Turf from around the world

With borders to New Zealand opening next week, many are getting excited about the prospect of travelling internationally sometime soon. So, here at Rosemount Turf we thought we would help with the travel fever and give you a little guide as to some of the turf varieties found throughout the world - trust us, it is actually really interesting.

Did you know that here are over 10,000 different types of grasses found across the world? With hundreds of thousands of variations found within these different types and genus.

Many of us Aussies know the common turf varieties found here - think Buffalo Grass, Kikuyu Grass and Couch Grass - but many do not know what lies outside of our gorgeous country. Keep reading to find out more!

Asia

Due to Asia covering such a huge area, the continent experiences climates of all different types. In general however, the turf type most synonymous with Asia is usually Zoysia’s. These grasses thrive in hot conditions, particularly in East Asia with the temperate and tropical climate.

Common grasses of the Zoysia Grass genus include Japonica (Korean Grass or Japanese Lawngrass), Matrella (Manila Grass) and Macrantha (prickly couch). It is also worth noting that many of these grasses have also found their way to Australia, as we experience similar climate conditions as Asia.

Centipede Grass is another grass variety also found in Asia and is native to Southern China. Like many of the Zoysia’s, Centipede Grass grows quite slowly and doesn’t require frequent mowing - which is great for a lot of Asian climates.

The USA

Just like Asia, the USA experiences a range of climates depending on your location - from north to south and east to west, it ranges from hot to cold to everything in between. This has led to a large variety of grasses being used for lawns. 

The USA has also taken a leading role in developing and breeding new turf varieties, primarily stemming from the performance needs of their highly competitive sports industry, meaning the options are hugely variant. Some of the common grasses you might see in USA lawns include:

• Kentucky Blue Grass: also known as KBG. This turf is a cool season grass type that performs well in the more northern states and has an admired blue-green colour. While Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass state, KBG is actually native to northern Asia and parts of Europe.
• Bermuda Grass: a type of warm season Couch Grass that is commonly used in the more southern states. Performs well in over 100 countries within tropical and subtropical climates, and is known for being hard wearing, fine leaf and is commonly used on sports fields as well as home lawns.
• St Augustine: a type of warm season Buffalo Grass that has a thick, broad leaf and is well known for high shade tolerance and weed resistance. St Augustine primarily grows best in the south-eastern USA states including Texas, and also in Mexico and South America.

Europe

With the common climate in many European countries being quite cold for many months a year, these areas almost exclusively feature lawns of the cool season grass varieties, such as Fescue and Ryegrass. In fact, it is not uncommon for a blend of these cool season varieties to be combined together in the same yard.

Common cool season grasses found across Europe include Creeping Red Fescue, Ryegrass, Common Bentgrass, Annual Meadowgrass and Brown-top Bent Grass.

Africa

Kikuyu grass, which you may be familiar with (as it grows in Australia), originated from the highland regions of East Africa. It is named after the Kikuyu tribe and is still the most popular lawn variety in many African countries, with another indigenous grass known as LM grass.

LM Grass is also known as Durban Grass or Smeet Mother Grass, with one of its main traits being its ‘creeping’, but less invasive than kikuyu, growth habit. Due to its climate, other warm season grasses like buffalo and couch are also common in many African countries.

Now you know what to look out for when we all start travelling again!

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