Sapphire Versus Sir Walter

Trials of Sapphire versus Sir Walter

Sapphire Versus Sir Walter

There is no doubt that the race to become Australia's most popular Buffalo Grass is burning hot right now. So we're going to look into another two fierce competitors. Sapphire versus Sir Walter.

Field trials referenced in this article relate to the independent Buffalo Grass research which was conducted by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Queensland and Horticulture Australia.

Origins of Sapphire and Sir Walter Buffalo

Sir Walter is a derivative of the old Shademaster Buffalo and was first grown as a Soft Leaf Buffalo grass in 1998 in the Hunter Valley NSW. The new Sir Walter strain of Buffalo was then further bred and developed to display brand new characteristics which were not previously apparent in the older strain of this grass. The new strain of Buffalo derived from Sir Walter was named Sapphire and was patented in 2002. Both grasses are licensed to Australian companies.

So Sir Walter and Sapphire are extremely closely related. Despite this, both grasses display different appearances and different characteristics. So lets take a look at these differences and compare Sir Walter and Sapphire.

Turf Softness

Both Sapphire and Sir Walter are true Soft Leaf Buffalo Grasses, they are both equally soft to walk on under foot, or for children to play on, creating almost none to no irritation whatsoever. As far as the "softness" test goes, these grasses are identical.

Turf Appearance

Sir Walter Buffalo has one of the widest leaf blades of all the Soft Buffalo grasses, in this respect this grass looks like a true old style Buffalo lawn, and almost exactly the same as Palmetto. Sir Walter also has a good all round deep green colour.

Sapphire Buffalo is renowned as having a much finer textured leaf blade than other Soft Buffalo grasses which has become a very unique and often appealing trait for many homeowners. The colour of Sapphire also has a nice deep, dark green hue.

Both Sapphire and Sir Walter have almost identical colour hues throughout the year.

Wear and Tear

Sir Walter beat out Sapphire when tested in heavy wear and tear trials.

Buffalo Lawn Seeding

Sir Walter clearly produced many more seed heads than Sapphire in the Richmond sun trials, with Sir Walter producing an average score of 4.8, and Sapphire producing a much lower average score of 2.86.

Lawn Mowing Clippings and Growth Rates

Field trials proved that Sir Walter produced significantly more clippings than Sapphire. Summer testing showed Sir Walter producing 6.01 g/m2 of clippings, compared to Sapphire which produced just short of half the clippings with a score of 3.16 g/m2.

In fact, Sir Walter had the fastest growth rates, and produced the greatest amount of clippings of all the popular Buffalo grasses tested.

These results equate to Sir Walter grass growing faster and therefore needing more lawn mowing at up to 90% more frequency than Sapphire.

Thatch ratings show Sir Walter and Sapphire develop different levels of thatch at different times of year during each testing trial, with no clear winner.

Shade Tolerance

Field trials revealed that Sapphire was the very best shade tolerant Buffalo lawn of all the types tested, easily beating Sir Walter and all other competitors in all shade levels tested, including 30% - 50% - 70% and 90% shade levels.

Conclusion Sir Walter vs Sapphire

There are many significant differences when we compare Sir Walter versus Sapphire in many key areas of turf quality and desirability for the homeowner, and there are many similarities as well.

But in the end, the homeowner will need to make their own judgement based on which traits they most want and desire in their new Soft Leaf Buffalo lawn.

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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