Nara™ Native Zoysia

Drought Tolerance

Perfectly suited for the Australia climate, Nara Native Zoysia boasts a robust root system that establishes deep in the soil, allowing it to access water reserves during periods of drought or low rainfall. This is one of the reasons it’s so well suited to planting all over the Australian mainland, including in extra-urban areas where water is more precious than along the coast.

Low Maintenance

As a Zoysia, Nara’s growth is far more controlled than some other warm season grasses making it perfect for public spaces, large home lawns and those that want an eye-catching lawn without the commitments to regular mowing.

It’s non-invasive making it perfect around garden beds and requires 20% less mowing than Buffalo, 35% less than Couch and up to 55% less than Kikuyu.

Learn more about the best low maintenance grass types here. 

High Salt Tolerance

Nara Native Zoysia has outstanding salt tolerance, making it perfectly suited to planting in houses that line Australia’s coast, or in areas where soil salinity is a factor. This can include areas where irrigation is sourced from bore water.

Good Erosion Control

Nara’s robust root system and its ability to grow in sandy soils make it a leading way of stabilising soil structures and controlling erosion. The deep root system was found to strengthen soil over 50% better than Couch and be over 35% more effective than Kikuyu, which when combined with its salt tolerance, make it a popular choice for stabilising dune-adjacent properties on the coast, as well as properties susceptible to erosion inland.

Good Wear Tolerance

Nara Native rises to the occasion to meet the demands of active Australian backyards and offers great wear tolerance, making it perfect for high traffic areas, backyard with pets or yards where lawn growth can be compromised due to part-shading.

Best Planting Time 

As a warm season grass, it is recommended to plant Nara Native Zoysia whilst the grass is actively growing, so as to minimise establishment periods. While Nara Native can be planted during the colder months, this otherwise fast-establishing turf will take longer to get going.

 A freshly laid Nara Native Zoysia lawn will take slightly longer than other warm season grasses to establish, but you’ll be rewarded with an eye-catching lawn that needs less maintenance in the long run.  

Installing Nara Native Zoysia Grass

Installing any new lawn begins with a good base, and in the case of laying your new Nara Native Zoysia turf you’ll want a nice soil subsurface. Your soil should show the basic signs of good health, and be a rich dark brown colour, be holding good moisture and show signs of bioactivity which can include the presence of worms. If your soil isn’t meeting these standards, consider bringing in a quality turf underlay from your local landscape supplies store.

Once you’ve levelled the soil subsurface, apply a quality starter fertiliser like Lawn Pride’s Under Turf Starter. You can begin laying your rolls of turf, ensuring there are no air pockets between the turf roll and the soil to maximise soil-to-root contact. Lay your turf rolls in a brickwork like fashion – butting the ends of the rolls neatly up against one another, and offsetting each row so as to spread out your turf join lines.

During the turf establishment process, look to water for between 10-15min three times a day as this is when your Nara Native Zoysia’s water requirements will be greatest.

Mowing Nara Native Zoysia Grass

Nara Native Zoysia can be maintained at a variety of mowing heights, and the two most common mowing methods in Australia are rotary lawn mowers or cylinder mowing.

Rotary lawn mowers are by far the most popular, and are the mower most likely to be found in any residential garden shed. They’re perfect for maintaining your Nara Native Zoysia height at a healthy 20-45mm – remember that leaf length is directly proportional to plant health, and a longer lawn will hold better colour and be more shade and frost tolerant.

Cylinder mowing is becoming more popular in Australia as home lawn owners fall in love with the signature stripes of the cylinder mowing process. Cylinder mowing is suitable for flatter lawns and will reduce your height of cut to between 20-30mm. The cylinder mowing process does bring with it a raft of plant health benefits including increased disease tolerance due to the cleanliness of the cut, and will not affect overall plant health or condition despite the lower height of cut compared to a rotary lawn mower.

Nara Native Zoysia’s more controlled growth rate means you’ll spend less time mowing than other warm season grasses, and depending on how aggressively you’re fertilsiing in the growing season, you can push your mowing windows out to once a week or even longer depending on your height of cut.

