Everything You Need to Know About Tiftuf Grass

TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda is quite new on the turf scene but it’s certainly making a name for itself. It has superior drought tolerance, and speedy recovery, and just like its name is tough and hardy. TifTuf is now commonly referred to as the ‘smart grass.’

The Back story of TifTuf grass

TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda is the product of almost 25 years of research and development from one of the world’s leading turfgrass breeders, the University of Georgia in Tifton. Tifton is famous for grasses like Tif Eagle, Tif Sport and now TifTuf.

TifTuf was hand-selected out of almost 30,000 different Bermuda or couch grass varieties. It showed superior qualities in drought tolerance, shade tolerance, wear tolerance and winter colour, while maintaining excellent turf quality.

In recent years the breeding program out of Georgia has focused on finding grasses that were more environmentally friendly and drought tolerant.

Further extensive independent trials and assessments were then conducted on TifTuf in Australian conditions. This grass was a clear stand-out performer in these trials outperforming all other available couch grasses.

Release to the Australian Market

TifTuf was then released to the Australian market exclusively through the Lawn Solutions Australia national network of turf suppliers.

TifTuf is the first and only grass that’s Smart Drop Certified here in Australia for these exceptional water-saving benefits that it was bred for.

This turf can be established with a fraction of the water that most other varieties have. Part of this is due to the rapidly establishing root system that can see it take root in less than 7 days, which can be up to 75% quicker than other varieties.

TifTuf has a very fine leaf blade with dense growth, making it ideal for a wide variety of applications. Its density enables it to handle high-wear situations like backyards and sports fields. Whilst its fine blade ensures shade tolerance and a very soft leaf to walk on.

Locally Grown and Loved Grass

Turfco Australia grows TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda in Jaspers Brush on the South Coast of NSW. We are the leading turf supplier of quality turf to the Southern Highlands, Illawarra, Shoalhaven, South Coast, Far South Coast, and ACT.

Turfco upholds to strict genetic purity rules and regulations which ensures all our turf varieties adhere to a stringent set of quality standards. The AusGAP certification system not only ensures the genetic purity of a turf-grass variety where appropriate but it provides assurance that the entire production, delivery and installation process is undertaken to the highest industry standards.

Lawn Solutions Australia is the largest research facility in the Southern Hemisphere, and Turfco is an accredited Lawn Solutions turf supplier. You know the turf you are receiving is of the highest quality, backed by a 10 year turf product warranty, as well as the best possible service when you buy from a Lawn Solutions grower.

TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda Lawn Maintenance

TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda is a fast-repairing grass, so when damage does occur it is able to bounce back fast. With its fast-growing nature comes a bit more mowing throughout the warmer months.

If are unable to mow for a few weeks while the turf is actively growing the lawn can get a little long and the likelihood of scalping is possible. When this happens, it is best to reset the height of your lawn.

To do this, mow the lawn a notch or two below your preferred mowing height. Please note that after this, your lawn won’t look great for the first few weeks, but TifTuf is tough and will bounce back quickly.

On your next mow, raise your mower to your preferred mowing height and continue to mow regularly. Doing so will bring down the grass’s stem height so the new green leaf can grow at a lower height.

We only recommend doing this in the warmer months when the lawn is actively growing.

For a convenient Lawn Care Calendar with year ’round lawn maintenance tips, please click here.

Plant Growth Regulators (PGR)

If you can’t mow TifTuf as regularly as you would like, a PGR like Primo Maxx can come in handy.

PGR’s will suppress the lawn’s vertical growth diverting its energy into lateral growth activity helping it to become denser. This will significantly reduce your required mowing frequency.

Fertilising Rates

TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda was bred to require fewer inputs. For TifTuf we only recommend giving the lawn a fertilise twice a year. Use Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser once in Spring and again in Autumn.

Fertilising isn’t necessarily required during the warmer months of the year. Avoid excessively fertilising with high amounts of nitrogen.

If you want genuine TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda, contact Turfco Australia.

For more information on TifTuf, check out this video.

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS TIFTUF SEED? HOW IS TIFTUF GROWN?

Like all warm-season turf varieties, TifTuf cannot be grown from seed. All the turf varieties grown at Turfco can only be grown from Stolons and Rhizomes, not seed. On our farm, turf paddocks have to be planted with Stolons or Runners. To do this, mature turf cuts are fed into a Sprig Planting Machine where they are chopped up and periodically distributed into the soil. Afterwards, a roller is sent across the paddock to embed these runners further in the soil. The entire area is then irrigated, fertilised and very well cared for over the next few months.

The Stolons and Runners eventually grow laterally with a root system establishing down into the soil, which allows the turf to reach full maturity and fill an entire paddock. It’s at this point the paddock is ready to be harvested and become a lucky customer’s new home lawn!

TifTuf is a warm-season turf variety. All warm-season turf varieties will enter a level of dormancy when [soil] temperatures decrease (during the cooler/winter periods). Some regions and particular turf varieties will experience higher levels of winter dormancy than others. Expect your lawn to lose colour during these cooler months as the plant growth rate slows down. Once temperatures increase, the growth rate will rise, and the lawn will return to a lush, green state. An application of Lawn Solutions ColourGuard Plus* will help to immediately bring a lush, green colour back to your lawn. The product will both give your lawn an instant green look and protect the blade of the turf up to 2 degrees warmer. Read more on Winter Dormancy.

*Apply to established lawns only.