Buffalo Grass Characteristics

Buffalo lawn is indigenous to our coastal areas. It is a very tough broad leaf grass, but is fairly course. It has fairly broad leaves with a distinct rounded point. It is a very fast growing grass in hot climate and can also tolerate some shade. If the shade goes beyond about 30-40 % then buffalo struggles.

In slightly cooler areas it does well but grows very slowly. It does not do too well in very cold conditions. In the warmer areas, buffalo grows all year round and if well looked after, will remain green all year. This is the grass sought after by most game farms and lodges as it grows quickly and tends to recover well especially after the animals have been at it. It is also popular for dam side resorts or fishing resorts as it is easy to maintain and is not as water hungry as LM and Kikuyu. If one travels along the Natal north coast one will find most of these resorts only allow buffalo lawn to be planted. In the warmer areas a lovely buffalo lawn can be established fairly quickly from planting the runners as opposed to laying down instant lawn, as it grows quickly in these warm conditions.