Most Drought-Tolerant Grass Types

The most drought-tolerant lawn grasses are buffalograss and bermudagrass in warm and transition climates, followed by zoysia and bahia, and tall fescue among cool-season grasses, with fine fescues close behind for low-input, shady lawns. Kentucky bluegrass is not truly drought tolerant but survives drought by going dormant and recovering from rhizomes. The real answer depends on your climate: a grass that thrives on rain alone in Texas will not survive a Minnesota winter, and vice versa. Below is a ranking by climate, how long each type can go without water, and the mowing and watering habits that keep any lawn alive under watering restrictions.

Part of our Lawn Care guide →

In this guide

1. Drought Tolerance vs Drought Survival
2. Drought-Tolerant Grass Rankings
3. Best Drought-Tolerant Warm-Season Grasses
4. Best Drought-Tolerant Cool-Season Grasses
5. Best Choice by Region
6. How Long Can Grass Go Without Water?
7. How to Keep Grass Alive Under Watering Restrictions
8. Switching to a More Drought-Tolerant Grass
9. Frequently Asked Questions

Drought Tolerance vs Drought Survival

Two different traits get lumped together. Drought tolerance (sometimes called drought avoidance) is the ability to stay green and growing with little water, usually because of deep roots or efficient water use. Drought survival (or recovery) is the ability to go brown and dormant during drought, then green up again when rain returns. Bermudagrass and buffalograss do both well. Kentucky bluegrass does the second but not the first. Perennial ryegrass and centipede do neither especially well. If your city restricts watering but you are fine with a tan lawn in August, a grass with strong recovery can be enough. If you need it green, choose for tolerance.

Drought-Tolerant Grass Rankings

Grass	Season	Best regions	Drought tolerance	Recovery after dormancy	Shade tolerance
Buffalograss	Warm (native)	Great Plains, dry West, transition zone	Excellent	Excellent	Poor
Bermudagrass	Warm	South, Southwest, transition zone	Excellent	Excellent	Poor
Zoysiagrass	Warm	South, transition zone	Very good	Good	Moderate
Bahiagrass	Warm	Gulf Coast, Florida, sandy soils	Very good	Good	Moderate
Tall fescue	Cool	Transition zone, North, mountain West	Very good for a cool-season grass	Moderate (bunch type)	Moderate
Fine fescues	Cool	North, Pacific Northwest, shady lawns	Good	Moderate	Good
Kentucky bluegrass	Cool	North, Midwest	Fair	Very good (rhizomes)	Fair
St. Augustinegrass	Warm	Gulf Coast, Florida, coastal South	Fair to good (varies by cultivar)	Fair	Good
Centipedegrass	Warm	Southeast, acidic soils	Fair to poor	Poor	Moderate
Perennial ryegrass	Cool	North, overseeding in South	Poor	Poor	Fair

Rankings are general. Specific cultivars within a species vary, and newer varieties bred for drought often outperform older ones. Your local Cooperative Extension office publishes the best-performing cultivars for your state.

Best Drought-Tolerant Warm-Season Grasses

Buffalograss

A native of the short-grass prairie, buffalograss is the lowest-water lawn you can grow in the Plains and dry West. Established lawns often get by on natural rainfall where annual totals are modest, and they need far less mowing than conventional turf. It has a fine, gray-green look, spreads by stolons and goes dormant (tan) in prolonged drought and in winter. It dislikes shade, heavy foot traffic and the humid, high-rainfall Southeast, where other grasses crowd it out. See our buffalo grass care guide.

Bermudagrass

Bermuda has deep roots, spreads aggressively by rhizomes and stolons, and recovers fast from both drought and wear, which is why it dominates sports fields and southern lawns. It goes dormant under severe drought and bounces back quickly with rain. Some newer cultivars, such as TifTuf, were specifically bred for lower water use. The trade-offs: it needs full sun, invades beds, and turns brown after the first frost. Our bermuda grass care guide covers mowing and feeding.

Zoysiagrass

Zoysia forms a dense, carpet-like turf that holds up well to heat and drought and tolerates more shade than bermuda. It is slower to recover after long dormancy and slow to establish, but once in place it needs relatively little water. It is a strong choice in the transition zone, where it handles cold better than most warm-season grasses. See our zoysia grass care guide.

Bahiagrass

Bahia’s deep, coarse root system handles drought and infertile sandy soils across Florida and the Gulf Coast. It is not the prettiest lawn, with tall seed heads in summer, but it is low-input and tough. It needs little fertilizer and survives dry spells that would brown St. Augustine.

St. Augustine and Centipede

St. Augustine is the classic shaded-yard grass of the Gulf Coast, but most cultivars need regular water in summer. Some newer cultivars have improved drought performance, so ask local suppliers. Centipede is shallow-rooted and struggles in drought; it is better suited to acidic, rainy Southeast soils.

