What is the best lawn variety?

If you’ve never had lawn before or aren’t sure about all the different varieties, you might ask ‘What is the best lawn variety?’. The thing is, there is no ‘Best’ lawn variety as the best lawn variety is the one that is suited to your area, your needs and your lifestyle.

All of our varieties thrive in different situations, so it’s important to take a few things into consideration before ordering your lawn.

We do have varieties that are more popular than others (Sir Walter DNA Certified and TifTuf Bermuda), but that is simply because they are more versatile and better suited to a range of different areas and situations. They still might not be the right choice for you!

Here are 5 things to think about before choosing the best lawn variety for you.

Shade

All lawns are living things; they require sunlight in order to photosynthesise and grow. But, some varieties require less sunlight and can thrive in up to 70% shade.

It’s important to look at your area at different times of the day to determine how much full sunlight the lawn will potentially receive and to choose the variety best suited. If you have a shaded area, we recommend staying away from santa ana couch and kikuyu as these are full sun loving lawns.

The best lawn for shade: Sir Walter DNA Certified, RTF Tall Fescue or TifTuf Bermuda

Traffic

How do you plan to use your lawn? Do you have big or active dogs, kids that love sports or is the lawn planted in a thoroughfare?
Some varieties grow differently and quicker, meaning they are better equipped to handle areas of high traffic. A thick root mat and fast growth is the perfect combination for a lawn to be able to handle a lot of traffic.
If your area will likely receive a lot of wear and tear, we recommend staying away from RTF Tall Fescue.

The best lawn for traffic: TifTuf Bermuda or Eureka Kikuyu

Maintenance

What does your ideal Saturday morning look like? If mowing the lawn is bottom of your list, we recommend to get a variety that grows a bit slower and won’t require as much looking after such as Sir Walter. Faster growing varieties will require frequent mowing to keep them looking good and some varieties such as TifTuf Bermuda aren’t as forgiving when you skip a mow or two!

The best lawn for low maintenance: Sir Walter DNA Certified

Drought Tolerance

If you’re in a drought prone area, only have rain water supplies or don’t want to spend a fortune on watering your lawn, there are drought tolerant varieties that will be better suited to you. Drought tolerant lawns are able to survive on minimal water and even maintain lush green colour where water is withheld.

RTF Tall Fescue being a cool season lawn requires more water than our other warm season lawns, so we recommend avoiding this if your water access is limited.

The best lawn for drought tolerance: TifTuf Bermuda

Aesthetics

Lets say you have the perfect area and lifestyle for lawn – you’re a keen gardener with a full sun area, no traffic and an abundance of water. In this scenario, you can simply choose a lawn that you think looks the nicest.

Our lawns have different leaf sizes from broad to medium to fine leaf. The leaf size can completely change how your lawn looks, but it’s all personal preference. Plus, our lawns are all green but in varying shades. RTF Tall Fescue is a lush deep green where Eureka Kikuyu is a much lighter green.

The best lawn for aesthetics: That’s for you to decide!

So you see, as we all have such different needs, the best lawn variety for your friend quite likely won’t be the best for you too. Here’s a visual comparison of our varieties: