Which is the right turf surface for your property?
Thanks to our four seasons and sometimes extreeeeeme weather challenges, it’s never easy to keep a Southern Highlands garden healthy, gorgeous and lush.
But choosing the right turf to suit our region and the environment is a step in the right direction. You’d think whacking some grass down on some dirt and watering it every day would be easy, right?
Ah no.
You have to choose the RIIIIGHT turf.
So, what turf should you choose for a cold climate?
But the Highlands can get hot too, so should you choose a turf surface that thrives in a warm climate?
And then there’s the type of turf – couch, buffalo, Canberra blend and all their friends – to choose from.
It started to get a bit confusing for us.
Soooooooo, we spoke to our local gardening legend, Michael of Turf 2 Trees Horticulture to break turf selection in the Southern Highlands down for us.
Very handy!
Michael Nichols of Turf 2 Trees Horticulture
You love a good turf surface, don’t you Michael?
I started my career in the greenkeeping industry and have been so fortunate to be able to create some amazing lawns and sports turf surfaces. There is nothing more satisfying than looking back on a lovely diamond pattern on the lawn – I think they call this lawn porn now!
So let’s talk turf selection. What’s the best grass to use in the Southern Highlands?
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been asked this.
Oh. We have more questions – promise!
It’s a good question because it’s a popular question, but answering it involves going down a rabbit hole.
Like Alice in Wonderland?
Sort of. But without all the weird hallucinogenic stuff.
Got it. Okay, so where do we start?
With defining the different types of grasses we need to know about. We can classify grasses into two categories – cool season and warm season grasses.
Cool season grasses originated from cooler parts of the world (obvs) where temperatures stay generally mild with high rainfall. These guys include Ryegrass, Fescue, Kentucky Blue to name a few.
Oooh Kentucky Blue sounds like a cocktail!
Oooookay.
Anyway, one of the most well-known local grasses, is Canberra blend. That’s a mix of all three of those grasses.
And the good stuff for warmer climates?
Warm season grasses like hotter climates with lower rainfall. These guys are the couches, buffalos and kikuyus.
And you pronounce couch like cooch right? Like how Prue and Trude from Kath & Kim say couch! Would you like a threw for your coooooch?
Um ok. Sure…….
So, what do you use? And we’re talking grass selection now, not how you pronounce couch.
I honestly now install a fair amount of both cool and warm season grasses.
Is that because the Southern Highlands seems to get the ‘best’ of both worlds?
Yep, the Highlands gets both hot and cold temperatures through the seasons, AND high rainfall AND we get periods of drought and climatic extremes.
I’ve coined our part of the world a ‘transitional zone’, meaning we can grow both warm and cool season grasses.
But…..
No but! It just means whichever grass you choose will perform better at different times of the year and will require different practices to keep them looking tip top all through the year.
So, have you got some more insider tips on turf surfaces?
For sure, here’s a list of things to note and remember…
Most cool season grasses we see in our area do not self-repair. If it dies, it’s gone!
Most warm season grasses ARE self-repairing though and will (if healthy) repair themselves of bare patches via grass runners.
Cool season grasses require extremely large amounts of water compared to their warm season counterparts. I NEVER recommend installing a cool season lawn without automated underground irrigation and a good water source (and we’re not talking about your 10,000L water tank on the property)… It’s quite staggering how much water is required to keep the lawn in good health.
Cool season grasses are easier to keep out of the gardens and paths as they do not ‘run’ as they ‘clump’. I have seen Kikuyu runners go as dep as 3 metres underground!
Warm season grasses require twice as much aeration, dethatching (which is the mechanical removal of dead grass) and mowing (when it’s growing).
Warm season grasses go dormant in our region in winter. This means they ‘brown off’ and go to sleep when it gets too cold. This certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and there are ways of making it green again but that’s a whole other conversation….
Are we going to need another rabbit hole? Or a bigger one?
Definitely.
Okay, let’s do that another time. Anything else you can tell our lovely Fold green (and black) thumbs?
Let’s touch on shade quickly. ALL lawns need light and sun to grow. That dark patch under the oak tree that turns to mud every year should probably be turned into a nice woodland garden or call the local arborist to check that tree out.
And this area has a lot of gum trees. I often see the area under a gum tree not grow well. Why? This particular species of tree produces a toxin which repels other plant roots and reduces competition from other plants. Those trees are a lot smarter than we give them credit for.
So chuck a whole lot of mulch at the base of a gum tree and walk away?
That’s probably the best option aesthetically…..and for the health of the tree.
Okay, the billion-dollar question. What’s better? Cool or warm season grasses?
In my opinion, cool season grasses can cost you more to keep looking like the day you bought it. But with the right practices, it will give you a lush green lawn all year round. It’s hard to beat that lovely green look, isn’t it?
So cool season grasses for the win!
Not necessarily. Warm season grasses are awesome for high traffic areas with more difficult growing conditions and they’re ideal for people who don’t want to spend a lot of time worrying about their grass.
Or they could just call you and you could sort it out for them.
Or they could do that!
We vote for that.
Turf 2 Trees Horticulture is a Landscape and Estate Management business, specialising in acreage, formal gardens and show gardens with over ten years of horticulture and turf management experience. A local business who has mastered the art of their craft in the unique Highlands climate, the team at Turf 2 Trees Horticulture focus on efficiency and high-quality property maintenance.
…
This blog features friends and advertisers of The Fold Southern Highlands and is fully endorsed by The Fold Southern Highlands. We strongly believe in the businesses and all the information we share with you on The Fold and we’re excited to share the amazing stories and adventures of our local businesses. We want to say a BIG thank you to you for supporting our sponsors who help make The Fold possible.