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Confused about which variety of turf is best to lay in the South East Queensland climate? Perhaps we can help. The most common varieties of turf available in Australia are:

  1. Kikuyu
  2. Couch
  3. Soft Leaf Buffalo
  4. Queensland Blue
  5. Broad Leaf Carpet Grass
  6. Zoysia
  7. Fescue

But which is right for our usually warm weather, humidity, rainfall and, for some, location close to the coast? There are eight distinct factors you should consider with regards to the right turf for your place.

  1. Climate
  2. Drought tolerance
  3. Shade tolerance
  4. Pest & Disease tolerance
  5. Weed invasiveness
  6. Frequency of mowing
  7. The winter colour
  8. Salt tolerance

Make yourself a checklist. Walk around and evaluate your space. Look at the amount of shade your lawn area receives and is likely to receive if your trees and plants are still establishing themselves. Do you need to consider salt from the nearby coast? How often are you prepared to mow your lawn? Conduct a bit of research, particularly if you are new to the area. The internet is a great source of information for data on average rainfall. Local turf farmers and nurseries can offer great advice on which types of turf work best in the local area and what type of weeds, pests and diseases occur. Have a chat with your neighbours. Those that have been in the local area for a while can provide a wealth of local knowledge on all of the factors you need to take into consideration. Go for a walk and find that house with the fantastic looking lawn. There’s no harm in asking to know the variety of lawn they have – usually people that have a lawn that great will be willing to share their secrets.

Usually the best variety to cater to South East Queensland is the soft leaf buffalo. It is perfectly suited to the warm climate, has excellent salt and shade tolerance, good drought, pest and disease tolerance, good winter colour. It suffers only slight invasion from weeds and requires only average mowing and maintenance. Checklist sorted.

For lawns in South East Queensland Daleys Turf highly recommends Sir Walter Premium lawn turf. This soft leaf buffalo turf has proven to be a winner in our climate and has an excellent home owner approval rating – in fact it is Australia’s most popular lawn choice. If you still have questions regarding the right variety of turf for your lawn just contact the team a Daleys Turf.

This Post Has 18 Comments

  1. I would appreciate if you could inform me where I can buy broadleaf carpet grass seeds from. I live in Brisbane.

  2. Carpet grass generally comes in a mixture with other types of grasses, Searles is a local company that produces and sells packets of grass seeds in local garden centre, landscape yards.

  3. Hi just need some advice on what lawn i should lay. i am building at coomera and i have a heavy clay base which im going to till in gypsum and some organic matter then topsoil before i turf, is this right? Im thinkin either queenland blue or saphire buffalo what would you suggest it is all mainly sunny areas.

  4. Hi Brent,

    Well with your soil preparations, that’s exactly what your poor soil needs, some soil conditioners like Gypsum and dolomite. Some organics would be great too.

    With your lawn variety choice consider this, Qld Blue couch is one of the best for domestic lawns but you do need to be retired as there is a lot of work involved to having looking good all year round.

    That’s why ‘Sir Walter’ is the preferred option, it tolerates our conditioners here in SEQ much better, lawn grubs don’t really bother it once it’s 12 months old or so, handles the shade much better, keeps the weeds in check and so.
    We have found it a better choice against all the other soft leaf buffalos on the market and this is after 21 years of growing them all, we have more happy customers with ‘Sir Walter’ than any other lawn variety.

  5. We have just moved to Dicky Beach, Caloundra and have no lawn. Our old neighbours had a couch called Tropika. They never cared for this lawn or even watered it, but when they did, it bounced straight back. Do you think this would be suitable for sandy soil at the beach? It was a very lush looking blue couch.

    Cheers, Carol

  6. Hi Carol, Blue couch lawns are not considered a drought resistant variety so I wouldn’t recommend this type to install. Couch varieties are thin matted, hence why they die back in the heat and bounce back when it rains.

    Sir Walter turf has a thick turf matt and a healthy lawn will suppress weeds and keep moisture in. Sir Walter turf will also add value and enhance your property. This variety has proven to perform well in beachside areas which is why the local councils now use Sir Walter in their beachside parks and common areas.

    It might be a good idea to also use a water crystal product when laying your turf. Simple guidelines will help your lawn perform well. Mow in the cooler part of the day and give your lawn a good drink afterwards. Water morning or evening before it gets too hot as water will evaporate. Keep your lawn well fertilised in sandy soils as not a lot of nutrients in sand. By laying your lawn on 50-100mm of garden mix, this will also help in your case.

  7. Hi there

    Just wondering what lawn would be best for my home. In winter I am barely getting any sun light to it in winter but in summer its gets all day sun.

    At the moment I have couch and I would like a turf that is durable with both conditions and also a lawn that is thicker.

    Thank you

    1. Hi Sam,
      In this situation, we use ‘Sir Walter” DNA certified, it can receive no sun in winter for 6-8 weeks but also receive more sun in summer, and it will do okay. This is a common application for Sir Walter.

  8. What is recommended for turf near the beach at Scarborough.
    Needs to be low maintenance & able to resist salty south easterly winds
    Suzy

    1. Hi Suzy,
      Its hard to go past ‘Sir Walter’ DNA certified for a choice of lawn, its great for controlling weeds, lawn grubs don’t bother it too much, easy to maintain all year round. I have Sir Walter at my home and wouldn’t have anything else.

    1. Hi Simon,
      Sir Walter DNA certified and Sir Grange both are shade tolerant, both can be mowed with Scott Bonnar mower.
      Sir Walter is a broad left where Sir grange is fine leaf.
      you still will need 3 hrs of direct sunlight between the hours of 9am – 3 pm to be successful
      I hope this helps
      Terry

  9. Dear Daley’s, I am about to “lawn” an area of about 200-250 square metres where I once had vegie beds. It runs mainly north- south but lies between the house and next door’s fence behind which are shrubs about 2.5m tall. The area gets sun for a few hours a day and about 50pc of the day is in shade.
    I’ve priced turf at Bunnings and find it will be too expensive as I am an age pensioner and can’t spend too much. So it looks like I will be seeding. Can you recommend a lawn seed on what little information I have given you here? Many thanks, Al B.

    1. Seeding a lawn in SEQ can be difficult, using a mixture of different seeds can work the best, so most nurseries will have a blend packet of lawn seed available. QLD blue couch is a preferred choice for seeding lawns

  10. We live at Golden Beach and need to land scape our back yard, what is the best all round grass for sand sun shade and dogs

    Regards
    Dave

    1. By far the best all round lawn for our local weather conditions is DNA Certified Sir Walter, as we get both very dry conditions and wet here on the Sunshine Coast. Golden Beach has very large areas of grey sand that best suits a deep root turf variety which is Sir Walter. We now have a additive to help with the dogs urine burn, we have been trialing for the last 12 months with good success, it hasn’t been released to the pet stores yet. In regards to shade, nothing performs better that Sir Walter in the shade with wear and tear, if Sir Walter can’t handle it, then you need some form of hard landscaping.

  11. Hi we live in Headland park Buderim. Need to lawn an area that is clay , in winter shaded but summer half is in direct sun.
    What lawn would do best and how do we prepare the ground?
    Or where we get the turf from will they also lay it?
    Regards Jeanne

    1. Hi Jeanne, Its best to ring our office so we can ask you more questions, however we have found with 29 years of growing Sir Walter here on the sunshine coast, it has the best chance of doing this job for you but it still needs 3 hours of direct sunlight between 9 am and 3 pm to be given a fair chance. We can help you with this problem, so give the office a call.

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