Tucson Sod - The Obvious Choice

Tucson Sod. It sounds like a character in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. If you are a homeowner in Tucson and considering adding or renovating a lawn, these could be the two most sensible words on your mind. Think about it. Your other choices are to plant seed from scratch or install artificial turf.

Planting a lawn from seed is fine if you are in no hurry to see results and if you have plenty of time to nurse it into fruition every day of your life for the next six months. You will need a spreadsheet just to keep track of when you need to water it. Artificial turf is fine for a putting green but if you have kids, well, there must be a reason why less than a quarter of NFL pro football teams use it.

Sod in Arizona is the obvious choice. The result is pretty much instant. Lay a turf lawn and hold your daughter's wedding reception the following weekend. Try that with a newly seeded lawn! Arizona sod is more expensive than seed and you have fewer varieties from which to choose but, hey, green is green.

Your choice of sod in Tucson depends on three factors:

• Amount of daily sunlight - Your lawn either gets more than eight hours of sunlight each day or less than eight hours. Sod grass has a zero tolerance policy for 100% shade. For these areas, use something else.
• Your lawn mower - Reel vs. rotary. It makes a difference.
• Maintenance - Varieties that require extra care look a little bit nicer but are also more effort. Expect to fertilize frequently and mow once a week. Low maintenance lawns need only be mown every week to ten days and need less frequent fertilization.

Let's go shopping for sod in Tucson!

Scenario One - 8+ hours of daily sunshine, low

You probably want Midiron. It's less expensive, durable and easy to care for. Perfect if you have pets or kids. Blue-green in color, medium coarse in texture. Not fussy about what you use to mow it provided it's sharp.

Scenario Two - Less Than 8 hours of daily sunshine and you are happy to put in the extra time

Palmetto St. Augustine is the best choice for a shady area but it will thrive in sunlight, too. Palmetto has a coarse texture and a bright green color. Use a reel or sharp rotary lawn.

Scenario Three - Lots of sun, rotary mower, no kids

You have two good choices here, Tifway 419 (a Bermuda grass) or Tifgreen 328. Tifway 419 - Popular with groundskeepers on golf courses and professional playing fields around the world. Highly resistant to trampling and recovers quickly from being damaged. Tifgreen 328 - The softest grass you will ever walk on in Arizona. Superfine texture tolerates wear and is super drought-resistant. Be prepared to mow weekly.

Hopefully, your choice has been made simpler. For a quick, low-maintenance, no-worry result, go with Tucson sod. For a way to while away those extra hours, plant fresh seed. If you want to spend hours in the emergency room with your injured kids, use artificial turf.

For more information on Tucson sod, visit our website .

Select the perfect turf using our lawn selector. Once you've found the perfect type of grass, you can order online or by phone. Learn how to measure your lawn and how to install your new lawn with our helpful online guides.