Frost Tolerant Articles
Elite Backyard Blend
Bentgrass (Penncross) Seed
Seed & package details: 100% Pencross Bentgrass. 80% Min Germination, 98% purity. A seed testing Certificate is...
Kentucky Bluegrass seed
McKay’s Kentucky Bluegrass is an extremely hardy, good-looking lawn with excellent repair capabilities. It is a cool climate grass, best suited to areas with mild to warm summers and colder winters, like Victoria and Tasmania.
McKay’s Kentucky Bluegrass is a cool season bunch type grass, which also has a unique trait of growing underground runners called rhizomes. While not anywhere near as vigorous as the rhizomes of runner grasses such as Couch, these runners allow Bluegrass to spread itself and thicken the density of the sod providing moderate repair capabilities. While Kentucky Blue does spread, it is not as aggressive as Couch or Kikuyu, making this grass a good fit for any backyard with low garden beds.
Kentucky Bluegrass is very well suited to companion planting with other grass types, particularly Fescues and Ryegrass. This lawn has a medium sized blade and will produce a thick sod which is very soft under foot.
It is an excellent grass for the frost prone areas of Australia, including Victoria and Tasmania as it maintains its color and does not go dormant during winter.
Seeding rates:
- New Lawns: 17-20 grams per square meter (2kg/100m2).
- Overseeding: 8 -10 grams per square meter (1kg/100m2).
For more information see below for Description and Features to see if this grass suits you!
RTF Tall Fescue Seed
Fescue grass has long been the first choice for the homeowners of Australia’s cooler regions. A cool-season all-rounder that is as good-looking as it is tough, it has proven itself over the years as one of the very best choices for Australia’s unique conditions.
Unlike other Tall Fescues, RTF® Tall Fescue is a self-repairing Tall Fescue seed. It is extremely durable, dense, and dark green in color and can withstand stressful weather conditions including frost and drought.
RTF® Tall Fescue is recognized as being more drought tolerant than most other species due to its deep rooting ability. Once the grass is mature its roots can dig as deep as 2 meters/6 feet, tapping into the water underneath the ground not normally available to other varieties and species.
RTF® lawn is best suited to shady conditions and can struggle in full sun in the summer months, especially if the lawn is planted in late spring/summer. Hence it is important to keep the lawn watered over the summer months in extremely hot conditions.
We recommend that you plant RTF in Autumn, which allows the roots to develop over winter, resulting in a stronger lawn for the summer.
Each bag contains only RTF Tall Fescue seed. At sowing an application of a quality starter fertilizer is vital for strong plant and root development.
If water restrictions and local drought conditions cause you to panic about maintaining green grass during the summer months, then RTF® is for you!
Seeding rates:
- New Lawns: 30 grams per square meter (3kg/100m2).
- Overseeding: 20 grams per square meter (2kg/100m2).
Please note: There are currently quarantine restrictions for seeds being sent to TAS and WA.
Tasmanian customers: RTF is unable to be sent to TAS due to Quarantine restrictions. An alternative is Turf Type Tall Fescue. When placing an online order, please document ‘ATT: TAS Biosecurity’ in the ‘Company’ section above the address line to enable faster processing of your seed through quarantine.
WA customers: RTF is unable to be sent to WA. Please contact McKays Seeds through the Contact Us link or via phone to discuss your options. Quarantine fees apply for seed inspection.
For more information see below tabs ‘Description’ and ‘Features’ to see if this grass suits you!
Katambora Rhodes Grass
Katambora Rhodes is a versatile diploid pasture grass that will grow in a range of soil types. It is an earlier flowering variety that is well suited to hay production. It is a popular pasture for horses and excels as a horse feed as it provides all the nutrients your stable should need, particularly in its calcium/oxalate levels (high calcium, low oxalate, allowing the horse to digest as much calcium as possible), giving your animals the best shot at being the healthiest they can be. The grass is usually used in grazing situations, but can be cut as hay or used as a deferred feed (but is unsuitable for silage).
Katambora Rhodes has superior frost tolerance, salt tolerance and drought tolerance than the Callide Rhodes. It has fine leaves and stems and has the ability to grow in lower fertility soils. It can remain leafy and productive into Autumn.
