• The mowing height is recommended to be from 2 to 4 inches.
• Reduce nitrogen applications in summers for disease prevention.
• If there are long periods of drought, then irrigation might be required for survival.
• Weeds, diseases, and pests can be controlled using herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides respectively.

8. Zoysia Grass

Zoysia grass has a light to medium-green color but it turns brown when winter dormancy sets in. It doesn’t need much input and delivers a lush, dense lawn.

This grass is suitable for southern and transition zones. This warm-season grass starts to grow actively in late spring and thrives in hot summers.

This grass prefers full sun and can tolerate partial shade. It can tolerate heat and droughts. The preferred pH level of the soil is between 5.8 and 7.0.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• Zoysia grass needs either an inch of rainfall every week or irrigation in case of no or low rainfall. For sandy soils, the watering requirements may increase.
• The mowing height is recommended to be around 1 to 1.5 inches for an optimum quality lawn.

9. Bentgrass

The color of bentgrass ranges from light green to an exquisite shade of olive green. This grass spreads through profuse creeping stolons and possesses vigorous roots that are little in depth.

Bentgrass is a perennial cool-season grass that can adapt to cold, humid atmospheres. It is suitable for southern transition zones.

During summers in the South, the bentgrass becomes vulnerable to effects of drought, foot traffic, shade, pests, or infections.

This grass thrives in well-drained soils. Light water showers are necessary to keep the foliage green. You can add mulch to reduce the watering needs from 5-7 times per day to 2-3 times per day.

Early fall is ideal for planting bentgrass seeds as this will give the seeds an adequate growing time.

Care and Maintenance Tips

• It is essential to water, fertilize, cultivate, control pests, and mow to keep bentgrass green and thriving during hot weather.
• Recommended mowing height is 3/16 inch except for in summers when the recommended height is increased to ¼ inch to help bentgrass tolerate heat stress.

Now that you know about the different types of sod grass in detail, you should be able to make an informed decision about the grass that’s most suitable for your lawn!