Turf Lawn Rating
We are often asked what turf types we recommend and with many changes over the past twenty years in the turf industry, the answer is not always straight-forward. Our comparison chart and list of our recommendations below may help provide better insight into the experience we've had with different varieties and how they may suit individual applications.
Our recommendations come from extensive trials and data collections. We believe the most important result of any trial is what grass gives the highest level of customer satisfaction a few years after installation. Our ratings are based on a combination of the factors.
Sir Walter- Rating 9/10
(St Augustine grass- very improved strain of Soft Leaf Buffalo)
Regarded by most leading turf and garden experts as being the best all round home lawn for most Australian conditions. Don Bourke said in a recent Radio interview that 'Sir Walter was the best lawn for Sydney type conditions'. Don even chose it for his own home lawn.
Advantages:
- Australian Born and Bred- developed in Australia for Australian Conditions.
- Highest customer satisfaction (least amount of customer comebacks) out of any lawn type Turfco has sold.
- Best wearing shade/full sun grass on the market.
- Save Water, extremely drought tolerant, very low water requirement.
- Grows well in full sun and shade.
- Looks great.
- Environmentally friendly.
- Is resistant to both extreme heat and frost.
- Very soft.
- Resistant to lawn grub attack.
- The only grass that comes with a certificate of authenticity ensuring that you are getting exactly what you are paying for.
- Growers and suppliers have to be fully licensed (Sir Walter is protected by Plant Breeders Rights) to grow and sell the product ensuring the customer the highest quality standards of any grass type.
Disadvantages.
- Its high popularity can results in short supply at certain times of the year.
- Can lose colour in the middle if winter in areas of high frost such as Canberra.
SS100. Rating 8.5/10
(St Augustine grass-improved strain of Soft Leaf Buffalo)
- SS100 is similar to Sir Walter in appearance, however is American owned and developed, and still a very good performer but Turfco cannot offer the same guarantees on it for its fungus resistance in our hot humid summers, for this reason we have decided to stop producing it.
Advantages:
- Good colour and appearance.
- Similar drought and shade tolerance to Sir Walter.
- Good winter colour.
- Low clipping yield.
Disadvantages:
- A percentage of every sale goes back to its developer in America as royalty payment.
- Turfco unable to offer the same performance guarantees as Sir Walter.
- Susceptible to grey leaf spot virus.
- No license required to sell it affecting its overall quality and purity control.
ST85, ST91 3/10
(St Augustine grass-Soft Leaf Buffalo)
ST 85 and ST 91 are both American owned varieties that perform OK in certain parts of Australia, but from Turfco's experience they rate poorly in Sydney, the South Coast and Southern Highlands. Turfco once were large producers of these varieties but ceased production when we could not find answers to the ever increasing rate of S.A.D. (St Augustine Decline disease) that were killing off lawns in the first three years. The lack of research and development for the problem by the variety's owner meant Turfco was not able to guarantee customer satisfaction so therefore withdrew the turf line from our production range. For those few customers that still insist on it, we will supply it for them however will not offer any guarantees to support the product.
Advantages:
- Smaller, finer leaf than most varieties
- Looks great just after installation.
Disadvantages:
- Very high water user.
- Dies suddenly from disease attack.
- Poor Shade tolerance.
- No license required to sell it affecting its overall quality and purity control.
Shademaster 6/10
Shademaster was originally developed by Mr Brent Redman who later when on to develop the greatly improved Sir Walter variety, ten years ago Shademaster was the best of all soft leaf varieties, but since the introduction of Sir Walter it is mainly sold by commercial turf producers unable to obtain a license to grow improved varieties such as Sir Walter, Shademaster although good in its day, it has simply been left way behind in performance since the introduction of Sir Walter.
Advantages:
- Good shade tolerance.
- Neat in appearance.
Disadvantages:
- Goes very purple in winter.
- Performs poorly in high traffic.
- No license required to sell it affecting its overall quality and purity control.
Kikuyu 6/10
Kikuyu was originally brought to Australia in the 1920s as cow food. Its rampant and out of control growth habits saw it widely turned into a lawn grass. Today its still widely used as a cover grass, erosion control grass and cheaper option home lawn because of its price. Most people that have it complain about its high mowing requirement and poor shade tolerance.
Advantages:
- Cheap.
- Quick establishment.
- Readily available due to its diminishing popularity as a home lawn.
Disadvantages
- Poor shade tolerance.
- Requires almost twice as much mowing as other varieties.
- Produces a large volume of clippings.
- Invades gardens quickly.
Couch 5/10
There are many different varieties of couch available, some of these include Green lees, Santa Anna, Wintergreen and Plateau. The beneficial difference in varieties is mainly for sports turf surfaces, for the home owner the difference between each variety is of no significant value. Couch home lawns are extremely high maintenance and seldom look good without the proper professional care.
Advantages:
- Low mowing height.
- Good wear capabilities
Disadvantages:
- Requires very high maintenance to look good
- Invades gardens easily.
Tall Fescue
Tall Fescue is a cool season lawn best suited to the cooler climates of the Southern Highlands and Canberra. It is not suited to Sydney or coastal conditions. Tall Fescue is frost resistant and will stay green in the coolest winters, however it usually browns off in the heat of summer.
Advantages:
- Stays green in winter.
- Does not invade gardens.
- Very soft and dark green.
Disadvantages:
- Requires high volumes (60% more than Sir Walter) of water in summer.
- Poor damage recovery.
- Only suitable for cool climates.
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