Soft leaf Buffalo grass, lawn & turf

The original variety of Buffalo was a rather course leaf lawn.  It was slow growing and due to this required regular fertiliser and weed control.  It was used extensively as a lawn and many homes in sub-tropical and temperate areas still have the orginal Buffalo lawn.  However, newer varieties have become available on the market and they are a great improvement on the old Buffalo.   The new varieties have soft leaf and are quicker growing.   Some of the new varieties are - Velvet Buffalo, Palmetto, Sir Walter and Shademaster.   Velvet buffalo is very similar to Sir Walter, however seems to have a slightly longer leaf.  Palmetto is an excellent lawn for areas closer to the coast, but has the drawback of developing slightly purple stems in winter.  Sir Walter is a shorter leaf variety and grows a nice soft leaf if fertilised regularly.  Shademaster is suited to cooler areas and does have a better shade tolerance when grown under trees.  All buffalo varieties will grow from subtropical to cool temperate areas.   They grow best in temperate areas, where leaf development is maintained well throughout the year.   All buffalo lawns can be keep nice and green with regular fertilising at the rate of around 40 grams per square mtr in spring, summer and autumn.  More fertilising is required if the lawn is mowed regularly and leaf matter removed from lawn.    

All Buffalo varieties will produce thatch to some extent (build-up of roots and shoots at surface).  The old variety of Buffalo was worst for this, the newer varieties develop thatch much less.   Buffalo lawns runners grow primarily on the surface so removing thatch can be tricky.   It is usually best done with a rotary mower, however if it is down carefully a de-thatching machine can be used, just taking a skim across the surface.  However it must be noted that once the shoots are removed from the surface of the soil the grass with not grow from beneith,  only from the sides.

Buffalo lawns can take some frosts and are generally drought tolerant, however, they may lose some of their nice soft leaf under dry conditions.  The leaf tends to harden-off when less moisture is available.  As it grows predominately on the surface, buffalo lawns will adapt to a variety of soil condtions from clays through to sandy soils.  The best soil for buffalo however is a sandy loam.   

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How to keep soft buffalo & Sir Walter lawn soft

Although some of the new varieties of soft leaf Buffalo like Sir Walter, Velvet Buffalo, Palmetto and Shademaster all have soft leaves there are tricks required to keep them that way.  Under certain conditions all these varieties to some extent will get leaves which will harden-off.  This occurs particularly under conditions when the lawn is stressed.   Long periods of hot dry conditions or lack of fertiliser will produce harder leaves.   So the first tip is to keep your lawn well watered.  The second and most important tip is to use the right fertilisers.  Generally speaking Buffalo lawns require a granular NPK fertiliser with trace elements.  However the addition now and then of a little sulphate of ammonia or some spray on liquid fertiliser, will keep the leaf nice a soft.  The trick is knowing how much to use,  using a lot will produce excessive leaf growth.  Using just enough around 25 grams per square mtr, of sulphate of ammonia, will keep the lawn lush and green...and soft.  Remember to water well after fertilising.

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Bermuda Couch grass seed lawn

Bermuda grass is a grass native to India, but is now grown around the world as a lawn species.  It grows very quickly during the warm season, however has a tendancy to go dormant over winter.  It is best suited to temperate areas, however it grows very well in sub-tropical areas.  It has a number of major draw backs, particularly in the way it grows, which at times can be a bit spase.  It also goes dormant in winter.  The colour of the lawn can also be a little on the light green side.  As a result of these reasons newer hybrid varieties have been developed, which are only available as runners or roll-on forms.    Bermuda couch grass is available in seed form and can cover an area quite quickly in summer.  It is used extensively with mixed seed mixtures with Rye grass.  Bermuda grass in a seed mixture are a cheap fix to a lawn problem and will grow in most soil types with sufficient water.  Bermuda grass couch because it runs, and self seeds, can become a problem weed in garden beds.

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Couch grass, Winter Green & other Hybrid lawns

Many of the newer hybrid Couch varieties, such as Winter Green and Windsor Green are excellent lawn varieties.  They have a lush green look during the growing season and maintain good colour in the cooler months (although growth is reduced substantially).   The great thing about the new hybrid varieties is that they are very drought tolerant.  This is due to the fine and small leaf size and the deep running, runners, which can run under the ground below 30cm.   This in effect makes them very hard to remove once you have established a lawn, as the runners just pop-up to the surface again, so make sure you what a Couch lawn because they are hard to kill !!.  The runners also have a habit of running into garden beds, unlike Buffalo which can be controlled easily.   Hybrid couch grass varieties such as Winter Green grow best in temperate and Meditteranean climates.  They withstand long hot summers with little water.   Hybrid couch grass can only be purchased as runners or as roll-on lawn.   Fertilising is best done with granular NPK fertilisers with trace elements at the rate of 30 to 40 grams per square mtr.   This is normally down three times a year, spring, summer and autumn.  Hybrid lawns also respond very well to liquid fertiliser, which is usually down every two months.  Applications can be done with spray pack connected to the hose, available from most hardware stores and nurseries.

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