Nara Native Zoysia
Zoysia macrantha ‘MAC03’
Nara Native Turf is a beautiful Zoysia Macrantha that is Native to Australia. This turf provides a lawn grass that has excellent winter colour, and can out compete weeds when established. Nara generally requires less watering and less mowing than most other turf varieties available in Instant turf rolls or slabs.
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. Nara is the perfect compliment for any native garden or landscape.
Nara’s Salt Tolerance
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.
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.
Super Drought Tolerant Native Turf
In drought studies, Zoysia macrantha was found to be more drought tolerant than Buffalo and Couch turf. With Nara being the first and only commercial Zoysia macrantha, this is great news for anyone needing an extremely drought tolerant native turf.
Broad leaf Carpet Grass and Sweet Smother Grass were relatively drought sensitive and Marine Couch, Sporobolous virginicus, Sand Couch and Zoysia macrantha were relatively drought tolerant. The Bermuda (Couch), Queensland Blue Couch and Buffalo grasses had intermediate drought tolerance.*
*Information from Water Use Studies for Management of Subtropical C4 Turf Grasses in Dryland and Irrigated Urban Open Space. Released by Horticulture Australia and Queensland Department of Primary Industries.
Installing Nara Native Turf
Nara prefers to be installed when the weather is not too cold. Nara can be layed anytime of the year in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Ipswich, and the Sunshine Coast. This is the same for all Zoysia types.
Seeding
The first year after laying Nara, it will seed quite a lot. The second year it settles down, provided you fertilise in spring. It will generally have a burst of seed in early spring and won’t seed 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.
| Winter Colour | Dormant in cold areas |
| Hot Tolerance | Excellent |
| Cold Telorance | 8-9mm |
| Shade Tolerance | Moderate to good |
| Wear Resistance | Excellent |
| Salt Tolerance | Excellent / thrives near coastal areas |
| Mowing Height | 25mm to 50mm |
| Use | Residential and commercial |
| Drought Tolerance | Excellent once established |
| Pest resistance | Excellent lawn grub resistance |
| Texture | Soft, finer than Buffalo |
Video Courtesy of Ozbreed Pty Ltd. Copyright Ozbreed 2011