Warm-season turfgrasses

Warm-season turfgrasses are best suited to temperatures from 25-38oC. They differ from their cool-season cousins in their chemical and physiological make-up.

Because of their chemical structure, warm-season grasses lose less water than cool-season grasses and are suited to environments with higher light intensity and temperatures.

Warm-season turfgrasses generally grow fastest during the summer months. As temperatures drop during autumn, their growth slows and will eventually stop when minimum air temperatures fall below about 10oC. They can form deep root systems, which helps to contribute to their greater drought tolerance compared to the shallower-rooted cool-season grasses.

This superior drought tolerance has stimulated interest in warm-season grasses in the cooler southern states as well as in subtropical and tropical northern Australia, where they are the basic turfgrasses of choice. These grasses are also the focus of the turf research program conducted by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.