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Celebration vs Tiftuf vs TifGrand - SE Texas

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11K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  Meximusprime  
S
#1 ·
Need help deciding: Tiftuf vs Celebration vs Tifgrand

Paralysis by Analysis....

I am doing another post as my last one got me started researching Bermuda and I've made up my mind to not go with Zoysia. I really appreciate everyone's advice I've!

I've got a very wet, mucky, clay yard, in the swamps of SE Texas, close to the Gulf Coast. Everything here is St Augustine and I personally can't stand it (I'm from Washington and am used to finer bladed soft grasses). This will be my first turf project and I will be doing it on my own. Someday I have a desire to get a reel mower and keep it short, but for the first year or 2 I'm likely going to be keeping it between 1"-1.75" with a Honda HRX rotary.

1. Which of these 3 grasses would handle being rotary mowed over 1" for a couple years? Which one would be most shade tolerant? (I'd like grass stretching into the trees as far as I can, there's a little clearing behind that first cluster of trees). I may take down that center cluster after the first year, it will take about a year to convince the wife.. I will be thinning them out though.

2. Which one is the softest? Not soft as in cushion for running, but soft to the touch, on the wife's bare feet.

3. Which one is going to handle excessive wet conditions the best? I will be bring in sand topsoil and regarding everything with a slight camber to the outsides and to the back where we drain down to the Bayou. I do not have irrigation but will water during droughts, when the yard dries out etc.

4. I'm having a hard time deciding and keep reading conflicting things about the differences. Is Celebration going to thatch up really bad when mowed over 1"? Does tifgrand have to be less than 1"? Any of these absolutely have to be mowed with a reel?

5. Which once will handle the most shade? Is Tiftuf definitely going to handle the shade the least and really struggle? I'm somewhat OK with the turf going through the trees failing and needing to take out additional trees, or spreading something really shade tolerant back there in the future that doesn't overtake the bermuda.

6. Which one will handle being overseeded with PRG in the winters (or will any NOT handle it).

7. Also, I prefer darker grasses and dislike lime green. I'm assuming the order goes: Tifgrand, Celebration, tiftuf in order of darkness.

I really really appreciate everyone's knowledge and insight!!!







 
R
#4 ·
Haha. I have celebration in a few areas.

This was some scraps of celebration I got from a sod farm. I laid this over mostly rocks and it took off. My mower doesn't mow it well because of the fence and sidewalk. So sometimes I just hit with a weed wacker. Celebration is some fast spreading bermuda. It's about as soft as bermuda is. I never seen it thatch much but I scalp with a weed wacker from time to time.

This picture was taken at the time of this post. It comes out of dormancy fast if it has sun.
 
B
#6 ·
I would agree with the celebration. It handles shade well. Well, as good as can be expected with bermuda. It's also a darker green than the other bermudas although I don't know much about tifgrand because it wasn't an option here. This is my second year with Celebration. I had 419 at my other house. I really like the dark color and it doesn't look terrible at a little higher cut. Haven't had a thatch problem yet but like I said, I've only had it for a year.
 
S
#7 ·
Bermuda_Newbie said:
I would agree with the celebration. It handles shade well. Well, as good as can be expected with bermuda. It's also a darker green than the other bermudas although I don't know much about tifgrand because it wasn't an option here. This is my second year with Celebration. I had 419 at my other house. I really like the dark color and it doesn't look terrible at a little higher cut. Haven't had a thatch problem yet but like I said, I've only had it for a year.
Click to expand...
Do you have a picture of yours with a little higher cut?
 
B
#8 ·
I do kinda but it's lumpy still so it's a bit scalped in places. I think maybe 3/4" or 1". I can't remember what this was. Because of the lumps, I have to cut it a little higher than I'd like to until I can level. The yard is a process this year and around the time I'd level I'll be giving birth so that's going to have to wait a bit. I didn't take as many pictures of the lawn last year as I normally did because the smoke was really bad here from the fires so it at one point got to like 4". I should have taken a picture of that!




And this was shortly after the sod was laid.