Best Drought-Tolerant Cool-Season Grasses

Tall Fescue

Tall fescue is the most drought-tolerant mainstream cool-season lawn grass. Its roots can grow several feet deep in good soil, much deeper than bluegrass or ryegrass, so it stays green longer into dry spells. Modern turf-type tall fescues have finer blades than old pasture types. It is a bunch grass, so it does not spread to fill bare spots after drought damage, which makes fall overseeding part of routine care. Some blends include a little Kentucky bluegrass for self-repair. See our tall fescue care guide.

Fine Fescues

Hard fescue, sheep fescue, chewings fescue and creeping red fescue are fine-bladed cool-season grasses that thrive with little water, little fertilizer and in shade, especially in the North and Pacific Northwest. They do not handle heavy traffic or hot, humid summers, but they are ideal for low-maintenance and no-mow lawns. Our no-mow lawn guide covers fine fescue mixes.

Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass

Kentucky bluegrass goes dormant quickly in drought but usually recovers well thanks to its rhizomes. If you are fine with a tan lawn in high summer, it can work under restrictions. Perennial ryegrass has shallow roots and poor drought survival; it is best kept as a small part of mixes or for winter overseeding in the South.

Not sure which group fits your region? Our explainer on cool-season vs warm-season grass maps them by climate.

Best Choice by Region

• Desert Southwest (Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson): hybrid or drought-bred bermudagrass for full sun; consider shrinking turf to play areas only.
• Southern Plains and Texas: bermudagrass or buffalograss in sun, zoysia where trees cast part shade.
• Southeast and Gulf Coast: bermuda or zoysia in sun, bahia on sandy, low-fertility soils, St. Augustine only where shade demands it.
• Transition zone (Virginia to Kansas): turf-type tall fescue is the standard; zoysia or cold-hardy bermuda in hot, sunny lawns.
• Northern Plains and Rocky Mountain Front Range: buffalograss or blue grama for low-water lawns; tall fescue where you want a conventional look.
• Midwest and Northeast: tall fescue blends for drought, fine fescues for shade, Kentucky bluegrass if you accept summer dormancy.
• California and the West Coast: tall fescue in cooler coastal areas, bermuda or zoysia inland; many cities offer incentives to replace turf entirely.

How Long Can Grass Go Without Water?

Healthy, established lawns of most common grasses can generally survive several weeks of dormancy without water, and deep-rooted warm-season grasses often longer. Survival depends on soil depth, heat, traffic and lawn health going in. The crowns (the growing points at the soil line) must stay alive for the lawn to recover. In a long drought, many extension services suggest giving a dormant lawn about a quarter to half an inch of water every two to three weeks. This keeps crowns alive without breaking dormancy. Avoid letting a lawn green up and go dormant repeatedly, which drains its reserves.

How to Keep Grass Alive Under Watering Restrictions

1. Water deeply and infrequently. One or two waterings a week that wet the soil 6 inches down train roots to grow deep. Short daily sprinkles keep roots shallow. Our lawn watering schedule shows how to time it.
2. Water early in the morning. Between about 4 and 9 a.m., less is lost to evaporation and wind, and leaves dry before evening.
3. Mow high. Raise the mower to the top of the recommended range for your grass. Taller blades shade the soil and support deeper roots. Never remove more than a third of the blade at once.
4. Keep blades sharp. Torn grass tips lose more water than clean cuts.
5. Leave the clippings. Mulched clippings return moisture and nutrients to the soil.
6. Skip summer nitrogen. Fertilizing during drought pushes growth the roots cannot support. Feed cool-season lawns in fall and warm-season lawns in late spring.
7. Aerate compacted soil in the right season so water soaks in instead of running off.
8. Limit traffic on dormant, brown turf; crowns are fragile.
9. Check your sprinklers. Fix broken heads and overspray, and run a catch-cup test to see how long it takes to apply half an inch. See how to water a lawn.

Switching to a More Drought-Tolerant Grass

• Cool-season lawns: overseed with a turf-type tall fescue blend in early fall. Over a few seasons it can take over a ryegrass- or bluegrass-heavy lawn.
• Warm-season lawns: converting usually means killing the old grass and planting new seed, sod or plugs in late spring to early summer, when soil is warm.
• Seed choices: for current seed products, see our roundup of the best drought-tolerant grass seed.
• Shrink the lawn: often the most water-efficient move is less turf. Replace hard-to-water strips and slopes with mulch beds, native plants or ground covers. Our guide to xeriscaping your yard shows how.

For year-round care that builds deep roots and healthy soil, start with our lawn care guide.