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Native grass lawns
Native Australian grasses can be used successfully for lawns. There are several advantages. Once established, the maintenance of a native grass lawn is much less than lawns of exotic grasses. Some native lawns may only need mowing three to four times per year. Little fertiliser is required and water use is reduced. However native grasses are relatively slow to establish and weed control is very important for a good result.
Native Seeds has several grass varieties especially suited to native lawn use depending on soil type and locality.
Weeping grass, Wallaby grass and Redgrass can form lawns which equal other introduced lawn species in terms of texture and durability. They are drought tolerant and both Weeping grass and Redgrass will grow in shade.
Weeping grass lawn Microleana stipoides
Wallaby grass lawn Austrodanthonia spp.
Redgrass lawn Bothriochloa macra
Winter grass lawn mix of Weeping grass and Wallaby grass
Summer Grass lawn mix of Weeping grass, Redgrass and Wallaby grass
Weeping grass lawn
A Weeping grass lawn is similar in appearance to introduced Bluegrass or Ryegrass lawns. When sown thickly Weeping grass makes a very good turf. It has a fine texture and is soft to walk and lie on. It can be used successfully for low use domestic lawns, golf course roughs, golf course fairways when sown thickly, for shaded areas and for low maintenance areas.
Weeping grass is found widely throughout southeastern Australia in damper grasslands, heath, open and woodland forests up to the snow line. It prefers acidic soils and will grow on sandy loams and loamy clays.
This is a versatile grass. It has above average tolerance to high temperatures and frost and above average to excellent drought tolerance. It will brown off during very hot dry periods, but doesn’t die, unlike other introduced lawn grasses. The lawn will green up with a slight shower of rain and occasional watering will maintain it during summer. It is also shade tolerant. This is a very low maintenance grass which lives for a long time. However, Weeping grass has only moderate tolerance to salinity and only average tolerance to heavy wear and tear.
Sowing
Prepare the soil before sowing to ensure a weed free seed bed. Weeping grass does not like competition from weeds. It establishes slowly. Griffin Weeping grass is recommended for turf.
For best results sow between autumn and spring when the soil is moist. Sow the seed 5 to 10 mm below the surface. Use between 1 and 3 kg of seed to cover 100 m². Keep moisture levels in the soil high until germination and the seedlings are established, but do not flood or waterlog the soil. Germination should take place within 10 to 14 days in autumn and spring, but longer during colder periods. Please be patient. Weeping grass seedlings, when they emerge, are about 2–3 mm wide and tend to lie flat. At this stage it is important to keep broad leaved weeds under control by hand weeding. Once Weeping grass plants have reached the five leaf stage they are quite tolerant of selective broadleaf herbicides.
Maintenance
Allow the seedlings to thicken up before mowing. When they are well established, keep mowing heights between 25 mm to 40 mm. The lawn should only require mowing about six times per year. If there are any thin patches in the lawn, Weeping grass will spread very slowly to fill these in. It has short rhizomes under the soil which grow out to produce new shoots. Weeping grass is not invasive like Couch, Kikuyu and Buffalo grass. Alternatively any thin patches may be resown later. Weeping grass lawns may benefit from an occasional feed of lawn fertiliser, particularly if the lawn begins to show tinges of yellow. Often this occurs when the seedlings are at the two to three leaf stage.
Wallaby grass lawns
Wallaby grass can produce an excellent fine textured lawn if sown at high density. It is a cool season grass growing through autumn and winter into spring. The leaves are very fine.
Sowing
Wallaby grass lawns are best sown in autumn or spring at a rate of between 1 and 3 kgs per 100 m². Best results are obtained when seed is slightly covered by soil and when soil moisture is high for a period of three to four weeks after sowing. This can be best achieved by sowing when temperatures are cool and rainfall is expected in the weeks around sowing. Alternatively sowing in the warmer months is possible if irrigation is available for a few months after sowing. When the seedlings emerge they are very fine and tiny, like upright needles. They grow very slowly, so hand weed to remove any broadleafed weeds. The variety Oxley was selected partly for its capacity to form good lawns and is recommended for sowing either alone or in combination with Griffin Weeping grass and/or Redgrass.
