Palmetto Versus Sir Walter

Palmetto versus Sir Walter

Palmetto versus Sir Walter

Palmetto and Sir Walter are most often compared to each other, perhaps because both are almost identical in appearance and colour, identical in softness, and both are popular varieties of Soft Leaf Buffalo grass.

And the similarities continue…

Both Sir Walter Buffalo and Palmetto Buffalo have excellent tolerance to weed sprays which are classified safe for Buffalo lawns. These weed sprays are based on the active ingredients of either Bromoxynil or MCPA.

Yates Lush and Yates Buffalo Pro are perfect for weed control on all Buffalo lawns.

In continuing our look into Sir Walter vs Palmetto, both Buffalo grasses have deep root systems which allow them to tolerate drought conditions better than some other grass types, and which also lends these grasses to be suitable for deep and infrequent watering which promotes healthy strong lawns which can most easily tolerate the heat of Summer.

However if drought tolerance is of a major concern, then a Couch or Zoysia lawn will always be the better choice over Buffalo.

Both Palmetto and Sir Walter cannot reproduce from seed, new lawns will need to be laid from sod (roll on lawn), runners or lawn plugs. (Learn more about lawn plugs at the Buffalo Lawn Care site here.)

Both grasses in our Palmetto vs Sir Walter review will benefit greatly from a year round fertilising program.

The Differences Between Palmetto and Sir Walter

From recent independent scientific studies conducted by Horticulture Australia and the Department of Primary Industries Queensland (DPI QLD) we can conclude the following differences between the two Buffalo grasses - Palmetto and Sir Walter.

Winter Growth
Palmetto Buffalo maintains the better Winter growth rate between the two grass types, this allows Palmetto to repair from damage in Winter better than Sir Walter Buffalo which will become more dormant. This also allows Palmetto to maintain a darker green colour in Winter than Sir Walter.

Seeding
Sir Walter Buffalo produced significantly more seed head than most other Buffalo grass types in the trial, and far more than Palmetto (only Matilda and Shademaster fared worse out of 13 grasses tested).

Drought Tolerance and Repair
Sir Walter Buffalo repairs much slower from drought conditions but stays greener for longer when drought conditions first arrive.

Palmetto Buffalo will brown off quicker, but came in first place for repairing and re-establishing itself from drought conditions at enormous speed over Sir Walter which had one of slowest repair rates after drought of all the Buffalo grass types tested.

Lawn Growth Patterns, Thatch and Mowing
Sir Walter Buffalo grows it's green leaf faster and stolons slower, while Palmetto will grow it's stolons (above ground runners) faster and green leaf slower, which means Sir Walter requires more lawn mowing, and Palmetto will spread itself faster. As a result, Sir Walter requires more mowing than Palmetto. This same faster spread rate as opposed to leaf growth rate allows Palmetto to repair itself quicker from any damage.

These growth patterns would mean Palmetto would creep into surrounding garden beds at a faster rate than Sir Walter.

Despite these patterns of growth, Sir Walter developed more thatch at quicker speed than Palmetto.

Price Comparison

One consideration when researching Palmetto versus Sir Walter is price, although we do not ever recommend choosing any lawn type based on price. But in this case, we do believe it is worthwhile looking at.

Sir Walter is more expensive than Palmetto.

We cannot see how Sir Walter Buffalo could cost any more to grow than Palmetto Buffalo, and Sir Walter is most certainly not a better grass which could possibly deserve a price markup over Palmetto on quality factors. So when it comes to price, we cannot find a reason for any cost difference between the two grasses. In fact, with Sir Walter speedier growth rates, it really should be the cheaper grass to buy.

Conclusion

When we compare Palmetto versus Sir Walter, price is not the decisive factor, for if one grass were superior and were a couple of dollars more per metre, we would still recommend the better grass at the higher price, just as we always recommend people look at a Zoysia lawn such as Zoysia japonica or Zoysia compadre over Couch. See Zoysia vs Couch.

In the end, the homeowner will need to make their own decisions in deciding which lawn is right for their home environment based on available research and personal preferences, and we hope this independent lawn review of Palmetto vs Sir Walter can help in that decision making process.

Research Source:
Adaptation and Management of Australian Buffalo Grass Cultivars for Shade and Water Conservation
- Read the media summary here on The Lawn Guide

Note: this is a copyrighted document and therefore requires purchase from HAL or DPI Qld.

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