Putting the brakes on Buffalo lawn growth

A lush and healthy lawn is to be coveted, but issues can occur when your Buffalo lawn grows too quickly. The main issues of a Buffalo lawn such as Sir Walter growing too fast, include the increased requirements to mow and an increased thickness of the thatch layer therefore increasing the risk of scalping. None of us want to spend every single weekend mowing the lawn or putting it at risk of scalping and yellowing. So, the aim needs to be – a balance between good lawn health and a manageable lawn.There are a few reasons why your Buffalo lawn might be growing at a faster than normal rate, so we need to determine the cause then we can make slight adjustments to the lawn care regimen which is causing the super-fast growth.

By far the most common cause for Buffalo grass growing too fast – simply reducing watering times, aiming for no more than two waterings per week and adjusting reticulation times until just the right balance of growth is achieved will resolve this issue.

By applying lawn fertiliser either too often, or in higher than recommended quantities, your Buffalo lawn will respond accordingly and produce excessive amounts of growth. Implement a good year-round fertilising program based on manufacturer’s recommendations using quality lawn fertilisers.

There can be very big differences between each of the Buffalo grass types in their growth rates and as a direct result, there will be the corresponding different lawn mowing requirements of each turf type. There really is no fix for this if the lawn is already in the garden, except to try and slow growth rates in other ways.

Once the cause of the rapid lawn growth has been identified, it’s simply a matter of continuing to slightly reduce either water or fertiliser amounts until an ideal balance of lawn health and lawn growth is achieved. This balance should require the Buffalo lawn to be mowed no more than once every two weeks in the warmer months, with each mowing removing only one third of the leaf blade length in a single mowing. Once this balance has been achieved, the regimen for watering and fertilising can be adjusted slightly as the cooler times of year emerge, and then returning to these best lawn care practices once warmer temperatures arrive again. If your Buffalo lawn is experiencing rapid growth, then it will become very important to continue regular lawn mowing frequencies which will match the growth rates of the grass. As the leaf growth is growing at speed, so too will be the thatch layer of the Buffalo grass. Buffalo lawn thatch must always be monitored and controlled by a process of regular lawn mowing. Once a Buffalo lawn has excessive amounts of thatch it can become extremely difficult to safely remove it.

For new Buffalo lawn buyers, it would be very prudent to research each of the different Buffalo lawn types and their growth rates before purchase, or just ask the Daleys Turf team for some specialist advice.