There is a fescue that is very popular in the southwest desert. I don't know what it is but I see it all the time. It must use a lot of water, though. Any landscaper should have the name of the grass.

Any bermuda or zoysia will be invasive, some more than others.

I don't know much about warm season grasses, which probably account for most of the grasses that are grown in zone 8-9 AZ. Depending on where in AZ you are, there are a few cool season grasses that may work. I don't know how well these will match your requirements. Many of these are native and/or unconventional lawn grasses.

Cool season grasses:
There are five fescues that are adapted to a fair portion of AZ: Sheep, Arizona, Hard, Tall and Creeping Red. All but the creeping red fescue are bunch grasses, although sheep fescue will tiller fairly aggressively if it is mowed. There are also some varieties of tall fescue that spread slowly via rhizomes. Sheep fescue is somewhat blue, but the others are all green or blue green.

Two wheatgrasses that can be used in lawns are adapted to at least part of AZ: western and thickspike. Both of these spread via rhizomes. I particularly like the looks of western wheatgrass.

Warm season grasses:
Buffalo grass and blue grama are both natives that are well suited to most or all of AZ. blue grama is a bunch grass that is very attractive, with fine soft blades. Buffalo grass spreads via stolons (above ground runners). It has a somewhat gray green color to it and may produce a somewhat thin lawn. If you want the lawn to be soft and you choose buffalo grass, make sure you pick a sod or plug variety that is all female. The seeded varieties produce a large seeds in burrs.

Most of the grasses I've listed here will live with little additional water. Tall fescue is the only one that will need regular watering.

Good info. Thanks. I live about 40-50 miles outside of Phoenix, but still see 105 degree weather during the summers. I have also been considering the buffalo grass, but have not been able to find it. I may have to order some online if I decide to go with that.

I wish I could get a KBG that would grow in our heat.

Check out NTEP website for buffalograss evaluation program. It seems any variety of buffalo will do but look for the most dense that you can get. I think one called turfallo might be dense enough for your liking.

Here is a link that might be useful: NTEP on buffalograss

Good info. I found some buffalo grass called Cody and Bowie that seem to be one of the best types of buffalo based on what I could find. Kind of pricy for the seeds, but probably worth it to avoid putting in Bermuda.

There is another buff called Tech Turf. It is expensive but the color is bright green. It will grow much more dense turf than other buffs I've seen. It will not grow; however, if there is a tree, building, or fence between it and the horizon. It needs full sun (like all buffalo grass species). I have seen Tech Turf installations where it was mowed at 1/2 inch and another where it was mowed at 2 inches. Both looked great. I was very surprised because I typically hate buffalo grass. As it turns out I could not have Tech Turf in my yard because I am allergic to it...that and I have a bunch of tall trees, but I liked it enough.

If you want a buffalo grass lawn that will be soft to walk in, I think you want to avoid seeded varieties and go with sod or plugs. A drawback to sod and plugs is that they make the seeds seem cheap. However, seeded varieties produce seeds and the seeds are large (biggest grass seeds I've ever seen, almost the size of a dried pea) and they are somewhat burr-like.

Another drawback to seeded varieties is that the pollen tends to be bad if you have allergies (probably why David can't use the Tech Turf).

Good info! Thanks!

Bpgreen, do you think if I kept the lawn mowed on a regular basis I could keep the lawn soft by avoiding the seed production? I am on a very very tight budget and seeds seem to be my only option.

I don't know whether the grass needs to reach a certain height before it develops seeds or not. The seed company should be able to answer that for you. I looked into buffalo grass a long time ago, but decided against it because I thought its growing season here would be too short. So I don't have any direct experience with it; my knowledge is all based on reading about it.

Thanks bpgreen.

I will have to repost later once I get results. I am planting $150 worth of seed I just bought online. I bought 6lbs of Bison Buffalo, 3lbs of Bowie Buffalo, 2lbs of Blue Grama. It will be a trial and error session, but hopefully no error. :)

My plan is to rototill about 3-4 inches of soil with a top layer of steer manure. Level the ground and then throw an even layer of cody buffalo and blue grama mix. Then throw some alfalfa hay and grass clippings as a top layer mulch to cover the seed somewhat. Keep thoroughly wet for at least a month and hope for the best. Any advice would be much appreciated!!

You may already be aware of this, but even though you have 9 lbs of buffalo seed to 2 lbs of grama seed, you've got about 4.5 times as many grama seeds as buffalo seed. Blue grama seeds are tiny and you may want to do something like mix them with sand to spread them. I think somebody said they used molasses to help with the spreading.

If you till in the manure, you'll probably end up with a lumpy lawn. Even if you level it completely after the tilling, it will settle over the next few years, and the manure won't necessarily be evenly distributed, so as it decomposes further, you'll get spots that settle unevenly. I think I'd be more inclined to spread a thin layer (maybe 1/4 inch) of manure on top of the seeds.

I also don't think you want to keep it thoroughly wet, but you do want to keep it damp. You also want to make sure that you don't drop the soil temperature by applying too much water. Since those are both cool season grasses, they need the soil to be warm if they're going to germinate.