Edit: found a better picture
 
S
#9 ·
Bermuda_Newbie said:
I do kinda but it's lumpy still so it's a bit scalped in places. I think maybe 3/4" or 1". I can't remember what this was. Because of the lumps, I have to cut it a little higher than I'd like to until I can level. The yard is a process this year and around the time I'd level I'll be giving birth so that's going to have to wait a bit. I didn't take as many pictures of the lawn last year as I normally did because the smoke was really bad here from the fires so it at one point got to like 4". I should have taken a picture of that!




And this was shortly after the sod was laid.



Edit: found a better picture
Click to expand...
Looks awesome.
 
G
#10 ·
Are you able to visit the sod farm and see all 3? I just planted 2 pallets of celebration. My choices were TifTuf or celebration. I had TifTuf at my last house in Charlotte NC. It definitely seemed to scalp pretty bad with a rotary mower.

My celebration sod has only been down for a few weeks and its starting to take off with the higher temps. Color is definitely darker than the tiftuf. Blades are a bit thicker but it grows down and out (if that makes sense). The tiftuf i had seemed to grow more upright.
 
M
#11 ·
Spammage said:
If mowing with a rotary, I would go with Celebration. It scalps less than the Tifton grasses and is also the most drought tolerant of the three, and the most shade tolerant at least at those heights. A reel cut Tifgrand is pretty special though if you are planning on changing to a reel.
Click to expand...
Concur with this assessment.

Reel cut tifgrand looks great. The color is great.

Tiftuf does scalp easily and isn't nearly as dark.
 
M
#13 ·
SoutheastTXZoysia said:
Ya I just found a farm that has both and hour and half away. I'm trying to get out there in the next couple days (I have a newborn and toddler so it's difficult).
Click to expand...
Go during nap time so they at least sleep one direction. If you plan it right, they could be asleep in the vehicle during your stop but I wouldn't hinge my trip on that working out.
 
H
#14 ·
Tifgrand will be the darkest green of the bunch and most shade tolerant of the bunch. It also will tend to be the slowest growing because of its semi dwarf status. According to NTeP trials tiftuff would be the next most shade tolerant then celebration. Tifgrand is beautiful but really likes to be maintained under 1". It's a toss up between celebration and tiftuff. Celebration has a really nice blue color to it and is an aggressive grower if you like to mow
 
#15 ·
These are probably my top three Bermuda varieties based on what I know about them. The only one I actually have in my plots is Celebration, though. I do mow my Celebration with a rotary, but it isn't super dense. It tolerates shade decently well for Bermuda and seems to spread well in spite of being partially shaded.

If you were sticking with a rotary, I would definitely recommend Jamur zoysia. But, if you're planning on switching to a reel relatively soon, then I would go with TifGrand Bermuda, Celebration Bermuda, or Zorro zoysia.
 
S
#16 ·
Tide said:
These are probably my top three Bermuda varieties based on what I know about them. The only one I actually have in my plots is Celebration, though. I do mow my Celebration with a rotary, but it isn't super dense. It tolerates shade decently well for Bermuda and seems to spread well in spite of being partially shaded.

If you were sticking with a rotary, I would definitely recommend Jamur zoysia. But, if you're planning on switching to a reel relatively soon, then I would go with TifGrand Bermuda, Celebration Bermuda, or Zorro zoysia.
Click to expand...
Ugh, ya I started this search originally thinking Jamur, not sure why I really switched it up. I've never seen Jamur in person though would love to see how it looks rotary mowed at 1". And how it does with really poor draining soils and partial shade. Thanks!
 
S
#18 ·
Yes sir good advice, I'm looking at light meters right now. I'm starting off with 24 yards of dandy topsoil to start, and then yard will be graded to hopefully have a slight camber to the outside edges. Since in going to have several inches of added topsoil I was waiting to do a soil test, not sure if that's proper or not. I do have testing kits on their way though.
 
S
#19 ·
jayhawk said:
Looks like a big investment, so I think it'd be prudent to invest in a light meter, collect some hard facts before.... hoping it's enough sun for any Bermuda.

No residential grass will grow in excessive moisture. Those pictures indicate you will need some sand and a dingo for sure.
Click to expand...
Do you have a recommendation on light meter? The options out there are overwhelming...
 
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