Bermudagrass is especially suited to tropical and desert climates.
Summer grass, also called warm-season grass, grows during the summer and is dormant during the winter. The University of Arizona's agricultural extension service recommends Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) as the best summer grass for the desert valleys of Yuma, Tuscon and Phoenix. Bermudagrass is also the most prominent and suitable grass for Arizona lawns at higher elevations. Does this Spark an idea?
Description
Bermudagrass has gray-green blades that grow from 1 to 6 inches high. Its roots can grow up to 6 feet deep, enabling the grass to survive drought conditions. It grows poorly in full shade. Common Bermudagrass has a medium texture and grows unsightly seed heads. Hybrid Bermudagrasses developed for lawns and turf grow more densely; they have finer blades with a richer color and produce fewer seedheads. Mow hybrid varieties close to the ground and fertilize and dethach them frequently.
Attributes
Bermudagrass is grown for lawns, playing fields and parks in hot, desert and subtropical areas of the U.S. It grows best in the summer when temperatures are above 80 degrees F, likes full sun and will tolerate salty soil and salty water. You can grow Bermudagrass on hard soil and in shallow soil, and it can withstand heavy use.
Growth
In Arizona, Bermudagrass begins to go dormant in September starts growing again in May. Overseed Bermudagrass with ryegrass in the late summer or early fall to provide year-round green grass. Bermudagrass spreads both by aboveground runners called stolons and underground shoots called rhizomes. You may have to build a concrete or brick border or other buffer zone to keep it from spreading into your flower beds or gardens. Hybrid varieties have seed heads that do not produce seeds; you have to plant them from sprigs or sod.
Hybrid Varieties
The Cooperative Extension at University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences recommends six sterile, hybrid varieties of Bermudagrass for Arizona lawns. These are high-density varieties with fine grass blades, meaning they form attractive turf, but you have to mow them regularly. If you allow them to grow more than 2 inches high they will develop brown patches. "E-Z Turf Midiron" is a good general purpose Bermudagrass for Arizona lawns. "Tifway 419" and "Tifway II" are darker green and thicker varieties of Bermudagrass than E-Z Turf Midiron. You can mow them at a lower height than E-Z Turf Midiron. "Santa Ana," developed by the University of California, produces thick turf with slightly broader leaves than other Bermudagrass varieties. "Bob-Sod" or "Bank One Ballpark" sod, developed by Mississippi State University, is a dense Bermudagrass that can withstand high traffic when you mow it at low heights. Dark, blue-green "TifSport," developed by the Tifton Experiment Station in Georgia, also can tolerate close mowing with reel mowers.
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