Warm Season Grass Guide: Best Types, Care, and Climate Tips

Written by: Fatima Razzaq

Warm-season grass is often used for fields and gardens in places where summers are hot and winters are mild. It is well known that these plants can live in hot weather. They grow the most from late spring to early fall. In the central and southern United States, warm-season grasses are very common. They do well in hot, humid circumstances. 

Centipede grass, zoysia grass, St. Augustine grass, and Bermuda grass can grow well in their settings and last a long time. When it gets cooler in late fall, this grass stops growing and goes brown. When it gets warmer in the spring, it comes back to life. Learn about the different types of grass and how they grow to choose the best one for your yard.

Where do warm-season grasses grow?

The southern states and the country’s middle part have a lot of warm-season grass. Warm-season grasses do well in both the warm-season zone and the transition zone. Warm-season grasses do best where it is hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. Most warm-season grass dies or goes brown in the winter. If you live in a warm place like South Florida, your grass might still grow and look green even in winter.

Warm-season grasses in winter

Many people choose to overseed with annual or perennial rye grass in the winter when most warm-season plants die back and turn brown. In the south, rye grass stays green all winter, even when cold outside, but warm-season plants turn brown. This lets people keep their grass green even in the middle of winter. When spring comes with its warm weather, the grasses that grow during the warm season will grow. When temperatures rise above a certain point, the ryegrass will die off.

Which types of warm-season grasses can I plant?

In the United States, these are the most common types of warm-season turfgrass:

• Bahiagrass
• Bermudagrass
• Centipedegrass
• St. Augustinegrass
• Buffalograss
• Zoysiagrass
• Carpetgrass

Please do not use this guide if you have Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, fine fescue, perennial ryegrass, or any other grasses listed. You might want to read our “Guide to Cool-Season Grasses” simultaneously.

Tiny bluestem, large bluestem, Indiangrass, and switchgrass are natural grasses that only grow in the warmer months. We will not discuss them. These are more common in fields than on lawns in homes. Unlike turfgrass, they only need a little upkeep every week. 

Maintenance Needs of Warm Season Grasses

Different warm-season grasses need different amounts of care, so homes may choose the one that works best for them. Because Bermudagrass grows quickly and covers so much ground, it must be cared for regularly. For example, in the summer, it must be fed once a month and mowed twice weekly. On the other hand, Zoysia grass grows older more slowly, needs less water and fertilizer, and only needs to be dethatched regularly to keep thatch from building up. Pennington Centipede Grass Seed & Mulch’s is great for people who don’t have much time or energy because it only needs a little fertilizer and grows slowly.

Grass of any type needs to be mowed properly to stay healthy. Regularly cut the grass so that no more than one-third of the blade is showing. This will keep the grass at the right height. Bermudagrass and other grasses that grow faster need to be mowed more often to keep them at the right height and to ensure they grow well above and below ground.

Heat Tolerance of Warm-Season Grasses

Warm-season grasses come from the tropics and subtropics and are naturally good at growing in hot, humid places. Cool-season grasses normally turn brown or damaged in high temperatures, but these grasses are still healthy and green.

Bermudagrass can handle high temperatures very well; it can live and even grow in daytime temperatures of 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Pennington Bermudagrass Grass Seed makes a thick, long-lasting field that does well even when it’s hot outside. Centipede grass, bahiagrass, and zoysia grass can all handle being hot. Pennington Pensacola Bahiagrass Grass Seed is especially good for the hot Southeast because it can handle heat and cold better than other types of bahiagrass. Warm-season plants are a good choice when it gets hot in the summer.

Cold Tolerance of Warm-Season Grasses

When temperatures drop below 65°F, warm-season grasses that grow in hot places slow down the growth of their roots and go into dormancy, but cool-season plants do well when it’s cooler outside. Some plants may stay green all year if they don’t freeze. To protect themselves from the cold, they usually turn brown in the winter and don’t grow back until spring.

Since centipede grass doesn’t sleep in the winter, it is more likely to get hurt. It was common to spray perennial ryegrass over Bermudagrass, Bahiagrass, or Zoysia fields in the south to keep them green in the winter. There is evidence that this method could work better on Centipede grass.

A warm-season grass that does well in cold weather is zoysia grass. So it’s great for places where winters are rough. Pennington Zenith Zoysia Grass Seed and Mulch does better than Bermudagrass when it gets cold. Additionally, it stays green longer and grows shoots earlier in the spring. You can also be sure that Pennington Bermudagrass Grass Seed and Pennington Centipede Grass Seed and Mulch will do better in cold regions.

Drought Tolerance of Warm-Season Grasses

Warm-season plants can handle drought because their roots are big and deep. Lawn plants usually need an inch of water every week, whether from rain or irrigation. But when it’s really dry, even plants that don’t mind being dry, like Zoysia and Bermudagrass, may need 1 to 1.5 inches of water every week to stay green and grow. Without enough water, these plants go into a protective sleep and turn brown.

You can’t handle both heat and drought at the same time. Bermudagrass can handle heat better than centipede grass, but its thin roots make it less drought-tolerant in places where it doesn’t rain often. On the other hand, Bermudagrass has roots that can go more than 6 feet deep, giving it a lot of drought resistance.

Zoysia grass keeps its color better during short droughts than Bermudagrass, but Bermudagrass shines strongly during long droughts. Pennington Smart Seed Texas Bermudagrass Grass Seed and Fertilizer Mix is great for places that get a lot of weather because it does well in harsh conditions. Like Bermudagrass, Pennington Argentine Bahiagrass Grass Seed does well in soft soils because it has deep roots that can handle drought and doesn’t need much care.

Conclusion

Warm-season grasses do well in lawns and areas where it gets hot in the summer and mild in the winter. They do best in transitional and southern areas because they can return from dormancy, grow well in hot weather, and handle drought. There are many ways that different grasses grow well in different climates. For example, Bermudagrass can handle heat, and Zoysia can handle cold. Mow these plants often, fertilize them, and spread them out as needed to keep them looking lush and healthy all year. If you choose the right grass for your area and take care of it how you like, you can have a healthy, long-lasting yard that meets your needs.

FAQs

What is the best warm-season grass?

Which warm-season type of grass is best for you depends on where you live and what you need from your yard. Bermudagrass is often used in sunny, dry places because it can handle high temperatures and dryness. Zoysia grass does well in transition zones because it can handle cold temperatures well. Bahiagrass does best in sandy soils and humid areas, but centipede grass is easy to take care of and perfect for people who don’t want to do as much.

What does it mean to be a warm-season grass?

Warm-season grasses thrive in humid and hot conditions and grow quickly from the end of spring to the start of fall. Most like to stay in places with mild winters, where they get dark and dormant. When the weather warms in the spring, they wake up and turn green again.

What is the warm season?

High temperatures are typically present all year, so late spring through early fall is often called the “warm season.” When grasses emerge in the spring and summer, they grow and color as much as possible. If you live somewhere with mild winters, these plants might stay green all year.

What is warm-season grass in California?

Bermudagrass, St. Augustine grass, and Zoysia grass are warm-season plants that grow widely in California. These plants do well in California because the winters are mild and the summers are hot and dry. They do best in sunny places and can handle storms, which makes them perfect for the state’s Mediterranean-style climate.