How to Identify Different Grass Types
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 2024
- An important first step in conducting any lawn care is being aware of what grass you have. Knowing your grass types will help to determine which products are safe to use on your lawn and will help guide what maintenance to undertake specific for your variety.
In this video, we’ll share some tips to help you identify some of the more common grasses…
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Buffalo Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum)
Soft-Leaf Buffalo grasses have a broader leaf blade than other grass types and the newer breeds should be soft to touch in comparison to older scratchy varieties. The broad leaf is on average a width of 7.6mm and has a deep green colour.
Buffalo grasses grow from stolons or runners aboveground that are green, or with a dark purple tinge in colour. These runners are tubular in shape and have little to no rhizome growth belowground.
During certain times of the year or when stressed, buffalo grass will produce a seedhead that can somewhat resemble that of thin asparagus.
Couch Grass (Cynodon dactylon)
Couch grasses also known as Bermuda grasses, have a very fine leaf, much finer than buffalo, and are quick growing but highly wear tolerant. Lateral growth occurs from runners both above and below the ground.
The leaf blade has an average width of 2.5mm, is a mid to dark green and will stay generally quite short. They have a long stem that can lead to scalping if left unmown for extended periods.
The seed heads grow from a cluster of two to six spikes depending on the species.
Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis
It is also important to note that there are what is known as hybrid couch grasses like TifTuf. These hybrids while very similar in appearance to that of your ordinary couches, they have superior traits and performance attributes.
Zoysia Grass
Zoysia grasses have a fine tapering leaf blade but are slightly wider than a couch. There is a whole range of different zoysia species with differences in appearance, but for the most part, they tend to all have the following traits -
Very fine to medium width leaf blade, dense growth habit, slower growing than couch or kikuyu grasses and tend to have a triangular-shaped leaf tip.
The leaf of one zoysia type, zoysia Matrella for example, has an average blade width of 4mm with a mid to dark green colour. Matrella’s like Sir Grange also have very upright leaf growth making them ideal for sporting surfaces, particularly golf.
The seedhead of this zoysia, is a single spike with small purple flowers.
Kikuyu Grass (Cenchrus clandestinus)
Kikuyu have a medium leaf width, around 5-6mm almost as broad as buffalo, but wider than couch or most zoysias. Kikuyu grass has a flat soft bright green blade, usually with a prominent mid rib line down the middle of the leaf blade.
The sheath around the base of the leaf blade becomes more noticeable at longer lengths and tends to be a pale green when young before turning brown with age.
Like couch, kikuyu has robust runners both above and below the ground allowing it to spread in an invasive manner.
The leaf also tends to grow much longer than the other grasses, so when mowing is infrequent during the warmer months, kikuyu is the first grass that will need mowing.
The seedhead appears through long white thread-like stamens when flowering.
Blue Couch (Digitaria didactyla Willd)
Not to be confused with green couches as mentioned previously, blue couch is not in fact a couch. Blue couch is a variety in its own and as its name suggests it tends to have a blue hue to the leaf blade. It does have similarities to green couches, but it’s important to identify blue couch as it is not as resilient to as broad a range of herbicides as the green couches.
Blue couch, like buffalo, does not produce the underground runners so it is less invasive than green couch.
Blue couch has a soft, deep blue to green fine to medium leaf blade. The seedhead it produces has two main branches and a tiny third branch.
We hope that this general description of some of the most common grasses helps you identify your lawn.
If you are still unsure though, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Lawn Solutions Australia with some photos and we would be happy to help with identification and specific advice for your variety.
If you would like some more information relating to any specific products that we supply, please feel free to get in touch with us here at Lawn Solutions Australia. For more lawn care information and special insights into Lawn Solutions Australia, subscribe to our channel. Lawn Solutions Australia - Australia’s best and most experienced turf growers - Proud Suppliers of Sir Walter DNA Certified, Sir Grange & TifTuf 🌱 lawnsolutionsaustralia.com.au/
#buffalograss #couchgrass #zoysiagrass - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Cheers, I have Kikuyu I think. I have seen the whitish seeds and it's invasive like hell and similar leaf blade with a single line up the middle. Thanks for the clear guide!
I think I just have weeds. : )
Seriously though this was very helpful - thanks.
