Sapphire® Soft Leaf Buffalo

Drought Tolerance

Despite its soft leaf, Sapphire Buffalo is an incredibly hardy variant and has been shown to survive periods of low rainfall or water availability, like those experienced during Australia’s harsh droughts.

Of course, it does require periodic watering, but its needs are lower when considered to other Buffalo or warm season grass species. Its drought tolerance is matched by an outstanding cold tolerance, too.

Low Maintenance

Sapphire Buffalo’s exceptional green colour and soft leaf look outstanding when left to grow, meaning less mowing and maintenance to maintain a lawn that’s the envy of the street. Like other Buffalo varieties, Sapphire’s dense canopy naturally suppresses weed growth, and Sapphire also boasts a low thatch rate, all combining for a lawn that delivers an unbeatable aesthetic with a fraction of the hard work.

High Wear Tolerance

With its broad leaf and hardy network of above ground stolons, Sapphire is blessed with Buffalo’s reputation of being an incredibly hard wearing grass making it perfect for high traffic areas, or for active backyards. Because it grows so well in challenging conditions, it’s also known for its excellent recovery rate.

Outstanding Shade Tolerance

Independent research has shown Sapphire Buffalo to outperform other popular warm season grasses, including Sir Walter, Kings Pride, Matilda and Shademaster Buffalo varieties. Sapphire Buffalo will maintain its lustrous green leaf and continue to grow in areas that receive as much as 70% shade, making it an excellent option for backyards with established trees, or backyards affected by shade from fences or roof lines.

Deep Green Colour

Sapphire Buffalo is renowned for its rich, green colour that it manages to keep nearly all year round. It’s less susceptible to colour and condition loss during cold winters, meaning a healthier vibrant lawn all year round, and studies have shown that its condition is largely unaffected by shade, making it a lawn you can always look out over proudly.

Best Planting Time

Because it’s less susceptible to winter dormancy and thanks to its strong year-round colour, Sapphire 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 Sapphire Buffalo Grass

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

Mowing Sapphire 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 Sapphire 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 it’s 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. Sapphire 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, Sapphire 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.  

Sapphire Buffalo can be grown in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. With its luxurious soft leaf, outstanding year-round colour and unbeatable shade tolerance, Sapphire Buffalo is an exciting, new Buffalo variety that’s designed to excel in Australian backyards.Buffalo Sapphire turf is reasonably priced to afford you a good-looking lawn between $12 to $20 per metre square. 

Try our Find A Turf Supplier tool and enter your postcode to be connected to growers in your area who can assist with pricing.

myhomeTURF’s Certificate of Authenticity provides you with the confidence and satisfaction that you have bought the genuine variety from our licenced farmers. Don’t forget to ask for your own certificate when you have purchased your new lawn – and enjoy!