Turf Types and Turf Alternatives at SmartLawn
Turf can be broken into three general categories, outlined below.
#1: Cool Season Turf
Cool season turfs such as Bluegrass, Fescue, and Perennial Ryegrass grow well in the cooler temperatures of winter and spring. They maintain their greenness year-round if provided with adequate water during hotter or dryer months. Most traditional turf is composed of cool season grasses. Cool season turfs at SmartLawn include the following blends.
#2: Warm Season Turf
Actual Water Applied (AWA) Data YTD 2023
Our UC Verde Buffalograss Plot #3 is “low water use”! This 16' x 16' plot was meets California’s Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO). Water is delivered by a sub-surface blanket irrigation system (Eco-Mat) with irrigation managed by a Rachio weather-based smart controller. As per MWELO, we chose the “prescriptive water budget approach” and calculated Maximum Applied Water Allowance (MAWA) for our landscaped area and Estimated Total Water USE (ETWU) using a 0.6 plant factor from UC ANR research. While ETWU is an estimate, we have gone one step further by actually measuring the Actual Water Applied (AWA) to this landscape. Our Hunter 100C flow meter monitors the amount of water applied to this plot and our SmartLandscape team records the number of gallons applied to each zone on a weekly basis. Based on our water applied data, we can calculate the "actual" plant factor for UC Verde and YTD 2023 it is 0.27 versus 0.6 (UC ANR research), compared to 0.25 in 2022. The UC Verde sub-surface irrigated plot is in compliance with MWELO (AWA blue line is less than MAWA red line). This warm-season turfgrass can meet MWELO when planted at 100% landscape area at SmartLandscape.
Our UC Verde Buffalograss Plot#4 is surface irrigated by Hunter MP Rotator nozzles with irrigation managed by Orbit B-Hyve weather-based smart controller met MWELO regulation for 2023. The 2023 YTD "actual" plant factor was 0.31 versus 0.6 (UC ANR research). AWA (blue line) is less than MAWA (red line), therefore surface irrigated UC Verde was met MWELO. However, in 2022, AWA was greater than MAWA and was "not" in compliance. For 2023, the Orbit B-Hyve settings was adjusted to deliver less water than 2022.
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Warm Season Turf Overview:
Warm season turfs such as Bahiagrass, Bermudagrass, Buffalograss, and Zoysiagrass need high temperatures to perform well. They are generally more water efficient compared to cool season grasses: however, many of them go dormant during the cooler winter months.
#3: Turf Alternatives
Turf alternatives cover a broad array of options including mosses, clover, other broadleaf species, and certain ornamental grasses depending on the region. The primary objective of the turf alternatives used at SmartLawn is water conservation. For example, the turf alternative Kurapia can use up to 60% less water compared to traditional cool season turf blends.
For more information, visit our Kurapia page.
Actual Applied Water (AWA) YTD 2023
Water is delivered to our Kurapia Plot #1 by a sub-surface blanket irrigation system (Eco-Mat) with irrigation managed by a Hydrawise soil moisture sensor smart controller. As per MWELO, we chose the “prescriptive water budget approach” and calculated Maximum Applied Water Allowance (MAWA) for our landscaped area and Estimated Total Water USE (ETWU) using a 0.5 plant factor from WUCOLS.. While ETWU is an estimate, we have gone one step further by actually measuring the applied water to this landscape. Our Hunter 100C flow meter monitors the amount of water applied to this plot and our SmartLandscape team records the number of gallons applied to each zone on a weekly basis. AWA data (blue line) is less than MAWA (red line), therefore, Kurapia irrigated by sub-surface blanket (Eco-Mat) met MWELO for 2023. The calculated actual plant factor using AWA data, was 0.19 compared to 0.5 (WUCOLS).
Our Kurapia Plot#2 is surface irrigated by Hunter MP Rotator nozzles with irrigation managed a Hydrawise soil moisture sensor smart controller did not meet MWELO regulation for 2023. The 2023 YTD "actual" plant factor was 0.52 versus 0.5 (WUCOLS). AWA (blue line) is greater than MAWA (red line), therefore surface irrigated UC Kurapia was not MWELO compliant.
Kurapia representative photos:
