# Anyone with Tifgrand?



## Romangorilla (Jun 3, 2019)

Hey guys.

I am hoping to lay some sod next spring and had my eye on Tifgrand.
I currently have P77 and it's performed pretty well, but it's become mixed with common Bermuda and it doesn't handle a cut below 3/4" very well. I really like the idea of throwing down some sod and having a uniform turf. 
Everything I have read keeps pointing me back to Tifgrand.
It seems that it has the darkest color out of other TIf varieties, which is the biggest selling point for me.
If you have any opinions of your own, feel free to drop some knowledge on me...


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Solid choice. There are several folks here who have it. Hopefully they will chime in.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

yes. can go low (.5" and under, easy). See the journals thread - 2 come to mind

read up / follow movingshurb (tiftuff sprig) thread too - killing existing : you have one shot (so don't slack). you don't want to try to selectively remove common or some other bermuda from tifgrand post sod.


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## JRS 9572 (May 28, 2018)

Had it now for the 5th summer. New home install. Came from Super Sod, but I don't think they produce it any longer due to their push of Tif-Tuf.

Only two issues I've had (and I'd call them minor issues). Dollar spot the 1st couple of summers, and seed heads. Flipping seed heads. No matter how much I do what I'm supposed to do they're always a pain in my behind. I didn't seem to have that with 419 or Celebration on previous home lawns I had. I have the T-Nex etc, but haven't started using it. But PGR should fix that problem. Or at least that's what I've been told.

But it does have a great dark green color. Very fine blades. I keep mine cut between 3/4" and 7/8".


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## Romangorilla (Jun 3, 2019)

@JRS 9572 that looks great! Is the seed head issue pretty common with Tifgrand? How did you like Celebration? Would you rather have something else besides Tifgrand, if you could?


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@Romangorilla

Take a look at TifTuf.

I went to Super SOD and looked at there side by side plots of Zoysia, Bermuda and Centipede.

All of the Zoysia and Bermuda were very nice...but TifTuf looked the best IMO.

Emerald Zoysia



TifTuf


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## Romangorilla (Jun 3, 2019)

ENC_Lawn said:


> @Romangorilla
> 
> Take a look at TifTuf.
> 
> ...


Wow. Yeah that picture of TifTuf looks pretty good.
I was unaware that it could get that dark green.

What's the difference in TifTuf and Tifgrand?


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@Romangorilla

Not sure of the differences...I know Tifgrand looks great as well.

I just saw TifTuf in person and it looked very good!

You may want to ask @AZChemist he recently went with TifGrand after looking at several cultivars.


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## HungrySoutherner (May 29, 2018)

Romangorilla said:


> ENC_Lawn said:
> 
> 
> > @Romangorilla
> ...


Tifgrand is going to be a much darker green and the low mow champ of the 2 varieties, I think they are equally shade tolerant. The tiftuff is a shade lighter in color than tifway 419. Tifgrand needs to be kept under 1" or it gets puffy because its a semi-dwarf bermuda, but it loves PGR and regulates into a really nice dense turf. TifTuff is more tolerant of drought and holds its color better when its not getting as much water compared to other hybrid varieties. Texture of TifTuff is similar to Tifway 419, but seems to scalp easier if you aren't staying on top of the mowing and there has been questions about how well growth regulator works with TifTuff. Both are great varieties, just depends on what your going for. Also I think turf recovery is better on Tiftuff.


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## JRS 9572 (May 28, 2018)

@Romangorilla Celebration was probably my favorite. Don't get me wrong TifGrand has been a good variety to have in the yard. Here's the previous home with celebration.


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## bp2878 (Feb 13, 2019)

I put down 1500 sq ft of tifgrand at the end of June this year. It is gorgeous grass, mainly because of the dark color. I put down 1500 sq ft of tiftuf in my back yard last month and the grand is much prettier in my opinion. It has been a slow grower for me though. I was hoping to scalp and level after it rooted well this season but it grows so slow that I don't trust it to fill in time so I have to wait until spring. Have to cut with rotary mower too keep from scalping because of my bumpy lawn. Really looking forward to spring green up so I can get it leveled and go low.


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## Bmossin (May 31, 2018)

JRS 9572 said:


> @Romangorilla Celebration was probably my favorite. Don't get me wrong TifGrand has been a good variety to have in the yard. Here's the previous home with celebration.


Im liking that celebration!


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## Romangorilla (Jun 3, 2019)

JRS 9572 said:


> @Romangorilla Celebration was probably my favorite. Don't get me wrong TifGrand has been a good variety to have in the yard. Here's the previous home with celebration.


Celebration looks good too. Lol too many choices.

If Tifgrand is darker green, has thinner blades, and does better in shade, then why are places like "Super sod" only carrying 419 & Tiftuf?
I would think that Tifgrand would be the variety that everyone had in stock.


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## HungrySoutherner (May 29, 2018)

Romangorilla said:


> JRS 9572 said:
> 
> 
> > @Romangorilla Celebration was probably my favorite. Don't get me wrong TifGrand has been a good variety to have in the yard. Here's the previous home with celebration.
> ...


Tifgrand is semi-dwarf Bermuda so to stay healthy and happy it needs to be kept mowed under an inch . Most folks aren't going to do that


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

I've had tifgrand going on 2 years. 6k sqft. Seedheads, yes you will get them, mow lower and you won't lol 
Shade tolerance, very good. I have areas of 4-5hrs sun that are just as dense as the full sun areas. It just doesn't grow as much.

It is a slow grower, I mow every 7/8 days with pgr at sub 1/2in hoc. You won't do that with tiftuf ever.

Your real deciding factor is if you want to mow sub 1/2in like .25-.4 because that's where tifgrand shines and if you decide 5/8-3/4 I'd go with a different variety


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## bp2878 (Feb 13, 2019)

HungrySoutherner said:


> Romangorilla said:
> 
> 
> > JRS 9572 said:
> ...


Exactly! Also, most people are not lawn junkies like all of us here. Most want a nice grass that needs as little irrigation as possible and the lawn guy can come every 10 days to cut it at 2.5 inches with a zero turn mower and fertilize only twice a year. Tiftuf is perfect for the majority of people. I had to travel 2 hours to find my tifgrand. The farm I bought it from sells it mostly to golf courses, not homeowners. My local supersod is getting rid of 419 as well. By spring of 2021, they grow nothing but tiftuf.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

my observation - by no means a study...celebration tends to grow less upright than other bermudas. even the rotary / mow n blow lawns it stays lower (when i see it side by side in 'calico' lawns)


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## AZChemist (Nov 7, 2018)

I will attest that Tifgrand is a slow grower. My lawn gets direct AZ sun and without PGR a weekly mow is manageable at 0.55".

The caveat to that is it is slow to fill in damaged cause by my dog and I. The blades are very fine and the canopy is almost carpet like. On a freshly mowed lawn the stripes can easily be ruffled up with the fam and dogs running on it.

It is green sure, but I feel the majority of the tiffs would be equally as green if you feed enough N to them.


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## jan1980steve (Aug 16, 2017)

I installed tifgrand 2019 may. Mine probably is one of the last cut from supersod and they were supposed to spray the whole tifgrand field a couple days after my cut.

I went for tifgrand mainly for its dark color and fine blade. I came from common bermuda, here are my observations so far.

Very dense, 
had dollar spot earlier.
lot of seed heads @ 3/4 Inch,
slow grower,
very dark,
very soft to walk (kids to run barefoot).
so dense the clippings float and needs to be bagged every time.
fine blade and looks like carpet.


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## JRS 9572 (May 28, 2018)

I agree 1/2" is about where you need to maintain it, and that since I have had it at 3/4" to 7/8" that's probably part of the issue with seed heads. I mow it pretty frequently. Some times every other day. If I tried to scalp lower than where it is, then my POS McLane will bog down. I usually have to do it at the 1st of spring and keep it there. Then you go on a vacation.....and.....well there you are at 3/4" to 7/8".

If I can ever get confidence that the sprayer I bought is calibrated, then I'll put the gallon jug of T-Nex I have to work. Scared to do it wrong and damage the yard.

But you can see the pic. It stripes awesome. I couldn't get celebration or 419 to stripe like that. It may be due to the fine leaf of tifgrand. It is a little slower to cover, but not to the point it's a huge issue.

I'm a total believer in collecting clippings every time. I know they say dead clippings don't contribute to or aren't thatch. But funny how I verticut at a proper depth this year and minimal "trash" came up.

Speaking of seed heads. When I mow and they're there. I get some of them cut, and not all. I've verified a sharp blade that cuts grass all the way across. It's almost as if the roller lays it over where it's not able to bounce back and cut. It seems to be a real delicate seed head. Not saying the reel roller isn't an awesome thing. At any rate I cut the heck out of the yard last weekend. You could see some white stalks after numerous cuttings. We get an inch of rain the other night. The next morning. Very little if any of seed head "dead bodies" remained. Like the rain beat them apart and washed them away.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

@JRS 9572 Just do a low rate of TNEX and that way if you overspray a bit you won't hurt anything.


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