Uses
Superior Turf is used in both landscaping and sport. Its fine appearance make it ideal for ornamental lawns and croquet lawns, whilst on the golf course Superior Turf is ideal for tees, fairways, and green surrounds.
Characteristics
Superior Turf contains the new super-dwarf rye grasses. This is a major step forward in grass breeding because they combine, for the first time, the fine appearance of fescues with the hardwearing nature of ryegrass.
This means that this turf can be used where fine turf is required with the knowledge that you’re not going to suffer from wear and disease problems that were associated with the traditional fescue/bent mixtures.
The typical seed mixture used in Gold Standard is:
- Fescues
- Perennial Rye grass
- Smooth Stalk Meadow Grass
Mowing
Superior Turf can be mown as low as 6mm with a well-adjusted cylinder mower. But it can also be maintained at a height of up to 50mm. Rotary mowers are the best option for heights of cut above 20mm. The key to maintaining quality is to mow regularly, and never to take more than a third of the leaf off at any one time. The longer the grass, the better the turf can cope with adverse weather conditions. For example, the length of grass is directly proportional to the depth of rooting, which in turn provides better tolerance of drought conditions.
Nutrition
Superior Turf needs approximately 150kg Nitrogen per ha per year. This can be provided by two applications of fertiliser – one in the spring and one in the autumn. A typical programme would be:
April – 40gms/m2 Scotts All-Round 23:5:10
September – 40gms/m2 Scotts Pre-Winter 14:5:21
These fertilisers use controlled release technology which provides an even food source for the plants over 4-5 months. In general, more nitrogen will promote the ryegrass in the mixture at the expense of the fescue. Conversely, a more austere fertiliser programme will result in a fescue dominated sward.