Katambora Rhodes can be sown in cooler areas of Australia, providing the locations align with the temperature and rainfall recommendations. The optimum growing temperature for Rhodes Grasses is in the range of 20-37ºC.
Katambora Rhodes will cope with a wider variation in soil moisture conditions than other varieties and will cope with periodic waterlogging.
Sowing Rate: 10kg/ha.
Please note: This product may be coated to support and enhance germination. Batches may vary.
Parks Blend (Kentucky/Fescue Blend)
McKays Parks Blend is a combination of the highest quality Turf Type Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass that is perfect for the cooler climates in Australia.
Designed to thrive in frosts and cold winters in areas such as (but not limited to) Tasmania and Canberra, the Parks Blend provides a soft, dark green lawn that looks amazing all year round. This grass requires watering in warmer weather to retain it’s lush, green appearance.
This grass is perfect for residential lawns, parks and recreational areas in temperate areas of Australia.
For further detail regarding each of the seeds in this blend go to Kentucky Bluegrass and Turf Type Tall Fescue.
Seeding rates:
- New Lawns: 30 grams per square meter (3kg/100m2).
- Overseeding: 20 grams per square meter (2kg/100m2).
For more information see below for Description and Features to see if this grass suits you!
RPR Perennial Ryegrass Seed
This unique, fast germinating, cool climate Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass (RPR™) outperforms all other Ryegrass. The deep green color and a professional-like turf quality offer remarkable results.
It not only offers unparalleled quality under hard use and traffic, but it thrives in tough conditions. RPR™ regenerates through its creeping growth habit and was designed to develop its own pseudo-stolons (creeping stems) which gives it a regenerative quality that will amaze you.
While it can certainly be used as a standalone variety, the benefits of Perennial Ryegrass really come to the fore when used as a companion grass to other varieties. By combining more than one grass seed in a mix when planting, your lawn can adapt to harsher and more varied conditions. Whether it be surviving heavy shade or direct sun, dry spells or heavy rain, combining two or more seeds with different strengths will counteract out the weaknesses of the varieties.
Active families, larger family pets, and backyard play areas all take their toll on traditional lawns. RPR provides the traffic tolerance, resiliency, and density needed for these demanding situations. If you are looking for a hardy, drought and frost tolerant Perennial Ryegrass that has a turf quality and can still grow under heavy use, then Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass (RPR™ ) is what you are looking for.
Seeding rates:
- New Lawns: 30 grams per square meter (3kg/100m2)
- Overseeding: 20 grams per square meter (2kg/100m2)
Please note: There are currently quarantine restrictions for seeds being sent to TAS and WA. RPR Ryegrass is unable to be sent to TAS and WA due to quarantine restrictions.
Tasmanian customers: An alternative option for TAS is Sports Turf Ryegrass. When placing an online order, please document ‘ATT: TAS Biosecurity’ in the ‘Company’ section above the address line to enable faster processing of your seed through quarantine.
WA customers: Please contact McKays Seeds through the Contact Us link or via phone to discuss your options. Quarantine fees apply for seed inspection.
For more information see below for Description and Features to see if this grass suits you!
Creeping Red Fescue Seed
Creeping Red Fescue is a lovely, soft, dark green cool-season lawn type with a hint of red at the base which is part of the family of Fescue grasses known as Fine Fescues. It has a refined fine leaf blade making it a perfect grass type for an easy, low-maintenance ground cover.
Creeping Red Fescue gets its name from the ability to ‘creep’ into other areas due to the rhizomes with which this grass spreads, not the color. This makes it a superb choice to companion plant with other grasses to fill in where they lack. For example, a Ryegrass companion will give the lawn far greater durability to traffic and pets, while a Kentucky Bluegrass mix will deepen and darken the color of the lawn nicely.
Creeping Red Fescue is a great choice for landscaping, as it grows quickly and covers lots of ground. Because it grows well in sandy soil, it is also great for landscaping in tough spots.
Creeping Red Fescue is a shade-tolerant, eco-friendly grass that is easy to grow from seed. Creeping Red Fescue is easy on the environment due to low water, mowing, and fertilization requirements. Even though it is one of the most shade-tolerant varieties, it will also tolerate full sun conditions although more water may be required.