Maintenance
Wallaby grass is tolerant of mowing and can produce good quality turf that has very low water requirement and negligible fertiliser needs.
Redgrass lawn
Redgrass is an Australian native grass which is suited to lawn and turf. This is a strong grass with a moderate to fine texture. It is suitable for the drier and semi-arid inland areas of temperate Australia. Redgrass occurs in mainland eastern Australia in grasslands and woodlands usually on loams and clay soils. It grows best on cracking clay soils of moderate fertility.
Redgrass is a summer growing perennial grass which is dormant during the winter months when it takes on a reddish tinge. Redgrass has excellent tolerance to high temperatures and drought. It also has above average tolerance to shade. It grows close to the ground and spreads slowly to form a complete ground cover, but is not invasive. This makes it an excellent turf grass for general purpose, low maintenance lawns or turf in drier warmer areas. It grows readily on low fertility soils.
Sowing
It is highly desirable to prepare the soil before sowing to ensure a weed free seed bed. Because Redgrass establishes and grow slowly, it does not like competition from weeds. Sow in early spring through to early autumn when the soil is moist for best results. Sow close to or on the surface. Pelletised seed of Redgrass should be sown at between 1 and 2 kg per 100m². Germination occurs when air temperatures are consistently above 25°C and seedlings should emerge in 7 to 10 days. Please be patient. It is important to keep broad leaved weeds under control by hand weeding. Chemical weed control should not be attempted until the Redgrass is at least two months old. Watering may be necessary to aid germination if rainfall is sparse. Once germinated the plants can survive and develop for many weeks without irrigation or rainfall.
Maintenance
Allow the seedlings to thicken up before mowing. When they are well established, keep mowing heights to 25 mm. The lawn should only require mowing if seed heads shoot in summer and then once or twice would be sufficient. In the first summer after sowing, Redgrass will produce many seedheads. Seedhead production in later years is greatly reduced unless the lawn is disturbed. Redgrass does not require fertiliser.
Winter grass lawn mix
A lawn made of a mixture of Weeping grass and Wallaby grass is fine textured, yet more hardy and drought tolerant than Weeping grass on its own.
Weeping grass will brown off during summer, but greens up when moisture is available. Wallaby grass will usually stay green. These grasses are tolerant of cold and frost and will grow in shady situations.
It's best to prepare the soil before sowing to ensure a weed free seed bed. Native grasses do not like competition from weeds as they grow slowly.
Sowing
Wallaby and Weeping grass seeds are supplied separately. Sow both between autumn and spring when the soil is moist for best results. Sow the Weeping grass 5 – 10 mm below the surface. Then the Wallaby pelletised florets may be spread onto or just below the surface. A more even spread of seed may be obtained by casting the seed in two or three different directions. To cover 100m² use 1.2 kg of seed. Keep the moisture levels in the soil moderately high until the seedlings are established, but do not flood or waterlog the soil.
Germination should take place within 10 –14 days for the Weeping grass and within 14 – 21 days for the Wallaby grass during autumn and spring. The seed can take longer (up to 6 weeks) to germinate during colder weather. Wallaby grass seedlings when they emerge are very small and fine. Weeping grass seedlings are wider and flatter than Wallaby grass. At the early stages of establishment keep broad leaved weeds under control by hand weeding.
Maintenance
Once the seedlings reach maturity, the lawn may be cut. Keep the mowing height above 50 mm. The lawn should only need infrequent mowing, possibly only six times per year. A general lawn fertiliser can be applied at three months and then only occasionally, if at all. |
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A 1.6 kg mix of Weeping grass, pelletised Wallaby grass and pelletised Redgrass florets, which will make a great lawn on lighter, sandier soils. Sufficient seed to sow 100 square metres. Unavailable for W.A.
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$170.00 AUD
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A 1.6 kg mix of Weeping grass and pelletised Wallaby grass florets which will make a great lawn on lighter, sandier soils. These grasses grow mostly during Autumn and Winter, and are less vigorous during Summer. Sufficient seed to sow 100 square metres.
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$190.00 AUD
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Product 1 to 2 of 2
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