What Is The Best Grass For Your Home?

Choosing The Best Lawn For Your Backyard

It can be difficult to know which grass kind is best for your lawn while making this decision. No grass kind is perfect; each has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. While no grass kind is perfect in every way, there will be one that is ideal for you and your situation.

Because Australia has such a diverse range of soil types and climates, what works well in a Darwin backyard may not work well in a Hobart backyard. Then there are personality differences to consider. You might be able to manage a more temperamental lawn than the time-poor family who needs a space for their kids to play if you’re the type of person who will gladly spend hours trimming their beautiful front lawn with nail scissors only to make the neighbours envy.

Here are the most common lawn grass varieties and who should use them.

Buffalo Grass

You may recall the ever-present buffalo grass lawn from your youth. Many a schoolyard and family yard had its wide, prickly leaves. New, soft buffalo breeds have happily been bred to be less scratchy and irritable.

Buffalo prefers hot temperatures and is best suited to Australia’s hotter regions; it can survive heavy traffic and doesn’t mind a little shade.

If you live in a hotter part of Australia, want something low-maintenance, and expect a lot of people or animals to stroll across your lawn, choose buffalo grass.

Couch Grass

Couch is a fine-leaved grass that has long been a favourite choice for Australian yards. It’s a nice, soft lawn that can be used as a play surface for children or as a living surface for dogs.

It isn’t rocket science to care for your sofa grass lawn, but it does require time. With a couch grass lawn, you get what you put in, and if you dethatch, mow, and fertilise it, you’ll have a beautiful lawn. If you don’t, it will become spotty and straggly, invading areas you don’t want it to.

If you’re searching for a functional family lawn and have the time and inclination to put in some effort to keep it in good shape, sofa grass is the way to go.

Tall Fescue Grass

Now for a grass for Australia’s southern areas! Tall fescue is a cool-season grass that thrives in the shade and is resistant to cold and frost.

Tall fescue is a low-cost grass seed that is commonly utilised for pastures as well as lawns. Tall fescue is a fantastic alternative if you’re looking to cover a large area or don’t have a lot of money to spend.

If you’re a budget-conscious Tasmanian or Victorian, tall fescue grass is the way to go.

Kikuyu Grass

The magnificent kikuyu grass has been a staple grass species of parks and sporting ovals for decades due to its hardiness. This makes it a popular choice for families with large dogs and active children. It can thrive in poor soil, enjoys the heat, and prefers full light, but it cannot withstand freezing.

Its fast growth ensures it recovers quickly from damage, but it also makes it extremely invasive. If you don’t keep up with your kikuyu grass, it’s possible that kikuyu will spread over the remainder of your garden.

If your lawn will be utilised frequently, frost isn’t a worry in your location, and you don’t mind getting the mower out every weekend, kikuyu grass is a good choice.

Zoysia Grass

As a lawn variety, Zoysia is grossly underappreciated. It is one of the most low-maintenance grasses accessible, as it will grow in almost any soil, tolerates heat, and requires little fertilisation or mowing. It can withstand a reasonable amount of traffic, although it takes longer to recover from injury than other grasses.

Zoysia is a lifesaver for people of northern Australia, especially those who live in hotter climates. Many other plants can’t stand the heat and humidity of the tropics and subtropics, but zoysia thrives in it. However, Tasmanians do not need to worry about this grass.