Grass Roots Turf Varieties
– by John Lloyd, Department of Parliamentary Services

Transcontinental Couch — Section 1

Couch is a drought resistant, water efficient warm season grass variety. It is also a tough, hardwearing and vigorous grass. Couch varieties go dormant during Canberra winters and change to a straw colour.

Transcontinental Couch is a new and dramatically improved Couch variety. It can be grown from seed (a cost effective way of growing couch or introducing it to an existing lawn), has improved turf quality, and can withstand extended periods without water.

This variety is said to perform well in colder climates with a high tolerance to cold temperatures. When temperatures increase in spring, its colour will return to green faster than other varieties.

RTF and Eureka Hard Fescue Blend — Section 2

This blend was created by selecting the best cool season grasses that had the potential to survive Canberra's hot, dry summers with little or no water. Throughout the Grass Roots project, the intention is to push this blend variety to the limit to determine the minimum amount of water required to keep it alive, and the amount of water required to maintain a reasonable surface.

Grass Roots will test RTF's deep rooting ability and ultimate survival rates, and will see if Eureka's strengths shine through. Eureka has been bred for dry, low maintenance conditions. It has excellent heat and drought resistance and a low water usage rate.

Premium Tall Fescue Blend — Section 3

This is a blend of three Premium Tall Fescue Varieties traditionally used on Canberra's sporting fields and prestige lawn areas. It has been the most common grass used in Canberra over the last 20 years.

It is a strong, robust and hardwearing grass, but needs regular watering during the summer months to maintain good turf density and a safe playing surface. Without summer irrigation, this grass will become thin and clumpy.

Rhizomatous Tall Fescue (RTF) — Section 4

RTF is a new type of fescue that produces rhizomes (underground stems or runners) that grow outwards from the main plant. These rhizomes will then send new shoots up to the soil surface to form new plants, producing an extensive self-repairing turf grass surface.

RTF has not been extensively tested in Australia for its drought resistance, but initial indications suggest that its extensive underground root system will provide greater water efficiency. This is due to root systems being able to extract more water from the soil under dry conditions.

This variety was selected for the Grass Roots project to compare its performance with that of the traditional Premium Tall Fescue Blends in terms of quality, wear resistance and water efficiency, whilst still maintaining a quality surface.

Sir Walter Buffalo — Section 5

Buffalo turf is becoming very popular in Canberra and is proving to have some advantages over the traditional cool season grasses. Buffalo is a warm season grass that thrives in hot weather. Initial tests have shown that it is 50% more water efficient than cool season grasses and is quite at home in Canberra's summers.

One disadvantage is that Buffalo is affected by cold, frosty conditions and discolours during the winter as it becomes dormant. This grass does have a place in Canberra, especially in home lawns and amenity turf areas. However, due to dormancy and lack of growth during winter, it does not withstand wear as well as other varieties. Data from the Grass Roots project will assist in identifying the best uses for this grass.