😂😂😂😂
I once found some luminescent
green glowing kikuyu grass.
I discovered it on a chicken
farm one night.
Each summer I have green, semi green and brown patches of grass. Since watching your video I can identify the green as kikuyu, semi green as zoysia and still have no idea what the one that dies off is. It's funny to watch the kikuyu creep a new metre or 2 down the side yard toward the front where the other 2 grasses are.
I had to dig a spoon drain a few months ago and I cannot even see where I dug because the kikuyu covered it all back up in less than 60 days.
Interesting observation is that when I walk along the street and look at nature strip's, often the half closest to the gutter will be kikuyu and the half farthest away will be some other winter grass that has died off. No idea why the kikuyu doesn't spread all the way across any of the nature strips. Weird.
Hey mate I've moved into a rental and got told the grass is wintergreen couch but not sure what this other grass is growing up through it think yous could help ?
20 m2 of Sir Walter turf professionally laid May 2021 on nature strip now ( Oct 2022) being being invaded by weeds, and looking sad and patchy : how can I improve the quality and strength of the Sir Walter lawn? Is there a fertiliser you recommend , should I reseed bald patches, is there a way of discouraging weeds???
My whole backyard had healthy Buffalo grass, not one weed.
Then my next door neighbours moved out, they were keen gardeners and kept their lawn in top condition.
About 2 -3 years later, the “new” neighbours had neglected the lawn resulting in lots of weeds.
Gradually my back lawn started getting weeds. All different types, it became a full time job trying to dig them all out.
I think I have every weed possible! All because of my neighbours, the wind must have blown seeds or something over to my lawn.
I could try more weed killer but there’s so many different types and I don’t know what to use.
And if I was to kill them all, most of the backyard would end up just dirt.
I have given up on trying to control all these weeds, it’s now 3/4 weeds and 1 quarter Buffalo grass. 🙁
Hi what is the difference between baffalo grass and dwarf crab grass? it both have runners and purple colour. thanks
Hi Zara, they are different species of plants. Dwarf crabgrass is an annual species that grows in clumps and is considered a weed. Buffalo is a turf grass with many different varieties.
If I'm still struggling to identify my grass type.. Do you have people that can visit and provide assistance? Located Nthn Suburbs Melbourne.
Send a photo.
Wish you’d covered Ryegrass, Kentucky Blue, and Fescue. They’re in a lot of lawn seed mixes.
With Australia's climate, warm season grasses are much more suited. In seed mixes they add those other varieties as they germinate quickly, but generally the goal is to have the kikuyu or couch grass come through and take over. Cool season grasses like rye can be used for winter oversowing, or fescues in some of Victoria and Tasmania, but as a national network of turf suppliers we don't specialise or recommend seeded varieties in most instances.
Is there a way of controlling couch spreading in a soft leaf buffalo lawn yet?
Hi Dave, unfortunatly the best way to remove couch in buffalo is still to pull out by hand. Check out our blog on invasive grasses for a few more tips - lawnsolutionsaustralia.com.au/lawn-care/lawn-weeds/controlling-invasive-grasses/
I thought this was a couch potato joke lmao
@@LawnSolutionsAustralia I Just logged on to ask EXACTLY the same question !!!!!
@@newcastlerenovationservice9971 I hope this video helps! If you are still not sure feel free to send us some photos on our facebook page and we can see if we can i.d it for you.
@@LawnSolutionsAustralia Thanks guys for the quick response! I have a couple of patches popping up. I have trees and there are a lot of birds, consequently I constantly have weed grasses popping up in my Sir Walter buffalo. Was hoping there were no selective sprays as I am over the hand weeding. Neighbours must think I am insane LOL
You didn't mention my favourite type of grass...😅😅😅
Fortnite kids watching this 😂
PLEASE,CAN ZOYSIA THRIVE AS TURF SOCCER GRASS IN TROPICAL CLIMATE? THANKS
Hi there, yes zoysia grasses thrive in tropical climates. For a soccer grass there are some specific requirements regarding establishment, but if you get in touch with your local supplier they will be able to assist with some specific advice for your climate and project.
No Buffalo? 🤔
Sorry im not sure what your question is, buffalo is featured in this video at the beginning.
Fortnite kids watching this 😂