Written and checked by the USA Sod team · Published November 12, 2026
No in-ground sprinklers, or you want to use less water: pick TifTuf. Want a blue-green lawn that takes traffic and a rotary mower: pick Celebration. Both are Bermuda, both prefer full sun, and both kept acceptable quality in long trials under heavy shade on 5.5 hours of filtered or intermittent sun a day. In Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, USA Sod commonly offers both: check your ZIP code for today's list.
Both are Bermuda, genetically different
Customers ask us on the phone what the difference is between these two. Celebration and TifTuf are two of the types of Bermuda grass sold as sod, and both are Bermuda.
Genetically, Celebration is a common Bermuda, yet it is grown the way a hybrid is: it is sold only as sod, sprigs or plugs, and no Celebration seed is produced for sale.
TifTuf is a hybrid Bermuda, a new cultivar out of the University of Georgia. Hybrid Bermuda makes seed, but the seed is sterile, so hybrids are planted from sod, sprigs or plugs.
Water: TifTuf
TifTuf keeps many of the good traits of Tifway and handles drought better. In university studies it used about one-third less water, a strong fit for a yard with no permanent in-ground sprinkler system. It is very drought tolerant, and it is also proving to hold its color later into the fall.
Plan on upkeep similar to Tifway. Its green is lighter than other hybrid Bermudas, though still acceptable by industry standards. If water is your main concern, start with TifTuf.
Color and mowing: Celebration
Celebration has a blue-green color all its own and a high growth rate. Its leaf is fine, yet it asks for less upkeep than some other fine-textured Bermudas. It stands up well to foot traffic.
As a lawn, Celebration is mowed at 1 to 2 inches, and a rotary mower works. Cut it higher than 2 inches and it may look uneven. Hybrid Bermuda lawns such as TifTuf are mowed at 1 to 1.5 inches.
Shade: close to even
Neither one is a shade grass. Each makes a Bermuda lawn that prefers full sun and does its best with 8 hours of sun or more. After six years under heavy hardwood shade, each kept acceptable quality on as little as 5.5 hours of filtered or intermittent sun a day in the growing season. Celebration handles a little more shade than other Bermudas.
Which one to order
- No in-ground sprinklers, or you want to cut water use: TifTuf.
- Blue-green color, foot traffic, and a rotary mower at 1 to 2 inches: Celebration.
- Some shade: neither is built for it. Both held acceptable quality on 5.5 hours of filtered or intermittent sun in trials, and both do best with 8 hours or more.
Ordering Celebration or TifTuf sod
USA Sod commonly offers both Bermuda TifTuf and Celebration Bermuda in the Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio markets. Other markets may carry one of the two, or neither, and availability changes week to week, so enter your ZIP code for today's list.
Sod is sold in full pallets because it is cut to order. Pallet size depends on the farm that cuts your order. Most run between 400 and 600 square feet, and your quote uses the size for your ZIP code. Delivery is a flat $200 on any order that includes sod, whether you order one pallet or ten.
Picked TifTuf for less water or Celebration for traffic and color? Order your Bermuda sod or call 1-866-886-2763.
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