Lawns
A lush, green lawn adds beauty and value to any home, but many backyard lawns are thin and patchy, and struggle to survive. The problem is that most of us are ordinary gardeners, not greenkeepers, and we don’t have time to give our lawns constant care and attention. Even planting the same varieties of grass that are used on bowling greens can be a mistake, because bowling greens and sporting fields are planted with high performance varieties of grass and professional greenkeepers spend all their working hours maintaining them. Gardeners really need grass varieties that are ‘mug proof’, even if they are not watered and fertilised as often as they should be.
Soft buffalo
Some exciting new grass varieties have been released over the last few years in Australia under the name ‘Soft Buffalo’. Compared to the old buffalo they are softer to lie on, more shade tolerant, more resistant to disease and can be sprayed with some weed killers. These new lawns are also much more mug proof than the old varieties. They grow well in most areas of Australia where water is available, except for extremely cold areas such as Hobart and the mountains.
Which variety?
Several varieties of soft buffalo are available, and when ordering it is important to specify exactly which one you want by name.
‘Sir Walter’ is the best garden lawn around in Don’s opinion. It is low maintenance, disease resistant and shade and drought tolerant. It also copes well with herbicide and pesticide sprays.
‘Shademaster’ grows well in the shade, but tends to turn purple in winter and has a low disease tolerance. It is especially prone to fungus attack in humid weather.
‘Palmetto’ is a very good American bred variety which holds its colour well through winter. It is drought and disease tolerant, and will grow in both sun and shade.
ST85 and ST91 are slow growing, dense, dwarf-leaf lawns that look good but can be slow to cover bare areas. They don’t need mowing as frequently as other varieties. ST85 has been available for some time, however ST91 is a more recent introduction.
Cost and availability:
Prices may vary from state to state.
‘Sir Walter’ is available in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland (other states to follow). It costs from $6/m2.
‘Shademaster’ is available in most states as Shademaster or soft-leaf buffalo. It is priced from about $5/m2.
‘Palmetto’ is available in New South Wales as a turf from $6/m2, and nationally through Hardwarehouse and selected nurseries in Viro-Cells at $25 per 100-cell tray.
ST85 and ST91 are available in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. They sell for around $8/m2.