Whenever you’re mowing, try and avoid taking more than 30% off the leaf at any one time to reduce stress on the plant.

Watering Your Lawn

Keeping your lawn sufficiently watered is a delicate balance between providing enough water for your lawn to grow and thrive, without overwatering and stunting root development or welcoming in fungal issues.

In the growing season (Spring and Summer) look to water at least once a week for around 15min as your baseline, and adjust this based on environmental and climatic pressures. If the weather is exceptionally warm and there’s been little rainfall, look to water your lawn whenever its showing signs of heat stress which may include slight changes in colour, or a reluctance of the leaf to spring back up after you stand on it.

Similarly, dial this watering schedule back if the weather is cold and wet, as your lawn’s water requirements will subside as the temperature plummets. During Winter, remember that cold, windy conditions can dry the lawn out just as much as hot dry conditions.

A quality soil wetter like Lawn Pride’s HydraMaxx will help your soil absorb and store water, allowing better nutrient uptake during the growing season and reducing the likelihood of moisture stress during dry spells.

Fertilising

Fertilising your lawn is one of the easiest ways to improve overall lawn condition and take a good home lawn to a great one. Nara Native Zoysia requires some of the lowest nutrient levels of any warm season grass on the market and can be fertilised as little as twice a year, and while it offers exceptional colour and condition straight out of the box, this can be enhanced with the use of external supplements such as granular fertilisers, and liquid soil and plant conditioners.

Consider starting Spring with a high-quality granular fertiliser like Lawn Pride’s Turfmaxx which contains slow-release nitrogen for sustained growth with a hint of Iron for an added boost in colour.

Quality granular fertilisers will provide between 8-12 weeks of nutrient release depending on the climate in your region, and can be used in conjunction with liquid fertilisers like Lawn Pride’s GreenXtra, or soil and root conditioners like Lawn Pride’s Kelp-er.

Weed Control

While it isn’t a voracious grower like some other warm season grasses, able to outcompete weeds with sheer force, Nara remains relatively impervious to most common weeds while it’s actively growing.

If you see seasonal weeds like clover, bindi or other broadleaf weeds it’s easy to eradicate them using a selective herbicide like Bow and Arrow or Broadforce, however the simplest way to keep pesky weeds out of your pride and joy is through the use of a pre-emergent herbicide.

Pre-emergent herbicides stop weeds before they even have the chance to germinate, and most products will provide up to six months residual protection. It’s recommended that you apply your pre-emergents in Spring to cover you through Spring and Summer, and again in Autumn to cover you through Autumn and Winter providing year-round protection.

Barricade and Spartan are both popular liquid pre-emergents, otherwise products like Oxafert, Onset GR or Echelon Duo all provide fertiliser and pre-emergent weed protection in a convenient, granular application.

Pests & Diseases

Nara Native Zoysia is naturally more tolerant of common lawn pests like African Black Beetle, Army Worm and Web Worm than other warm season grasses; an attribute many link to its long lineage of natural evolution here in Australia. That said, prevention is always better than cure and a preventative insecticide is cheap insurance to protect your Nara lawn.

The market’s most common insecticide is Acelepryn, which Lawn Pride provides in a convenient granular form meaning no need for a backpack sprayer.

Alternatively, Echelon Duo combines an insecticide with a pre-emergent herbicide and granular fertiliser in one convenient application, tackling the three keys to an exceptional home lawn in one product.

However you choose to apply it, lay your insecticide down at the same time as your pre-emergent herbicide for year-round protection.

Nara Zoysia is also far less susceptible to disease, thanks to the fact that it thrives in hot and humid conditions.

Fungal issues are addressed using anti-fungal products as they arise. Because fungal issues are usually very isolated and more often due to environmental stress (like prolonged periods of humid, summer rain or poor drainage in the lawn), there is no residual anti-fungal product available.  

Nara Native Zoysia is Australian born and bred, and is stacked with thousands of years of natural evolution in Australian conditions that make it one of Australia’s premier home lawns.

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