Sir Grange Zoysia

Sir Grange  is a fine leaf zoysia turf variety that will thrive in full sun and part shade (needs at least four hours of direct or filtered sunlight).

Sir Grange Zoysia boasts an impressive dark green leaf blade. It has been hand-selected for its unique features and is the most widely grown and most proven performing zoysia grass in Victoria. Not only for golf course fairways and tees, Sir Grange is for anyone looking for a superior looking lawn that turns heads!

Advantages

Sir Grange Zoysia requires minimal watering, fertilising and mowing. It’s drought and shade tolerant and does well in both full sun and light shade (more than four hours). And it’s non-invasive near garden beds, making it the perfect feature lawn in gardens and courtyards. For allergy sufferers, take a big sigh of relief because Sir Grange is both non-allergenic and weed and insect-resistant, due to its highly dense root system!

Disadvantages

Sir Grange comes pretty darn close to perfection, but since perfection doesn’t exist – it does have some minor limitations. 

For one, it can be slow to repair if damaged, especially if burnt by dog urine. Sorry pet owners – but Sir Grange is not recommended for people with dogs. Sir Grange also prefers to be left alone and doesn’t appreciate heavy foot traffic! For this reason, it’s not recommended for families with kids. If you are to install Sir Grange, keep it in a traffic-free area and avoid heavy clay soils or heavily shaded areas during establishment. 

With that said, if you want a high quality showpiece lawn that provides stunning kerb appeal, Sir Grange Zoysia instant turf could be a perfect match for you!

While Sir Grange Zoysia grass typically requires less care and maintenance than other grass varieties, once established, it will still need some TLC.

• Mowing
  Zoysia grass typically contains more silica than other varieties which supports strong and healthy growth. So for strong grass that’s also soft to the touch, it’s best not to cut your Sir Grange any lower than 10mm. Also never trim more than 1/3 of the blade length and mow once a week to a fortnight or as required.
• Dethatching
  Thatch is the layer of decomposing plant material that accumulates on the surface of the soil. Zoysia can be prone to thatch build up – which prevents sun, water and nutrients from penetrating the soil. So whenever you notice thatching occurring, be sure to remove it with a dethatcher or rake.
• Watering
  Sir Grange Zoysia is drought tolerant and doesn’t need a lot of watering. Only water if the lawn looks like it needs it (i.e. if the leaf blades are starting to curl inwards or it appears dry). While zoysia doesn’t require a lot of watering for good growth, this will always be dependent on environmental conditions.
• Fertilising
  One of the major benefits of Sir Grange Zoysia grown in Victoria, is that it typically doesn’t need much fertilising and requires 75% less nitrogen than other turf varieties. In many cases, Sir Grange will require little to no fertiliser at all.

For landscapers or homeowners, creeping grasses can wreak havoc on garden beds! Luckily, Sir Grange Zoysia is a slow growing turf variety that’s generally non invasive. This means its roots will not intrude into neighbouring garden beds or borders.

Another bonus of Sir Grange is that it’s low-allergenic, meaning it produces few if any seed heads. So you’re unlikely to have any major problems when it comes to grass invading your garden plot or landscaped areas. 

If you do end up with grass in your garden beds (say your lawn was left unmaintained for a long period of time), here are a couple of quick and easy fixes: 

Create a border – put a physical barrier between your lawn and your garden, to a depth of several inches so the lawn’s lateral runners can’t spread through the soil. 

Maintaining your lawn – seed heads can be a result of the lawn being stressed due to lack of water or nutrients. Regular maintenance and lawn care will ensure it doesn’t go to seed.

Use a herbicide – use a herbicide that only kills grass rather than plants in your garden, but be very careful how you apply it, as any overspills could damage your lawn.

Remove it by hand – grass runners can be removed from a garden simply by pulling them out. But they won’t come easily and the job will have to be repeated until you get it all. Once you do, mulch the garden bed to prevent new shoots from emerging.

Brown spots in your lawn are not only unsightly, but can actually cause major damage depending on its cause, if left untreated.

If your Sir Grange Zoysia lawn develops brown spots, it could be a fungal disease known as ‘brown patch’. This is the most common disease affecting zoysia grass and it occurs in hot, humid climates or in lawns that are watered in the evening. So while this is not generally a worry for lawn lovers who live in Victoria, it’s still worth keeping an eye on. 

Brown patch is a brown ring that encircles a green patch of grass and although it starts out small, it can quickly spread to your entire lawn. The best way to prevent brown patch from occurring is to water in the morning after the dew has dried, instead of watering in the evening when the fungus can be spread by water droplets.

Other possible causes of brown patches or spots in your Sir Grange could include;

• Dead spots caused by excessive foot traffic
• Dry patches caused by insufficient or uneven watering practices
• Bare patches from heat stress that create hydrophobic (water repellent) soil
• Burnt patches from the nitrogen in dog urine.

• Aerate bare patches with a garden fork, then apply a wetting agent and irrigate the area thoroughly. Then apply a fertiliser to stimulate self-repair.
• Observe good irrigation practices by watering your lawn less frequently, but with deeper soakings to encourage deep roots.
• Increase the mowing height of your zoysia to shade the soil and reduce evaporation.

One of the weeds that you may encounter in your Sir Grange Zoysia grass is an aggressive grass variety known as Bermuda grass. This may pop up around the edges of your lawn or in any bare patches where it can establish itself without competition.

Also known as couch grass, Bermuda grass is used widely in Australian backyards and sporting fields. So why is it referred to here as a weed? Simply because it is a plant that is growing where it’s not wanted!

Bermuda grass spreads via its horizontal stolons (above ground) and rhizomes (below ground) and it will quickly take over your lawn if left to its own devices.

