Specifying turf for a client site often involves conflicting demands that cannot be met. Turf displayed in garden layouts looks great but fails to perform in real life under foot traffic. The toughest turf on the market turns to a dull straw color for 4 months of the year. The key is to work out which compromises are acceptable for the site and the client.
Below we compare the most common varieties of warm-season turf including a guide on how to select the best turf for residential and commercial landscaping applications.
What durability actually measures
It’s often considered in terms of one attribute i.e. Durability. However, durability includes 3 separate attributes of recovery, wear and tear and soil protection.
- Wear tolerance describes how much leaf damage a grass absorbs before thinning. Couch performs strongly here because of its fine, dense growth habit.
- Recovery rate is how quickly the plant fills damage once traffic stops. This depends on runner production, so aggressive stoloniferous and rhizomatous types rebound fastest.
- Stress resilience covers drought, salinity, and heat. Deep-rooted varieties carry an advantage through summer water restrictions.
Stress-resistance (in commercial settings) or Recuperation (in sport & play) are two key durability traits to be considered, but they can exist independently of one another. For example a coastal courtyard may have light use but poor stress-resistance meaning little Recuperation ability is required.
Shade is the constraint most people underestimate
Stress tolerance relates to shade tolerance. No grass variety can tolerate less than minimum daily light to grow, regardless of all other inputs such as fertilizer, watering and mowing. Soft leaf Buffalo varieties have 3-4 hours of direct sun per day, while Kikuyu and Couch have 6 hours plus of direct sun per day. Zoysia has intermediate recovery to very slowly close worn areas over long periods of time. The light that the grass receives on an annually worst case basis in winter is far different to that received mid summer when the sun is high in the sky.
Comparing the main warm-season options
| Variety | Appearance | Wear and recovery | Minimum daily sun | Maintenance load |
| Soft leaf buffalo | Broad leaf, deep green, holds winter color well | Good wear, moderate recovery | 3 to 4 hours | Low to moderate, thatch management needed |
| Couch | Fine leaf, high-end turf look, browns in winter | Excellent on both counts | 6 or more hours | High, frequent mowing and feeding |
| Kikuyu | Coarse, bright green, fast and vigorous | Excellent recovery, good wear | 6 or more hours | High, invasive into beds |
| Zoysia | Fine to medium leaf, dense and even | Good wear, slow recovery | 4 to 5 hours | Low, slow establishment |
While Zoysia may look good and be the least amount of maintenance (other than occasional repairs to damaged areas which can take up to a season to close) it’s not suitable for most home lawns as it has a tendency to get worn. The other three species all have good durability but the two hardest wearing species, Couch and Kikuyu, are only suitable for full sun areas and require regular maintenance to keep them in good condition. Buffalo turf is the most popular choice for residential lawns as it can handle partial shade and has good durability whilst requiring moderate amounts of maintenance.
Selecting and purchasing buffalo turf without guesswork
When seeking out turf to allow for children, pets and shade to be able to still get a great looking lawn, Buffalo turf is usually the best option for most residential clients. It is very diverse so selecting the correct product is just as important as choosing a Buffalo variety.
Questions worth asking the supplier
- Which named cultivar is it, and is the grower licensed to produce it? Generic buffalo offered without a cultivar name is often an older, coarser line.
- How long since the paddock was last harvested? Freshly rested turf lifts with a stronger root mat and establishes faster.
- What is the soil type at the farm? A clay-grown slab laid onto sand creates an interface layer that slows rooting.
- Can delivery and laying happen within the same day? Stacked rolls heat internally and can be damaged within twenty-four hours in warm weather.
Cultivar differences that affect specification
The various Buffalo cultivars have different characteristics including leaf width, winter color, and thatch production. The finer leaf types are very good looking close up but do require regular mowing to prevent shedding of the leaves. Some types of Buffalo have superior color throughout winter while others are more suited to southern climates where clients can see the grass go dormant in winter. A slow growing Buffalo line is recommended where the user will not regularly mow the lawn and mow at a height of 30-40mm to assist in preventing matting of the thatch. If you intend to buy buffalo grass in Perth, compare the licensed cultivars against each other first so the leaf width and winter color suit the site rather than settling for whatever is in stock.
Matching the choice to the site and the client
The most reliable indicator of lawn failure is a mismatch between lawn choice and the owner’s ability to maintain it. For example, Couch will scalp and become thin if mown too frequently, whereas Couch is ideal for a client who is prepared to mow fortnightly. Kikuyu is ideal for areas where there are garden beds adjacent to the lawn and no root barrier. It creates a recurring weeding problem.
Base your selection on three fixed variables. Calculate the winter sunlight hours at the site’s shadiest location. Honestly establish the weekly traffic and set the expected mowing frequency. Offer alternatives such as paving through desire lines or alternately planting up with suitable groundcover within very dense grass masses. A small well functioning lawn is better than a large poorly functioning one.
