Matilda Buffalo - Turf Grass

Scientific name: Stenotaphrum secundatum

Buffalo Turf grass is the common name in Australia, and it is otherwise known as St Augustine grass in North America.

Origin: Matilda was a seedling derived from ‘Shademaster’ on a Hawkesbury turf farm west of Sydney, NSW.

Overview:

A good all rounder Buffalo that has great wear tolerance. It is fast growing and has a medium width leaf compared to other Buffalo’s. Matilda is a semi dwarf leaf Buffalo Lawn. Its texture is so soft to touch and walk on you will never want to wear shoes when you have Matilda in your front & back yard.

Features:

100% Australian, Hard Wearing, Soft to Touch, Shade Tolerant, Self Repairing, Evergreen, Drought Tolerant, Disease Resistant.

Characteristics:

• Texture: Matilda’s leaf has a smooth soft texture both front and back making it the perfect soft lawn for year round use. Matilda brings the indoors outdoors, as its lush soft surface is an inviting play area and entertaining area for both adults and children. Gone are the days of a buffalo Lawn that is harsh and hard to walk on without shoes.
• Colour: Matilda has an outstanding summer and winter colour.
• Sun and Shade: Matilda has a dense thatch giving your lawn an everlasting lush full look all year round. Its rich evergreen color is second to none, tolerating both full sun and part shade up to 80%.
• Toughness/Water: For drought tolerance and wear resistance look no further than Matilda. Matilda has been extensively tested and trialed in a Natural and open environment, giving its true and reliable performance results. Matilda is a truly stunning lawn, designed to handle Australia’s harsh and fluctuating climate.
• Root System: It has a dense fibrous root system, which will help establish your lawn rapidly, minimizing water use and saving you time.
• Cold: Matilda will survive temperatures below zero and will self repair if damaged.
  

• Soil: Matilda has been tested and proven to grow in even the harshest of conditions. Tested and trialed in Australia, Matilda is not affected by and will tolerate salty soil. Although not ideal for any turf, Matilda will grow on clay and rocky soils where most other turf varieties will not.
  

Detailed Review- The Buffalo Grass Review

This is a fast growing turf variety that is a good all-rounder Buffalo. Matilda has a wider leaf than Sapphire, and a finer leaf than Sir Walter and Kings Pride, being similar in width to Palmetto. It did well in the wear tests and it was rated as moderate in the shade trials, similar to Sir Walter and Kings Pride Buffalo Grasses. This is a very branching and fast growing Buffalo, so it is quick for the turf farmer, and recovers from wear well, but this does mean more mowing and garden edging. The other thing with fast growing highly branching Buffalo types is that after a few years they thatch more. This may help in wear situations, but it does mean you need to apply the correct maintenance every 2 to 3 years. Either remove the excess thatch by using a very low mowing height and scalp the Matilda lawn in Spring every 2 to 3 years making sure you collect the clippings, or use a de-thatching machine. The winter colour of Matilda seems to be similar to Sapphire and Sir Walter Turf. There is not as much of this grown as Sir Walter, Sapphire or Palmetto, so it may be harder to find. If you want a good strong grower or a good wearing buffalo than this could be for you, just remember to mow it short or de-thatch it every few years.

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