Sod buying guide
St. Augustine, Bermuda, Zoysia or buffalograss? Here is how the warm-season grasses used in the Concho Valley compare on sun, shade, water and wear, so you pick sod that will still look good in August.
San Angelo throws a lot at a lawn: long stretches over 100°F, drying wind, the occasional hard freeze, alkaline soil, caliche, and watering limits during drought. Every grass below can work here. The right one depends on how much sun the yard gets, how hard it gets used and how much you want to water and mow.
Availability of specific varieties changes with the season and the sod farm, so we will always tell you what is fresh and available when we quote your job.
The toughest choice for open, sunny yards, sports areas and commercial lots. Bermuda takes heat, drought and heavy foot traffic, recovers fast from wear and goes dormant (tan) in dry spells or winter, then greens back up. It spreads aggressively, so it needs edging along beds. It will thin out in shade.
The classic wide-blade Texas lawn and the usual pick for yards with trees. St. Augustine makes a thick, deep-green carpet that crowds out weeds and handles more shade than Bermuda, but it is thirstier, less cold-hardy and does not like heavy traffic. Watch for chinch bugs and brown patch.
A dense, soft, fine-to-medium-bladed lawn that looks manicured with less mowing once it is established. Zoysia tolerates some shade and decent traffic and holds color well, but it is slow to recover from damage and usually costs more per square foot.
A native shortgrass prairie grass and the most water-thrifty lawn option for West Texas. Buffalograss needs little mowing or fertilizer, but it does not like shade, heavy traffic or over-watering, and it is less uniform than other turf. A good fit for low-use, natural-looking areas.
| Grass | Sun | Water need | Foot traffic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bermudagrass | Full sun only | Low to moderate | Excellent |
| St. Augustine | Sun to partial shade | Moderate to high | Moderate |
| Zoysia | Sun to partial shade | Moderate | Good |
| Buffalograss | Full sun | Very low | Low |
Cheat sheet
We will look at your sun, shade, soil and sprinkler coverage and recommend a grass at no charge when we quote your sod job. If part of the yard just will not hold grass, we will tell you, and show you a xeriscape option for that spot.
It depends on sun and use. Bermuda handles full sun, heat, drought and heavy traffic. St. Augustine is the usual pick for yards with some shade. Zoysia makes a dense, soft lawn with moderate shade tolerance. Buffalograss uses the least water but prefers low traffic and full sun. Our grass types guide compares them side by side.
Some grasses tolerate shade better than others. St. Augustine and Zoysia handle partial shade; Bermuda and buffalograss need full sun. Under dense trees, a mulch or xeriscape bed is often the better answer, and we will tell you so.
Warm-season grasses root fastest from late spring through summer when soil is warm. Sod can be laid into early fall; dormant-season installs are possible but root more slowly. We schedule around weather and supplier availability.
Seed costs less up front but takes months to fill in and is easily washed out or overrun by weeds. Sod gives you a finished lawn the day it is installed, controls erosion right away and establishes much faster.
Free estimates on sod, xeriscape and landscaping across San Angelo and the Concho Valley.