Written and checked by the USA Sod team · Published November 5, 2026
Sunny yard: pick Bermuda. Yard with some shade from trees: pick zoysia. Bermuda thrives in heat but usually does poorly in shade. Zoysia handles shade better than St. Augustine, and of the two, it is the better warm-season choice for growing under mature trees. USA Sod commonly offers both in Atlanta: check your ZIP code for today's list.
Start with the light in your yard
Which grass should I order? Customers ask us that on the phone. Picking the right grass may be the single biggest factor in a lawn that looks good and gives you few problems. Weigh your site, the quality and look you want, and how much upkeep you will do.
Around trees, two traits matter most: how much shade a grass can take and how much sun it needs. Most grasses handle shade poorly, and every lawn grass needs at least 4 hours of full or filtered sun a day.
Look at your yard at several times of day, because shade moves as the sun moves. Under a tree's canopy, or where a tree shades the ground all the time, skip grass: mulch that spot or put in plants that like shade.
Bermuda: for full sun
Bermuda grows across all of Georgia, but it needs full sun and will not take shade. It spreads by stolons and rhizomes, so it can be hard to keep out of flower beds, walks and borders.
Of the types of Bermuda grass, TifTuf is the one USA Sod commonly offers in Atlanta. In university studies it used about one-third less water. In a six-year trial under hardwood shade, it stayed at acceptable quality on just 5.5 hours of filtered or intermittent sun a day in the growing season. Like any Bermuda, though, it does best with 8 hours of sun or more. For a sunny Atlanta yard, start with TifTuf.
Zoysia: for yards with some shade
Zoysia, like Bermuda, grows across the whole state and makes an excellent lawn when you care for it well. Some zoysias keep acceptable quality and color on 4.0 to 4.5 hours of filtered or intermittent sun a day in the growing season, though zoysia still does best with 8 hours of sun or more. It grows more slowly than other grasses and needs less nitrogen.
USA Sod commonly offers Zeon Zoysia and Emerald Zoysia in Atlanta. Emerald has a fine blade, a dense stand and a dark green color. Its cold tolerance is moderate, so in a harsh winter it is more prone to winter injury from Atlanta north. Zeon belongs to a newer group of zoysias that grow faster and build less thatch than Emerald.
St. Augustine: an option, with limits
St. Augustine grows best in middle and south Georgia, yet plenty of Atlanta lawns are St. Augustine. It is sensitive to cold, may take a while to recover in spring, and does not stand up to wear or compaction. Palmetto is one of two St. Augustine varieties sold in Georgia, and USA Sod commonly offers Palmetto St. Augustine in Atlanta.
Laying sod in fall or winter
Bermuda and zoysia are warm-season grasses. They grow hardest from May to October and turn brown and dormant in winter. Sod delivered in winter may arrive dormant, and dormant is not dead. Lay and water the sod the day it arrives, and if you lay zoysia sod in fall or winter, keep it moist.
Ordering sod in Atlanta
USA Sod commonly offers Bermuda TifTuf, Emerald Zoysia, Zeon Zoysia and Palmetto St. Augustine in Atlanta. Availability changes week to week, so enter your ZIP code for today's list, or see the Atlanta page.
Atlanta pallets run 500 square feet in USA Sod's quotes, and sod is sold in full pallets because it is cut to order. Delivery is a flat $200 no matter how many pallets you order. Installation is offered in Atlanta, priced per pallet and depending on order size; enter your ZIP code for your rate.
Picked Bermuda for sun or zoysia for some shade? Lay out your Atlanta lawn in the lawn designer or call 1-866-886-2763.
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