Choosing the Best Lawn for YOU

Lawn Types in Australia

Most Popular Lawn Types In Australia

This is a quick overview to compare the five most popular lawn types in Australia. For more information about any of the grass types covered, please see our lawn varieties section. All grasses in this article are warm season grasses, suitable for use in all the warmer regions of Australia.

Buffalo Grass

Buffalo grass is a long standing favourite lawn type in Australia, it is known to be durable and easy to grow and maintain, and of course… Buffalo grass is best known for its very wide leaf blade.

Buffalo grass lawns often led to many complaints in days gone by about it's scratchy nature which was often highly irritating to the skin, especially to the skin of young children who played on it the most.

Thankfully those days are long past us since the introduction of many quality Soft Leaf Buffalo lawn types. These new soft Buffalo grasses no are longer irritating, are very soft and inviting for play, and can make a beautiful, lush lawn when cared for properly.

New Soft Leaf Buffalo types include Matilda, Palmetto, Sir Walter and Sapphire.

Zoysia Grass

Zoysia grass has had a rocky introduction to Australia in times long past, even though it has been in the country for a very long time. This was probably due to the names it was given during its earliest introduction. Names such as Manilla Grass, Korean Grass and Temple Grass just never resonated with Australians - perhaps because these names sound more suited to ornamental grasses rather than as home lawns, and as a result, Australians were deprived of one of the very best grasses available.

Zoysia however, is a great grass, it's highly tolerant to heat, has very low lawn mowing requirements, very low fertiliser requirements, is salt tolerant, very drought tolerant, looks good all year round in warmer regions, can be forgotten in the Winter, has low invasive properties, and it can be abused and recover (at a slightly slower rate than Couch).

Zoysia grass has a slightly wider leaf blade than Couch which tapers to it's tip in a similar manner to Queensland Blue Couch. It is a warm season grass which will enjoy all the warmer regions of Australia, but not the colder regions. Zoysia has both aboveground stolons and below ground rhizomes which greatly aid in its low water use, drought tolerance and recovery.

Zoysia deserves to be a far more popular and widely used grass variety in Australia, for homes, business, and government and municipal grounds use.

Zoysia 

Queensland Blue Couch

Queensland Blue is another long time favourite grass across many regions of Australia, and is an overall very good quality grass, worthy of consideration as a home lawn.

Queensland Blue will thrive in both heat and humidity, it has low invasive properties, stays green and in good colour for most of the year, has low lawn mowing and lawn care requirements.

This grass will have a similar leaf shape and blade width to Zoysia, but will have an entirely different shade of green coloured leaf which often looks close to a blue coloured hue.

Queensland Blue Couch is neither from Queensland, nor is it a real Couch, in fact it's a totally different grass which has no relationship to Couch whatsoever.

However, the only drawback to Queensland Blue has always been its intolerance to weed sprays, which should be kept in consideration by homeowners.

But the good news is that Queensland Blue is being developed into better strains these days, and continues to improve in its tolerance of weed sprays. Any of these newer brands of Queensland Blue are a welcome addition for Australian lawn owners.

Queensland Blue Couch

Couch Grass

Couch has always been popular based on its low price, durability and easy care, and which can be made to look top notch without too many problems. Couch is a fine leaf lawn which has some excellent qualities.

In favour of Couch is it's quick growth, ability to withstand wear and tear, its quick repair ability, its softness, and Couch really can produce a lovely looking lawn when properly cared for and mowed regularly and correctly.

Couch requires regular lawn mowing in the warmer months, and de-thatching when necessary is also a good idea. Couch grass will also require a good year round fertilising regimen to stay looking its best, otherwise it can quickly become straggly, bare and ugly.

Couch can quickly creep under fences and into garden beds and other areas which are not our lawn. This happens because of the vigorous underground runners which this grass is known for.

Couch

 Kikuyu Grass

Kikuyu was another of the mainstays of Australian lawns in days gone by, as well as still today. Kikuyu grass is named for the most populous ethnic group in Kenya.

