Anyone have experience with TifGrand Bermuda?

Oddball

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I've done a fair amount of research and I may have decided on TifGrand bermuda. Its a fairly new cultivar that's supposed to be even more shade tolerant than some of the Zoysia and St. Augustine grasses. During the summer our yard gets about 4 1/2 to 7 hours of sunlight a day depending on where you are in the yard. In the winter it gets substantially less, but with bermuda being dormant in the winter, I'm hoping that won't matter.I want to rip out our front yard next spring and start over. Its got a huge overgrown island in the middle that I want to completely rip out and sod and a huge bed in front of the house that I'd like to cut back to about half its depth and sod that reclaimed portion also. The rest of the yard is a mix of a gazillion grass and weed types that look great when fertilized, watered and mowed, but I really would like to have one type of grass that all grows at the same rate and looks nice for more than two days after mowing. We're surrounded by tall woods and established trees that are not on our property, so I can't remove any to allow more light.
 

Grassgirl84

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Hi Oddball. I have worked with many different types of turf as a Member of the UGA Turf Team. TifGrand, released last summer, is a beautiful dark, green Bermuda. The first ever hybrid, shade tolerant bermudagrass. I would say if you have at least 4.5 to 5 hours of sun per day in your area, then TifGrand is for you. BUT - if you want something that will look nice for at least 5 days after mowing - Bermuda is not the answer. Bermudagrasses grow very fast and can scalp with infrequent mowing. I think you may want to look into some different types of zoysias. If you like thin bladed grasses - Zeon could be an answer - very thin bladed, with a bright green color. Thicker bladed zoysias - JaMur or Meyer - both very drought tolerant and cold tolerant. I hope I have helped and not hendered.
 

Oddball

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Thanks Grassgirl. Yes, I am aware that Bermuda is a little more high maintenance than some other grasses. I originally considered Zoysia, but was concerned that it might not be shade tolerant enough for the shadier areas of the yard. Then I read about TifGrand and how it performed better than the Zoysias in the shade and that's what led me to where I am now. Are there Zoysias that will do well with as little as 4 to 4 1/2 hours of sunlight? Another concern is how slow Zoysia fills in damaged or thin areas. I think I actually have a patch of Zoysia in the yard. It sure looks like it. But it has been there for several years and has spread very little, even when I darn near killed off everything else with weed killer and it had plenty of room to spread. Dangit why can't we just have one grass that can be grown successfully by just throwing out a few handsful of seeds and does well no matter where we put it or how much we water and fertilize it and only needs to be cut once every two weeks? Geez, is that really so much to ask? :laughing:
 

Grassgirl84

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I wish that too! Well, I have read in some places that Zeon can handle as little as 4 hours of sun per day. From that, and talking to a turfgrass expert at UGA, zoysias are still superior as far as shade tolerance goes. Emerald is very shade tolerant, but can be thatchy. I'm wondering if you might shouldn't try a pallet of zoysia (kind of like a test plot) to see how it goes and if you like it. Or a pallet of TifGrand - before you go sodding your entire area. Just an idea. :smile:
 

Oddball

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Hmm, using both is a possibility. I like the look of Zoysia better the Bermuda. I can put some TG in one of the side yards down by the basement. There's a big cherry tree at the junction of the front and side yards there that throws enough shade that I doubt any grass can grow there, forming a natural barrier between the two and would keep the fast growing Bermuda from invading the slower growing Zoysia. There's a nursery up the road that has a landscape design team and I was thinking of having them come out and help me tweek my plans for the yard and give me a quote on doing the work. I guess the smartest thing to do would be to ask them what grass they'd recommend given that they will actually be seeing the yard first hand.
 

PersonWithDogs

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Hi all. Brand new to the forum. I too am considering the TiffGrand Bermuda along with Zorro Zoysia, Celebration Bermuda and Del Mar St. Augustine. This has been exasperating for me! I have a 75' x 20' yard that has dense shade on either side and full sun right in the middle. To top that, I also have 6 medium sized dogs dogs that have 'full reign' (aka: doggie door) for 'toileting' purposes too. My yard is situated on the North side too. Most folks here in Northeast Texas grow St. Augustine for shady areas and Bermuda for the sunny ones. What do you do if you have both? AND DOGS? I have been told the Bermuda TiffGrand is the most shade tolerant, dog/traffic tolerant but exactly how much sun does it need to survive? I'm having a hard time finding an answer to this....? Anyone know? Or a suggestion? I am getting too old to keep pulling weeds!
 

Sweet0891

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Hi all. Brand new to the forum. I too am considering the TiffGrand Bermuda along with Zorro Zoysia, Celebration Bermuda and Del Mar St. Augustine. This has been exasperating for me! I have a 75' x 20' yard that has dense shade on either side and full sun right in the middle. To top that, I also have 6 medium sized dogs dogs that have 'full reign' (aka: doggie door) for 'toileting' purposes too. My yard is situated on the North side too. Most folks here in Northeast Texas grow St. Augustine for shady areas and Bermuda for the sunny ones. What do you do if you have both? AND DOGS? I have been told the Bermuda TiffGrand is the most shade tolerant, dog/traffic tolerant but exactly how much sun does it need to survive? I'm having a hard time finding an answer to this....? Anyone know? Or a suggestion? I am getting too old to keep pulling weeds!
I am too in the exact same situation as person with dogs and odd ball. I am leaning toward Tifgrand myself. Can someone now give some feedback and experience of Tifgrand in shaded areas(4-6 hours of sunlight a day)? Did any of y'all go with Tifgrand or something else?
 
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