Shadow Turf (Turffalo) – Identification

Q: Do you know anything about Turffalo Shadow Grass? We have a lot of shade trees and limited success with centipedegrass and St. Augustinegrass. What is your opinion of this grass?

A: Shadow Turf is a named variety of one species of zoysiagrass, Zoysia matrella. It may do well in full sunshine but I would not expect it to spread quickly or out-compete weeds in the shade. Turffalo was the original name of a grass now marketed as Tech Turf. It is a named variety of buffalo grass, Bouteloua dactyloides. Buffalo grass has not done well when planted in Georgia. It requires full sunshine and does not compete well with weeds. The seedheads may be objectionable too. I would not plant either grass here, but you are welcome to try and let me know what happens.

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