A cool climate grass, Creeping Red Fescue is not suitable for the warmer regions of Australia but is suited to the more temperate climates of Victoria and Tasmania.
Sowing Rate:
- New Lawns: 30 grams per square meter (3kg/100m2).
- Overseeding: 20 grams per square meter (2kg/100m2).
For more information see below for Description and Features to see if this grass suits you!
Budget Blend
Our Budget Blend is the perfect economical lawn seed for contractor jobs, construction sites, landscaping, or other jobs where you need cheap seed.
Made from a mix of Sports Turf Perennial Ryegrass, Annual Ryegrass, Chewings Fescue, Turf Type Tall Fescue and Creeping Red Fescue, this blend is very fast germinating.
It stays green all year round in cool climates and suits areas Australia-wide, with the exception of the Far North Tropics.
We offer generous discounts on large volume orders. Please contact us for a competitive quote and quick delivery.
Please note: This blend does not contain Fertiliser.
Seeding rates:
- New Lawns: 30 grams per square meter (3kg/100m2).
- Overseeding: 20 grams per square meter (2kg/100m2).
Please note: There are currently quarantine restrictions for seeds being sent to TAS and WA.
Tasmanian customers: When placing an online order, please document ‘ATT: TAS Biosecurity’ in the ‘Company’ section above the address line to enable faster processing of your seed through quarantine.
WA customers: Quarantine fees apply for seed inspection. Please contact McKays Seeds through the Contact Us link or via phone to discuss your options.
For more information see below tabs ‘Description’ and ‘Features’ to see if this grass suits you!
Sports Turf Perennial Ryegrass Seed
McKays Sports Turf Perennial Ryegrass establishes rapidly from sowing, enabling this seed to be brought into play sooner without comprising turf grass performance. Its attractive glossy mid-green colour coupled with active year round growth makes it visually appealing.
It also provides naturally vigorous growth year round and delayed onset of browning in summer.
McKays Sports Turf Perennial Ryegrass is ideally suited to winter sports grounds, golf tees, golf fairways and lawns receiving heavy wear, especially in the winter.
Perennial Ryegrass is also ideal for over-sowing warm season grasses such as Couch, Kikuyu, Buffalo and Zoysia to provide a year round, lush green lawn.
Seeding rates:
- New Lawns: 30 grams per square meter (3kg/100m2).
- Overseeding: 20 grams per square meter (2kg/100m2).
For more information see below for Description and Features to see if this grass suits you!
Chewings Fescue Seed
McKay’s Chewings Fescue is a bunch type, very fine leaf fescue that is medium to dark green in colour. It is among the most shade and drought tolerant of the cool season grasses. Chewings Fescue resembles Tall Fescues in growth, being more upright than creeping, yet still retaining the texture of the fine fescue group.
Chewings Fescue is an ideal choice if you need low maintenance grass in shady situations where trees compete for nutrients and water. It has the ability to crowd out weeds or other undesired grasses and prefers to grow on more sandy soils of low fertility.
This grass performs well in open sun and moderate shade, is both drought and frost resistant and non-aggressive. It can tolerate surface water in winter and is resistant to many diseases. It grows well in areas of high altitude and alpine regions.
Chewings Fescue blends well into most other lawns for overseeding, which is the predominant use of this grass. The addition of Chewings Fescue can improve the performance of the grass that it is oversowing. One of the most popular blends of seed is the mixture of Perennial Rye Grass and Chewings Fescue.
Chewings Fescue is best adapted to Australia’s temperate climates and where summers are cool.
Seeding Rates:
New Lawns: 30 grams per square meter (3kg/100m2)
Overseeding: 20 grams per square meter (2kg/100m2)
Please note: There are currently quarantine restrictions for seeds being sent to TAS and WA.
Tasmanian customers: When placing an online order, please document ‘ATT: TAS Biosecurity’ in the ‘Company’ section above the address line to enable faster processing of your seed through quarantine.
WA customers: Quarantine fees apply for seed inspection. Please contact McKays Seeds through the Contact Us link or via phone to discuss your options.
For more information see below tabs ‘Description’ and ‘Features’ to see if this grass suits you!