SUNSHINE COAST TRIALS SIR GRANGE ZOYSIA
Sunshine Coast Regional Council (SCRC) are responsible for the local government area in the Sunshine Coast District of South East Queensland.
Rob Tsikleas manages Parks Operations & Arboriculture including Parks and Gardens for SCRC. Rob and his team were seeking a low maintenance design outcome to create a defining border separating the cycle way and the pedestrian pathway at Bellvista Boulevarde in Caloundra West. Residents of the area were keen for an outcome which contributed positively to the streetscape aesthetic.
Efforts in the area had been unsuccessful in the past with it being quite a hostile and narrow space. Previous attempts to improve the narrow space with mulch was usually only a short-term fix with the mulch tending to wash away or spill onto the pathways. Rob needed a permanent solution that wouldn’t require frequent clean ups and ongoing rectifications.
Daleys Turf and Sir Grange Zoysia
Daleys Turf is a beautiful family-owned turf farm located at Bells Creek who supply and install lawns and turf throughout South East Queensland. Daleys Turf contacted the SCRC and offered to conduct a trial of Sir Grange Zoysia in a situation where mowing was a problem for them, such as a roundabout. Sir Grange Zoysia is a fine leaf Zoysia Matrella that grows slowly, so it doesn’t require frequent mowing like other grasses like couch and can even be left unmown if required.
The SCRC came back to Daleys Turf with two sites, one was in a new estate against a fence that was causing noise complaints when it was mown, the other was in a bio retention basin where grass plants were constantly being replaced. Both trials proved to be successful and demonstrated to the council that Sir Grange was very different to the existing varieties currently available.
Bellvista Boulevarde Project
The SCRC then contacted Daleys Turf regarding another problem area and wanted to investigate whether Sir Grange could handle this next site. Test holes were dug discovering that during the civil construction two concrete areas (bikeway & footpath) road base was installed under the existing garden area. This was causing a drainage issue which was slowly killing all the plants in this strip garden. Daleys Turf informed council that to be successful the road base would need removing and then back filled with a sandy loam soil, adding organics and soil conditioners to allow a free draining profile.
The council granted Daleys a trial area of 400 lineal metres to complete. SCRC have a soil recycling program operating so were able to provide the 50 cubic metres of soil required for the trial.
Daleys Turf removed the existing garden soil to a mixing site, then removed the road base before spreading the mixed sandy loam to a depth of 500-600mm. The Sir Grange Zoysia turf was then laid on the prepared and levelled base.
The first 400m trial was installed in February 2021, by November the SCRC had decided to expand the trial as it had proven very successful for them. In December 2021 another 800 lineal metres was installed with a further 800m to go in 2022.
SCRC undertook all the initial irrigation required for establishment and during the ten months after Sir Grange was installed, it has only been mown once. No fertilisers or chemicals have been applied during this time. Now that it has been established, there are also no requirements for irrigation.
This was the first full project with Sir Grange Zoysia Daleys conducted with the council. Since this project, Daleys have installed other trial plots in high traffic areas in the many parks on the Sunshine Coast. The feedback from the SCRC in response to the performance of Sir Grange has been excellent. Daleys Turf will be investigating other areas to apply this low/no mow option in bio retention basins, roundabouts and any other difficult to mow areas that could prove beneficial for the council moving forwards.
Sir Grange Zoysia is a unique grass type but with time and understanding, Daleys Turf and SCRC have found the correct location for Sir Grange can be very successful.