Kikuyu has a medium leaf width, a bright green leaf colour, is quite soft, and loves the heat, the humidity and full sun, it is also extremely adaptable with an ability to grow in very poor soil types.

But what sets Kikuyu apart from all other grasses, is that it is fast growing, and can also become invasive. Kikuyu can be high maintenance as it may require weekly lawn mowing throughout the warmer months if it is receiving all adequate requirements it needs to flourish.

Still popular in parks and ovals, and for homes with heavy wear and tear requirements for the lawn, such as having large dogs, busy hard playing kids etc.

Male Sterile Kikuyu are welcome additions to the Kikuyu family, and are of a higher quality than standard common Kikuyu grass, as well as having its seed heads being sterile that it cannot reproduce a new lawn elsewhere if the seed escapes - ie your neighbours lawn, or the open environment.

Kikuyu

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Preparing Your Lawn for Winter

During the winter season, most of us believe that a great looking lawn is just a myth. However, as we travel across the city, we notice that for many other lawn owners, the concept of lush, green lawn during the winter is a real fact. We start to guess the secret remedies they use for their lush, green lawn, when our lawn is in a state of decline, lacking in colour, showing bare patches, and thinning out of the thatch layer.

With the start of the winter season, most of us would be thinking that it is the time to hang up our gardening hat, but wait. It’s not time yet. In most parts of Australia, especially Sydney, Sir Walter Buffalo lawn goes dormant in the winter. During the winter season, as temperatures fall, the growth rate of the lawn grass decreases and your yard area requires protection to ensure it is ready for a successful spring. By following a proper winter lawn care routine, you can achieve green and lush results in the spring.

Why winter brings problem for lawns?

In Australia, we normally find warm season lawn grasses that thrive in the warmer seasons, and as the winter arrives, they go into a state of a much slowed growth rate or in certain cases, a state of semi-hibernation. During the winter season, in the absence of rapid and regular growth linked with warmer weather, lawn grasses eventually lose their dark green colour, and they become slower to re-grow and repair damage by themselves. As the position of the sun changes, the hours of direct sunlight decreases, rendering more shade, and a massive reduction in direct sunlight lowers the soil temperature. All these factors tend to contribute to the deterioration of the lawn during the winter season.

Do you long for a beautiful lawn? Here’s the secret. 

To own a beautiful lawn in winter, start preparing during autumn, prior to the arrival of winter. That’s the only secret to own a lush, green lawn during winter, and it’s very simple. Once winter arrives, there is little that can be done to bolster or improve the health of your lawn. Preparation during Autumn is the key to giving your lawn the best chance during the cooler winter months.

Follow these 4 steps to boost the health of your lawn in Autumn.

1. Increase Mowing Heights – As we move through Autumn daylight hours decrease and the ability of lawn grasses to photosynthesis also decreases. Therefore, as simple solution is to increase the mowing height as it leaves more green leaf to increase the food supply to the grass. This is the most significant step to a healthier lawn during winter, and shifting the mower up a notch or two should be enough. Limit the water supply as air and soil temperatures decrease. Over watering increases the chances of turf diseases or rotting of the thatch layer.
2. Fertilise Adequately – Make use of the right quality fertiliser at the right time. Fertilise your lawn with a high quality winter fertiliser prior to the arrival of winter. The next schedule of fertilising your lawn should be in the middle of the winter season. Follow manufacturers’ guidelines and do not exceed a predefined amount or frequencies. Here we suggest the use of winter fertiliser, because it contains the higher levels of iron, which is required for lawn’s good health during the winter.
3. Get Rid of Winter Weeds – Normally, broadleaf weeds may flourish during the winter, because weather conditions are best for their growth. Treat the winter weeds as soon as you notice them, because during the winter, the ability of the lawn grasses to fight against the weeds themselves decreases.
4. Pruning – During the winter season, overgrown bushes and trees dramatically increase the shade levels. By the time you realise the problem, it may be too late. Once the lawn begins to die due to the increased shaded areas it is very difficult to recover from this damage. Therefore, prune the overgrown bushes and trees, so that your lawn grasses get adequate sunlight for growth during the Autumn and winter periods.

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