Where to buy

Nara is CURRENTLY AVAILABLE in NSW and
Victoria through Abulk Turf:
PH: 02 4577 5352
FAX: 02 4577 3773
EMAIL: turf@abulk.com.au

More growers will have Nara available
after the Christmas period.

Nara

Zoysia macrantha 'MAC03'

Finally a native turf in roll out lawn, and it's a good one too. Nara is the first and only all purpose Australian native lawn grass.

Nara is the perfect compliment for any native garden or landscape.

On the home front.
Home owners feel good about their native gardens, now they can feel good about their more environmental native lawn that is better suited to Australian conditions.

Commercial Lawns.
In commercial circles, imagine the good will created by a golf course or a council park using a native turf instead of an exotic grass. There have been developments that have had trouble getting through council because there was no native turf available. Having Nara native turf will help developments get through council much easier, as now the whole landscape can be local and native. In fact, a large development has specified Nara for its turf already.

12 Benefits of Nara, as discovered by the Breeder.
1) Based on research and observations Nara will need about 20% less mowing than Buffalo, 30% less than Couch and 45% less than Kikuyu. It is faster growing than Empire Zoysia.

2) It requires only one fertilize per year. It is a Zoysia macrantha, which is only found in Australia. Overseas Zoysia types such as Empire (a japonica type) also only require once a year fertilising. So the less fertilising is common to most Zoysia types around the world. If they are subject to a lot of wear twice a year fertilising is recommended on all Zoysia.

3) Nara can be mown exactly how you would mow Couch, Kikuyu or Buffalo. Short, medium or long. In general however it is better to not mow too short as it stresses all lawns, especially in drought.

4) Weeds. Nara is very good at competing with weeds. You can also use any chemical that works on couch. Nara is much better than Buffalo with chemicals, as you can for example take out Paspalum with a selective spray.

5) Shade. Buffalo works in 65-70% shade. Nara works in 50-55% shade. Couch and Kikuyu only work in 20-25% shade.

6) Nara is beautiful. It is a fine textured lawn, but scalps less than Couch when mown. People choose it over Couch, Kikuyu and Buffalo on looks alone.

7) Edging. Nara requires less garden edging than Buffalo, Couch and Kikuyu, making it less invasive for the garden, although Empire Zoysia does require slightly less edging than Nara native turf.

8) Winter colour. Better than Couch, and better than many Buffalo types. Nara browns of quicker than Palmetto, Sapphire and Kikuyu which are well known for their excellent winter colour. In Western Sydney at Richmond this year it was dormant for about 7 weeks. So sure there a few grasses that have better winter colour, but compared to many it is better.

9) Wear tolerance. It has better wear tolerance than Buffalo in full sun. It has better wear tolerance than Couch and Kikuyu, although Couch and Kikuyu recover better from wear as they grow faster. In semi shade Nara has better wear tolerance than couch and Kikuyu.

10) Drought. Less need to worry about future water restrictions. As Nara has vigorous deep rhizomes, it is far more drought tolerant than non rhizome grasses such as Buffalo. Buffalo will hold its colour in drought a few days longer than the Nara, but will die much quicker in a hot prolonged dry spell. Nara has developed it extreme drought tolerance from its parentage. Millions of years growing in Australia's hot dry, or hot humid climates has made it a real survivor.

11) Its native to Australia , from northern Queensland all the way down to Tasmania, to the centre of Australia, and Adelaide. Zoysia macrantha is well suited to most parts, including Perth, where it has performed very well, making it ideal for your local Australian lawn. We are currently releasing it in the USA as well. It performs very well there, and is admired for its beauty. Nara is well adapted for all parts of Australia, except maybe the Alpine regions, although it can handle down to Minus 12 degrees Celsius in USA tests, which is colder than Canberra.
12) Disease and Pests. Nara rarely gets Disease, and copes very well with humid or dry climates. In colder areas and in wet winters like many grasses, it can occasionally develop a small sign of rust, but this is generally hidden amongst the leaves of a mature lawn. Nara hides the rust much better than many other types, so it is a safe choice. Nara seems to cope well with our bugs and insects, probably because it built up immunity over the millions of years of development as a native species of Australia. A few introduced pest species and the odd native one may cause problems occasionally. Nara seems to be so far more resistant to Black Beetle, army worm, and web worm than Couch, Kikuyu and Buffalo. All Zoysia types seem to be, but resistant does not mean immune, so it can sometimes get munched on, but again because it has Rhizomes, it will regrow better than say Buffalo.

Nara is a low maintenance grass that is naturally very drought tolerant. It is generally a coastal grass but has been proven to work well many hundreds of Kilometres inland. Common Zoysia macrantha is very salt tolerant, so it is no surprise that Nara has this quality as well, although Nara is better watered with fresh water when possible as it still grows better in fresh water. In tests, Nara had much more salt tolerance than Empire, which is known for its excellent salt tolerance in comparison to other grasses. When Nara was tested and compared to a selection of common Zoysia macrantha types in breeding, it had salt tolerance at the mid to lower end of the species. Not as high as some, but still much higher than Couch, Buffalo, and Empire. This is only important because people need to know it cannot handle growing in sea water. However, growing close to the beach or on waterfront properties is not a problem.

Nara prefers to be installed when the weather is not too cold. It is best to avoid laying Nara Native turf in the following months in certain regions. Tasmania, Victoria, SA, WA avoid laying from 25th of April to 25th of August. Sydney avoid laying from the 15th of May to the 15th of August. Brisbane and north Nara can be laid at any time of the year. This is the same for all Zoysia types. Nara can actually be laid in the cooler months in Sydney provided the turf is kept moist till it roots out, but as it takes up to 7 weeks to root out in winter, we feel it is best to wait for warmer weather. In warmer weather Nara will establish relatively quickly from turf. In early Spring or Autumn it may take a week longer than other turf types to establish, but hay what's a week compared to a lifetime of low maintenance.

An interesting fact about Nara is that it seeds early Spring in a burst and then does not seed much for the rest of the year. This is a distinct advantage, as Nara will only need more mowing in early spring to remove seed head, compared to Couch and Buffalos that will need mowing to remove seed head at many times of the year.
Nara native turf is a great all purpose turf that can handle many conditions. It is the only general native turf. The only other native turf is Dryarna, but it is only grown for drainage channels because it only survives in or next to shallow water. Unlike Nara, Dryarna is not suitable for general turf areas.