Get ready, Australia! A revolutionary new buffalo grass is hitting the streets of Australia next year, and today, we're sharing everything you need to know about this industry-shaking grass.
If you weren't in the know, Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA), recently announced the upcoming release of Stampede Hybrid Buffalo – the grass we'll all be rushing to get our hands on in 2026. Please take note: Stampede is a name you'll want to remember.
The culmination of six years of rigorous trials, both on Australian soil and in the United States, Stampede promises a new era of lush, durable, and low-maintenance lawns. We're thrilled to give you the inside scoop on the new grass on the block.
Where Stampede Hybrid Buffalo Grass stands out
Where Stampede Shines:
-
Say so long to common turf diseases with its exceptional disease resistance
-
It stays lush and unaffected even during humid summer months
-
Outperforms other buffalo varieties in resilience and longevity
-
Lush appearance and outstanding durability
And how do we know all this? The answer lies in the meticulous testing conducted by Lawn Solutions Australia.
The turf trials: The science behind Stampede's success
LSA is committed to developing superior turf varieties for the diverse Australian landscape. Their extensive research and development program involves continuously evaluating over 30,000 different cultivars. The goal is clear: to identify new varieties that offer significant benefits to Australian consumers and exceed the performance of existing options.
This comprehensive evaluation considers various crucial factors, including environmental benefits, water use, shade tolerance, drought tolerance, growing speeds and other aesthetic, environmental and practical aspects. The journey of a new turf variety from initial selection to market release is by no means quick and simple. It involves many years of research, meticulous data collection, detailed morphological testing, and comparable trials conducted both in the US and across various climates in Australia. Only cultivars consistently demonstrating exceptional performance make it to the final stages.
What is a cultivar?Now, these trials are heavy on science, but we don't want to lose you in the lingo. A cultivar is simply a shortened version of a cultivated variety. In the context of turfgrass, it refers to specific, cultivated varieties intentionally bred for desirable characteristics, such as disease resistance, colour, or growth habit. |
The key criteria for a new buffalo turf variety in Australia
LSA places particular emphasis on several critical criteria when evaluating new buffalo turf varieties for the Australian market:
-
Superior winter colour
-
Enhanced shade tolerance
-
Improved drought tolerance
-
Wide temperature variation tolerance (from -7 to 45 degrees)
These factors are all considered when assessing and observing whether a new cultivar will exceed what is currently available to our Australian market. In most cases, however, they fail to deliver significant results and are removed from further testing.
Getting scientific for Stampede
For our more scientifically inclined readers, here are the details behind the creation of this exciting new grass. Stampede Hybrid Buffalo is an interploid hybrid St. Augustinegrass (buffalograss; Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze).
It was developed using a sophisticated technique called embryo rescue technology. This involved a controlled pairwise crossing between a polyploid buffalograss (chromosome number: 2n = 2x = 30) and a diploid buffalograss (chromosome number: 2n = 2x = 18). This careful cross-breeding aims to combine the beneficial traits of both parent plants.
How the turf travelled to Australia
The journey of Stampede to Australian lawns began on Monday, May 23rd, 2022, with the arrival of 18 buffalo grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) cultivars. This precious cargo resulted from a long 12-month process involving initial discussions, establishing strict protocols, securing necessary permits, and meticulous planning.
Upon arrival, these cultivars were strategically assessed throughout Australia over the past two and a half years across various climates and environmental conditions. Comprehensive data was recorded throughout these trials, and importantly, current leading buffalo grasses already available on the market were included for direct comparison.
The results are in for Stampede 🏆 the top performer of the turfgrasses
While the performance of the various cultivars naturally varied across the different trial sites, one consistently stood out from the crowd, excelling in all key areas of evaluation: Stampede Hybrid Buffalo Grass.
Stampede demonstrated superior performance during winter and remained remarkably unaffected by common turf diseases during the humid summer - when many other buffalo cultivars experienced significant issues. And let's not forget its impressive appearance and excellent harvest quality. (Can you see why we're so excited to offer this groundbreaking grass soon?)
The next steps for Stampede 
Lawn Solutions Australia will focus heavily on stock expansion for the remainder of this year and into the next. When a new plant variety enters Australia through quarantine, only a limited number of initial plant runners are received. These precious few specimens form the foundation for all future propagation and testing.
This year, LSA has set up propagation facilities for planting stock, which will be available to LSA foundation farms (like GoTurf) to expand and make the grass available for each member to plant to further guarantee this variety's integrity. LSA has engaged the services of the Australian Genetic Assurance Program (AusGAP). AusGAP will monitor and enforce strict protocols at every stage of the propagation process, ensuring the purity of the selected variety.
As you can imagine, creating a reliable supply of a brand-new grass variety is a slow and painstaking process. However, it is absolutely essential to maintain Stampede's genetic integrity so that it performs consistently, just as it has throughout the rigorous trials. Here at GoTurf, we are thrilled to be part of this exciting journey.
Get set for Stampede: coming to Australian lawns in 2026
This industry-shaking grass is on track to be available to Australian homeowners in 2026. You can join the waitlist here to be among the first to know when Stampede Hybrid Buffalo becomes available.
Can't wait until next year?
If your lawn needs a makeover sooner than 2026, rest assured that all the premium lawn varieties available from our farm have undergone the same level of meticulous care and rigorous trialling to bring you the best turf.
Join the list
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.