2GreenBuffalo is the lawn most often sold on a claim it cannot support. This page sets out what the species actually is, since two different plants share the name, and what the evidence says about the water-wise reputation it has here.
First, which buffalo grass?
Search buffalo grass from South Africa and the first result is usually Bouteloua dactyloides, a North American prairie grass. That is not what anyone here is selling.
South African buffalo lawn is Stenotaphrum secundatum. The same species is called St Augustine grass in the United States and buffalo turf in Australia. That matters practically, because it means the large body of American St Augustine research applies directly to the lawn in your garden, while pages about American buffalograss do not.
The water-wise claim, and why it is wrong
Buffalo is widely sold here as the drought-hardy, water-wise lawn. We said so ourselves on this site until August 2026, and we were wrong.
North Carolina State Extension, on Stenotaphrum secundatum: its drought tolerance is low, and it loses its colour under dry conditions.
Roll On Lawn, a Cape Town grower who sells the stuff, is blunter. They set out the belief that buffalo survives drought, is very water-wise and offers a solution during water restrictions, and then answer it in their own italics: this is not the case. They add that buffalo needs a constant irrigation programme through the hot months.
For comparison, the University of California IPM turf tables rate kikuyu high for drought tolerance and St Augustine only moderate. So in the two-way choice most Paarl gardens are actually making, kikuyu is the more drought-hardy grass, not buffalo.
One supplier page, two answers
Roll On Lawn's own specification table rates buffalo drought tolerance as good, while the prose on the same page says the water-wise belief is not the case. We are reporting the contradiction rather than picking the half that suits us. Where a grower's table and their prose disagree, we would trust the prose, because that is where they explain themselves.
What buffalo is genuinely good at
Shade, and more of it than kikuyu takes. That is a real advantage and it is why buffalo still has a place. In a garden that is part sun and part shade, and that does not need to carry hard use, buffalo sits sensibly between kikuyu and LM Berea: more shade tolerance than the first, more substance than the second.
It also has a coarse, broad blade that many people prefer underfoot to kikuyu's.
What it will not carry
Traffic. North Carolina State Extension rates its wear tolerance low and advises against high-traffic sites such as sports fields. Florida and Alabama extension services independently rate it poor.
The mechanism is the same one that limits LM Berea: buffalo grows by above-ground runners with no underground rhizome to repair from, so a worn patch stays worn. If the lawn has to take dogs or a daily route, this is not the grass.
The Cape winter problem
Roll On Lawn describes buffalo as a coarse, hardy but frost-sensitive perennial, and says plainly that buffalo lawns have a high failure rate in the winter months. Easycare Grass in Cape Town makes the same point, noting buffalo and LM Berea are both tricky at the peak of winter because frost affects them more than kikuyu or cynodon.
Paarl gets light frost, and the low-lying flats get it before the slopes do. That is worth weighing before laying buffalo, and it is why we are careful about putting it down late in the season.
When to lay it here
Spring, September to November, or early autumn, March to May. Ferndale Nurseries gives both windows, and the reasoning is to avoid establishing a frost-sensitive grass into the cold. Of the two, autumn suits Paarl better on water, because the winter rain does the establishing, but it leaves less warm season in hand, so it wants to be early autumn rather than late.
If you are weighing buffalo against the alternatives, our lawn grass comparison puts all of them side by side, and our instant lawn service lays kikuyu, LM Berea and buffalo across Paarl and the Winelands.
Frequently asked questions
What is South African buffalo grass?๏ผ
Stenotaphrum secundatum, the same species called St Augustine grass in the United States and buffalo turf in Australia. It is not Bouteloua dactyloides, the North American prairie grass also called buffalo grass, which is what usually comes up first in a search. American St Augustine research therefore applies to the lawn in your garden; American buffalograss research does not.
Is buffalo grass drought-tolerant?๏ผ
No, despite how it is sold here. North Carolina State Extension rates its drought tolerance low and says it loses colour under dry conditions, and Roll On Lawn in Cape Town states directly that the water-wise reputation is not the case and that buffalo needs constant irrigation through the hot months. University of California IPM rates kikuyu higher for drought tolerance than St Augustine.
Which is better, kikuyu or buffalo grass?๏ผ
It depends on sun and use. Buffalo takes more shade than kikuyu, so it wins in a part-shaded garden that does not get hard use. Kikuyu wins on wear, on repair and, contrary to how the two are usually sold, on drought. Kikuyu also survives a Cape winter better, since buffalo is frost sensitive and has a high winter failure rate here.
Does buffalo grass handle foot traffic?๏ผ
Poorly. North Carolina State Extension rates its wear tolerance low and advises against high-traffic sites, and Florida and Alabama extension services rate it poor. It grows by above-ground runners with no underground rhizome, so a worn patch does not repair itself the way a kikuyu one does.
Will buffalo grass survive frost in Paarl?๏ผ
It is frost sensitive, and a Cape Town grower reports a high failure rate for buffalo lawns in the winter months. Paarl gets light frost, and the low-lying flats get it before the slopes. It is not automatically fatal, but it is a real risk to weigh, and it argues against laying buffalo late in the season.