Three methods for eradicating Bermuda grass from your lawn include;

• Applying mulch to your lawn on affected areas to starve the Bermuda grass of sunlight. Or, by filling in any bare spots in your lawn with zoysia grass plugs.
• Spot treating affected areas with a selective herbicide that will kill the Bermuda grass without damaging your zoysia lawn. Avoid using a non-selective herbicide, as this will kill everything it comes in contact with, including your zoysia grass.
• Keeping your zoysia lawn strong, thick and healthy so that it outcompetes the Bermuda grass or any other weeds, giving them nowhere to take hold. You can do this by following a consistent lawn care regime that includes correct watering, mowing and fertilising practices.

Do you have childhood memories of playing on course, scratchy grass that seemed to itch long after contact?

You won’t get that with Sir Grange! This variety of zoysia is a low allergenic grass type, and its soft fine leaf texture is ideal for walking on. But it doesn’t handle excessive foot traffic well, so it’s possibly not the best choice for families with children and pets.

Having said that, the number of great features this amazing variety of zoysia grass has are astounding;

• It’s drought tolerant and needs a lot less water than many other grass varieties (once established).
• It does well in both full sun and dappled shade areas.
• It needs up to 50% less mowing than other varieties due to its slow growing nature and can be mowed at different heights, depending on your preference.
• It has a very dense root structure, which discourages weeds and insects from damaging it.
• Unlike some types of zoysia grass, Sir Grange is so slow growing that it requires extremely low maintenance and will not invade garden beds. 
• It has a beautiful deep green colour and is a superb looking showpiece lawn once established.

Some grass varieties are more prone to weeds than others. If you chose Sir Grange Zoysia grass, lucky you! This turf type is less likely to experience weed invasion – provided you maintain a healthy lawn with a dense canopy. 

Since Sir Grange rarely develops weeds or seed heads, the best weed control is to simply keep it in a healthy condition by observing correct watering, fertilising and mowing practices.

Of course, no lawn is completely free of weeds all the time and the odd one may appear here and there, particularly in the winter months when the lawn is dormant and weeds are able to get an easier foothold.

Common winter weeds that can appear in zoysia grass include;

• Winter Grass – a low growing turf grass with drooping green leaves and triangular shaped seed heads. It can be removed by hand or by using a pre-emergent such as Oxafert. 
• Clover and broadleaf weeds – most prevalent during the winter months, these can be controlled with LSA All Purpose Weed Control which is safe to use on all lawn types including Sir Grange.
• Bindii – a low-growing summer active weed with a flower at its centre that becomes a prickly seed pod. This can be managed by hand pulling or with the application of a selective broadleaf herbicide such as LSA All Purpose Weed Control.
• Creeping Oxalis – similar to clover with small light green heart shaped leaves and yellow flowers. This can be controlled with a selective herbicide, such as LSA All Purpose Weed , Oxafert or Oxapro. 

Onion Weed – never pull this out by hand, as it will spread and multiply. It can be removed by digging out the entire weed clump and discarding or by spot treating with glyphosate and water.

You’ve got your lawn looking beaut for summer barbies and days spent playing backyard cricket. A lot of work has gone into your lawn and you’re as proud as punch looking out onto the green carpet many Aussies aspire to have. That is until you notice a brown patch caused by pet urine burn!

In many cases, grasses don’t stand up well to pet urine and end up burnt, dry, and unable to self-repair. 

Since zoysia grasses are slow to repair, having a dog in your backyard is going to lead to damage from urine burns. This is the main reason we don’t recommend Sir Grange lawns for dog owners. If you do however happen to experience this (perhaps with a neighbour’s dog or a visiting furfriend to your home) – here are some simple ways you can deal with that problem;

• Flush the area of lawn with water after your dog has peed to dilute the effects of the urine.
• Frequent shallow watering of your lawn can also help reduce the nitrogen and salt overload from dog urine.
• Buy some Dog Rocks from the pet store and put them in your dog’s water bowl. These work by filtering out the impurities which burn your lawn.
• Train your dog to pee in a rarely used area of your garden where the urine damage won’t be quite as noticeable.
• Make sure your dog always has plenty of drinking water, otherwise its urine will be more concentrated (and more damaging to your lawn).
• If your dog has caused a problem beyond repair, just replace the bare area with a few pieces of turf. We offer turf from a minimum of 1 square meter up to the hundreds and thousands of metres. 

Sir Grange Zoysia is a slow growing, low maintenance grass that requires significantly less nutrients than other turf varieties. For this reason, it only requires a third of the fertiliser needed by many other grass varieties.

If you are installing Sir Grange for the first time, you can use a starter fertiliser prior to laying to help prepare the base and kickstart new growth.

Unlike other instant turf varieties, you don’t need to worry about applying a slow release granular fertiliser around the 5 to 6 week mark after installing a new Sir Grange lawn. You can however, fertilise your new lawn once it is established in early spring and again in mid to late summer if, or as required.

Avoid fertilising your Sir Grange in autumn or winter, apart from an application of liquid iron, micronutrients and ColourGuard to improve its appearance over winter. A UV and fade-resistant natural lawn paint, ColourGuard restores the colour of your grass so you can maintain a green lawn throughout the colder months.

Remember to always water your lawn straight after fertilising to prevent leaf burn and other problems from occurring. And never fertilise when it’s not needed, as rather than benefiting your lawn, it will simply promote thatch, be harder to mow and need mowing more often.

And finally, don’t mow too soon after fertilising your zoysia lawn. It’s always best to give the fertiliser time to be properly absorbed into the soil. Mowing too soon could prevent this from happening and compromise the health of your zoysia. Ideally, wait at least a week after fertilising and when you do mow, or for best practice, give your lawn a mow before you plan to apply fertiliser.