Which Lawn Type Requires Less Mowing

Lawn mowing field trials in Richmond NSW
Photo courtesy of Ozbreed

There are massive differences in the lawn mowing requirements of the different lawn types, in field trials, Empire Zoysia won the race to be the lawn which requires the least amount of lawn mowing, while Kikuyu needed much more mowing than other grass types.

Lawn mowing is one of those yard jobs that most of us don't like, especially so in the heat of Summer when our healthy lawns require the most amount of lawn mowing. This leads many people who are choosing a new lawn to consider what the lawn mowing needs will be of each grass type before they decide on a particular lawn type. And this is an excellent consideration when choosing a new lawn.

Field Trials To Find The Lawn Needing Least Mowing

Field trials between different popular grass types were conducted by independent researchers in 2005 and 2006 in an experiment sponsored by Ozbreed. The researchers were an experienced horticultural scientist, an experienced lawn mowing contractor, and an experienced nursery man.

These field trials compared Empire Zoysia, Sir Walter Buffalo, Palmetto Buffalo, Shademaster Buffalo, Greenlees Park Couch and Kikuyu. While the trial compared many aspects of grass types, this article will concentrate only on the lawn mowing needs of the different lawn varieties.

Over two test sites, and over several mowing period trials, the combined results were tallied to reveal some amazing differences in lawn mowing requirements of different lawn types.

Which Lawn Needs Less Lawn Mowing

Empire Zoysia easily won the race with the least amount of lawn mowing required.

Compared to Empire Zoysia:
- Buffalo Grass required 31.8% more lawn mowing,
- Greenlees Park Couch required 100% more lawnmowing,
- Kikuyu required 172% more lawn mowing.

Alternatively, we can read the lawn mowing needs of the different lawn types this way.

For every 15 times a Kikuyu lawn requires lawn mowing:
- Greenlees Park Couch will need to be mowed 11 times in the same period,
- Buffalo grass will need to be mowed 7.25 times in the same period,
- Empire Zoysia will need to be mowed just 5.5 times in the same period.

The trials were conclusive, and were of no news to those experienced in the lawn care industry, however it is nice to have these grasses tested in an unbiased manner for both research purposes and for conclusive proof.

Empire Zoysia requires less lawn mowing than all other grass types tested.

Zoysia Lawn

Zoysia grass is a fantastic lawn variety, and this author's own favourite lawn type. Zoysia grass comes in many different varieties including Empire, Empress, Nara and Compadre just to name a few. Empire Zoysia (Zoysia japonica) is by far the most popular type of Zoysia being sold in Australia today.

Zoysia is a fine leaf grass with a leaf blade slightly wider than Couch, it has excellent resistance to lawn grubs and lawn disease, has low water requirements, has very low invasive properties and very low thatching levels.

Zoysia is a warm season grass type which is suited to all the warmer, as well as tropical regions of Australia. Some Zoysia types such as Zoysia Compadre can be purchased in seed form.