Your home is an important investment, and you want it to retain its value. Good landscaping is one way to not only protect your investment but make your home stand out in the neighborhood. Plant beds and trees are part of that look, but sometimes they create shade areas that make it difficult for the grass to thrive. Let’s look at some varieties of shade-tolerant turfgrass grown by King Ranch Florida Turfgrass.
Before we look at the top four varieties, a word of caution may be in order. Planting grass in a shady area is a great idea. But if an area is so dark that nothing is growing there, not even weeds, it is unlikely that turfgrass will thrive in it. We have a video that explains this a little more in-depth.
Citra Blue St. Augustine
Citra Blue St. Augustine grass is an improved version of St. Augustine grass. Known for its distinctive blue-green color, it performs well in sandy soils, as well as mud/muck. This variety is well suited for residential and commercial uses, as well as use on sports fields and golf courses. You will find this popular variety in many residential estate homes and commercial properties. Citra Blue St. Augustine enjoys a fast grow-in rate and does well against weeds. This variety rates a 3 out of 5 for shade tolerance.
Latitude 36 Bermudagrass
The Latitude 36 Bermudagrass grown by King Ranch is an industry favorite for football stadiums, soccer fields and golf courses. It is also well suited for residential and commercial applications. This grass is known for being extremely tolerant of the cold and of high traffic while remaining soft to the touch. This superior performance in traffic and cold tolerance and recovery gives the benefits of warm weather turf during more of the year. Latitude 36 Bermudagrass rates a 3 out of 5 as a shade-tolerant turfgrass.
Empire Zoysia
Another variety grown by King Ranch Florida Turfgrass is the Empire Zoysia. This grass merges an appealing blue-green color with a soft feel that results in a robust and attractive turfgrass. Its strength, high drought resistance and high level of wearability make Empire Zoysia a popular choice for golf courses and sports fields, as well as in the residential market. This hearty, lower maintenance variety needs little fertilizing. Empire Zoysia scores a 4 out of 5 for shade tolerance.
Zorro Zoysia
America’s #1 ranked zoysia grass is Zorro Zoysia. It can be found in residential and commercial sites, as well as golf courses. This fine-bladed grass has a lot of pluses, including a high traffic tolerance and a rapid recovery ability. King Ranch Turfgrass rates this variety a 5 in insect and disease tolerance in addition to its high performance against weeds and how it retains its dark green color. The hearty Zorro Zoysia scores a 4 out of 5 as a shade-tolerant turfgrass.
King Ranch Florida Turfgrass is a full-cycle operation. We not only grow and harvest our different varieties of grass, but we will deliver and install your new grass as well. King Ranch Florida Turfgrass is proud of the environmentally-conscious “best management practices” farming policies it has implemented throughout its Florida operations. Contact us if you have questions about which variety of turfgrass will meet your needs.