Choosing the Right Sod Grass for Arizona: A Lawn Care Specialist’s Tips
Arizona’s climate can make it challenging to maintain a healthy looking lawn. With dry, hot summers and low precipitation during the rest of the seasons, it can be difficult to keep your lawn green and lush.
Choosing the right type of sod grass is one of the biggest keys to success. What type of sod grass is best for your yard? Here are some tips to determine what grass will grow best on your lot.
Questions To Ask Yourself About Your Lawn
The following questions can help you determine what type of grass would be best for your yard:
Is your yard mostly shaded or in the sun?
Shade or sun makes a difference in terms of what types of grass will grow best in a space. Some of your yard may be in the shade while some is in direct sunlight all the time. You may find that different types of grass will work better in different areas of your lawn. The more direct the sunlight, the more the grass may need to be watered as well.
What kind of mower do you plan to use?
The most common type of mower is a rotary mower, with rotating blades that are electrical or gas powered. However some homeowners use a reel mower that is propelled by pushing. Reel mowers work best for small yards and rotary mowers work better for larger yards. For extremely large lots, a riding mower may be best, which is also a rotary style.
How much time and effort can you devote to yard maintenance?
Some types of grass require more time and effort than other types. Choose your type of grass based on the amount of time you are able and willing to devote to yard work. Or if you plan to hire a lawn service, determine what your budget will allow in terms of the frequency and type of services you can pay for.
Do you have children and/or pets?
The amount of traffic your lawn will receive is largely determined by whether or not you have children or pets. When it comes to pets, the type of animals you have will also be a deciding factor in the type of grass you may want.
Turning Questions Into Answers
Here are some suggestions based on your answers to the questions above:
- Mostly sunny lawn: Midiron, Bermuda. Midiron grass is blue-green in color with a medium coarse leaf texture that holds up well in hot, dry climates. Bermuda has short, flat leaves that make it tolerant of dry climates and grows best in direct sunlight.
- Mostly shaded lawn: Palmetto St. Augustine. It is difficult to get grass to grow in the shade, but Palmetto St. Augustine grass can grow in both direct sunlight and shade.
- Rotary mower: Any type. Rotary mowers are designed for any type of grass, but adjust the blade level according to the type of grass you choose.
- Reel mower: Bermuda. Reel mowers work best on Bermuda grass because it is coarse and short, meaning it won’t get caught up in or flattened by the reel.
- High maintenance: Tifway, Tifgreen. If you have plenty of time to devote to your lawn, Tifway or Tifgreen make great manicured a lawn, but it does require a bit more maintenance than some other types to keep that manicured look.
- Eco-friendly: Midiron, TifTuf Bermuda. Midiron is known for being relatively low maintenance and recovers quickly from damage. TifTuf Bermuda is one of the toughest types of grass that is also the most drought resistant, ultimately using less water.
- Kids and pets: TifTuf Bermuda, Midiron. In addition to being low maintenance, TifTuf Bermuda and Midiron hold up well to plenty of traffic, making them ideal for families with children and pets.
- No kids or pets: Any type. If you don’t have kids or pets, you are free to try any type of grass that meets your other criteria.
Where to Get Quality Sod Grass
Evergreen Turf provides a wide variety of sod grass types that are well-suited for Arizona weather. If you’re not sure how to choose the right type of grass for your yard, try our lawn selector tool.
For questions, call (480) 456-1199 or contact us today. Place an online order for sod grass here.