Palmetto® Buffalo

Drought Tolerance

Palmetto Buffalo’s broad leaf structure and foundational root structure allow it to survive with less water than some other warm season grasses. This makes it perfect for the Australian climate, as Palmetto is less likely to suffer heat-related stress during our hot summers, and will prove to be hardy during periods of drought.

Palmetto’s lower water requirements and general hardiness also make it suitable for planting across most of Australia, including in extra-urban regions where water management is a priority.

Low Maintenance

Palmetto offers outstanding year-round colour, and amazingly remains incredibly hard wearing whilst requiring less mowing and maintenance than other Buffalo varieties. It also requires less fertilising than some other warm season grasses, making it a lawn you can spend more time admiring and less time maintaining.

Palmetto doesn’t develop as much thatch as some other Buffalo varieties and can easily be left longer between mowing without looking untidy.

Best Winter Colour 

As the ambient and soil temperatures cool down and your lawn naturally goes into a state of winter dormancy, it’s not uncommon for warm season grasses like Buffalo to lose some of their colour and condition. This is especially apparent in the southern states and Alpine regions, or areas affected by heavy frost.

 Palmetto Buffalo is known for keeping exceptional colour all year round and maintaining a healthy green colour throughout Winter – one study rated its winter colour over 50% better than Sir Walter Buffalo and three times better than Shademaster!

Good Wear Tolerance

Palmetto Buffalo offers outstanding wear tolerance without the voracious growth or protective thatch profiles that usually typify hard-wearing lawns, making it an outstanding option for high traffic areas that are soft and lush enough to still be enjoyed. Its exceptional wear profile extends into mildly shaded areas, making Palmetto a popular choice for active backyards that include established trees.

Low Seed Head

Grass seed heads are a common irritant for humans and pets alike, making Palmetto a popular choice for allergy-sufferers. Buffalo seed head can also be unsightly and ruin the look of an otherwise lush, green lawn. Testing has revealed that Palmetto Buffalo generates up to 40% less seed head than other Buffalo varieties.

Best Planting Time

Because it’s less susceptible to winter dormancy and thanks to its strong year-round colour, Palmetto Buffalo can be planted at any time of the year.

Planting in Autumn or Winter when the grass is naturally growing slower will translate to slightly longer establishment period, whereas planting in Spring or Summer when the plant is actively growing will drastically reduce the time it takes for the lawn to establish.

 For this reason, many home lawn owners choose to plant their new lawn at the start of Spring as soil temperatures rise, allowing them to start mowing and enjoying their new lawn sooner.

Installing Palmetto Buffalo Grass

Installing any new lawn begins with a good base, and in the case of laying your new Palmetto Buffalo 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 Palmetto Buffalo’s water requirements will be greatest.

Mowing Palmetto Buffalo Grass

Buffalo lawns 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 Palmetto Buffalo height at a healthy 30-50mm – remember that Buffalo 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.

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. Palmetto Buffalo 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

Thanks to its dense canopy of above ground roots, Palmetto Buffalo is less susceptible to broadleaf weeds than some other warm season grasses but invasive weeds can still threaten your otherwise perfect home lawn.

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

Armyworm and African Black Beetle populations exist beneath just about every home lawn around the country, however when these populations explode the common lawn grubs can destroy your home lawn within days!

The easiest way to manage these populations is through the use of a preventative insecticide which will provide residual protection from common lawn bugs for up to six months. 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.

Buffalo lawns are also susceptible to some fungal issues, which can present in a number of ways. Fungal stress can manifest in the form of coloured spots on the leaf (typically black or brown), in circular sections of the lawn of varying sizes that have lost condition or colour, or through sections that have become flat and covered in clear, sticky pythium.

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.  

Price-wise, Palmetto Buffalo is one of the most affordable high-quality Soft Leaf Buffalo lawns on the market, retailing between $13 and $20 per square metre. 

The price of Palmetto Buffalo is dependent on whether you decide to install the lawn yourself or pay someone as well as the distance your turf needs to travel to be delivered.

Palmetto Buffalo is loved the world over for its soft leaf, low maintenance levels and its outstanding year-round green colour.

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