Sowing a new lawn from seed is the most economical way to transform your garden or grounds. Care should be taken when selecting the seed for your needs, as choosing the most appropriate grass seed can make all the difference to the ongoing success or failure of your lawn. I like to do things right the first time, so I ask questions before carefully considering the requirements to match a seed or seed mix that will thrive.
Once you’ve decided to sow a new lawn, the first and most important decision to be made is…
Which lawn seed is the right one for your situation?
Firstly, you’ll need to take into consideration your location, sun coverage, human/pet wear, access to water/irrigation and general climate.
Here’s a handful of the most common grass seed varieties recommended for Melbourne lawns…
Buffalo
A coarse leaf grass with dark green colour. Buffalo doesn’t need as much sun as other varieties and is great for lawns that only get a limited amount of sun during the day. However, Buffalo has quite poor wear tolerance, so if you have kids or dogs then Buffalo will struggle unless you have a lot of time to water, mow and fertilize regularly.
Ryegrass
A cool season grass that doesn’t usually suit Melbourne conditions as it needs a lot of water to stay alive during the summer months. Ryegrass has a dark green shiny leaf. A perfect Ryegrass lawn looks as good as any turfgrass and has moderate shade tolerance. Ryegrass can be oversewn and mixed with warm season grass.
Tall Fescue
It’s a lovely looking grass but can’t be cut short and is suited to cooler conditions. It’s a cool season grass with thick, dark green leaf and can produce a luscious “soft carpet of green” lawn. This grass can be grown in warmer climates, as long as adequate water is applied throughout the hotter months.
Fine Fescue
Very fine leaf with the best shade tolerance of any grass type. It is a cool season grass but tolerates warmer conditions really well. This grass should be used so much more than it is. Many people think the bare patch over by the shed or fence will never grow any grass due to the lack of sun. Fine Fescue will prove them wrong and grow in very shady areas. The seed can be hard to find, other than the small amount often put in mixed seed varieties. It is a great seed to have in mixes.
After years of extensive sowing of various seeds around Melbourne, I’ve found that some of the Lawn Seed companies publish seed properties and recommendations that are slightly off being completely accurate. I’ve put that down to the fact that many of these companies are based outside of Melbourne and seeds can take on slightly different properties dependent on a range of environmental factors. Additionally Turf quality really comes down to appropriate management of said turf in your unique environment.
Stay tuned for more posts on Turf, Lawns & Landscaping over the coming weeks.
If you’d like to speak to our passionate Turf experts regarding your lawn requirements or book an appointment, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0403 887 310 or send us a message on our Contact Us page.
Written by Nick Fitzpatrick, Senior Landscaper & Turf Specialist @ Vic Turf & Landscape Solutions