Lowest Maintenance Lawn Type

Q

I'm after the lowest maintenance and most easy care lawn, I've been looking at all the regular suspects but still cannot find the solution, any ideas?

A

The easiest care lawn possible for someone living in the warmer regions of Australia would be Zoysia, it grows slowly so therefore needs far less lawn mowing than other grasses, it's also highly resistant to all weeds, all pests and all lawn diseases so won't require much fixing of any problems, it has very low thatch so won't need any vertimowing at best and very little at worst, Zoysia has very low need for fertiliser and water, so all round - there simply cannot be a better lawn choice than Zoysia.

If you're unfamiliar with Zoysia grass - just be sure to check it out first before you buy, to be certain that this is the right grass for you. After all, there is no such thing as a perfect grass for every person or every environment.

After Zoysia, we really are back to the more higher maintenance traditional grasses known in Australia, with the next in line for lower maintenance - yet far behind Zoysia - being Couch and Buffalo.

Buffalo grass is way over advertised and way over used for it's grass type, but still a decent grass. Buffalo maintenance and mowing / fertiliser requirements is about in the centre of lawn care needs when comparing the grass types. Less invasive than Couch, but highly prone to excessive thatch build up, with poor resistance to weed sprays. Although requiring lower maintenance than Couch, Buffalo still has other major drawbacks including it's very wide leaf blade which isn't to everyone's liking, as well as that ever-growing thatch layer that just keeps increasing every year. But on the plus side, Buffalo does have good shade tolerance, with Sapphire being the most shade tolerant.

Couch comes next up with slightly more lawn mowing requirements than buffalo grass, also more highly prone to weeds, pests and diseases, but very resilient to all weed, pest and disease sprays. Couch can also be very weedy, quickly invading garden beds and pathways, and has very low shade tolerance. if choosing Couch then better to spend a little extra to get a better and lower maintenance Couch variety.

Queensland Blue is also a great grass, which has medium shade tolerance, can be kept at lower or higher lawn mowing heights, has lower invasive properties than Couch and Buffalo, but does have the drawback when it comes to weed control. Whereas Couch tolerates all weed sprays, Buffalo can tolerate a few, Queensland Blue still has some issues here. However the new improved varieties of Queensland Blue do go a long way to improving these properties.

Kikuyu is the highest maintenance grass available. With massive lawn mowing requirements, and being prone to most weeds, pests and diseases, and still having issues with most weed sprays, Kikuyu cannot be classed in the low maintenance grass category at all.