Blue Grass

Blue Grass (Zoysia matrella) Turf Supplier in the Philippines

In the Philippines, “blue grass” is a fine, dense, dark green lawn turf, sold by the square meter for premium lawns. It is best identified as Zoysia matrella (Manila grass), a warm-season zoysia whose native range explicitly includes the Philippines.¹ It forms a tight, cushiony, weed-resistant carpet that is finer and denser than bermuda and a clear upgrade over coarse carabao grass.

We supply it at ₱180 per square meter, dropping to ₱150 per square meter above 10 sqm, and we confirm the grass by leaf and sod sample before you commit, because PH turf trade names slip.

What “Blue Grass” Is NOT

Three different plants get called some form of “blue grass.” Only one is what PH landscapers actually sell:

• Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis). The classic temperate lawn turf of the US and Europe. Cool-season. It does not hold up in Philippine lowland heat. Not what is sold here.
• Blue fescue (Festuca glauca). The silver-blue clumping ornamental “blue grass” of garden centers abroad. Cool-season, forms tidy mounds, struggles in PH humidity. Not a PH lawn.
• PH “blue grass.” A warm-season lawn turf, fine-bladed, dense, sold by the square meter. This is the one, and it has nothing to do with the two above.

So if you searched “blue grass” expecting the silver-blue ornamental, that is a different plant. In the Philippines, blue grass is a fine lawn grass.

The PH Trade-Name Tangle (Buyer Beware)

Philippine turf vernacular is loose and inconsistent. The same grass carries several names, and the same name covers different grasses depending on the seller:

Net: “blue grass,” “Korean grass,” and “Manila grass” all circle the fine-zoysia turf category, but no two sellers use them identically. The flat, fine lawn form is what separates blue grass from the puffy mounding ornamental immediately. The honest rule for buyers: confirm the grass by leaf texture and an actual sod sample, not by the name. We identify by species and show you the blade before you commit.

Botanical Identity

The fine PH lawn zoysia is, most defensibly, Zoysia matrella (Manila grass). The accepted name is Zoysia matrella (L.) Merr. per Plants of the World Online,¹ and its native range explicitly includes the Philippines. Family Poaceae; genus Zoysia, named for 18th-century Austrian botanist Karl von Zois.

“Blue grass” names a tangled complex, not one clean species, so it is worth explaining the complex rather than fighting over a single binomial:

• Flat creeping lawn form = Zoysia matrella. Fine, dense, dark green, flat. This is PH “blue grass” as a lawn. Native to the Philippines, salt-tolerant, low-light tolerant, slow-growing.
• Puffy mounding ornamental = Zoysia pacifica (the old “tenuifolia”). Forms raised hummocks, used as a no-mow ornamental (“Korean velvet grass,” “Mascarene grass”). Essentially absent from PH turf trade, sold abroad as a potted specialty for rockeries and Japanese-style gardens. Treat it as a separate, non-lawn product.²
• Coarser cousin = Zoysia japonica (Korean / Japanese lawngrass). Wider, lighter-green blades, temperate East Asia native, not PH-native.³

Why some sites say “tenuifolia.” “Korean grass” is a documented common name for the tenuifolia ornamental, and some seed sellers market “Zoysia tenuifolia Blue Grass Seeds” outright. That does not contradict the matrella reading: the authorities fold tenuifolia into Z. matrella anyway (NC State treats it as a synonym; POWO places the fine ornamental under Z. pacifica). So “blue grass = tenuifolia” and “blue grass = matrella” are two labels for one entangled group, not rival answers. The distinction that actually matters is habit, not the binomial: if it lays flat as an even lawn, it is blue grass; if it mounds into puffs, it is the ornamental.

The Philippine-Native Angle

As Zoysia matrella, blue grass is a genuine PH-native species, not an introduced one. The common name “Manila grass” comes straight from Manila: the grass was first exported as seed from Manila in 1911 by the US Bureau of Plant Industry and named for the city. USDA botanist C.V. Piper described Z. matrella (collected from the Philippines, 1911-1912) as “abundant near the seashore in the Philippine Islands,” noting that “where closely clipped it makes a beautiful lawn” and that it had gradually displaced bermudagrass. That is effectively a period description of this exact product: a fine Philippine zoysia that makes a tight clipped lawn and outcompetes bermuda on looks.

How to Confirm It by Eye

Since no article maps PH “blue grass” to a species for you, use these tells to verify a batch is the fine Manila-grass zoysia, not a look-alike:

• vs the mounding ornamental (Z. pacifica / tenuifolia): matrella grows as a flat, even lawn; pacifica forms raised puffy hummocks and needle tufts. If it mounds, it is not blue grass.
• vs bermuda (Cynodon dactylon): matrella blades are stiffer, sharper, finer; the turf is denser and more cushioned underfoot. Bermuda has softer blades, obvious surface runners, and recovers faster.
• vs carabao grass (Axonopus compressus): no contest. Carabao is broad, coarse, light green; matrella is fine and dark green.
• vs coarser Korean / Japanese lawngrass (Z. japonica): japonica blades are wider and lighter green; matrella is finer and darker.
• General matrella tells: very fine dark-green blades with a sharp point, extremely dense knit, slow spread, tough underfoot; browns off in cool or very dry spells and recovers with warmth.

Form and Texture

• Fine, narrow, pointy blades, denser and finer than bermuda, forming a tight, cushiony, carpet-like turf.
• Deep to dark green. The “blue” in “blue grass” is most likely the bluish or grey-green cast fine zoysia can show, but no source states the name’s origin outright, so treat that as a reasonable guess rather than a fact.
• Spreads by both stolons and rhizomes, knitting into a dense mat that resists weeds once closed.
• Slow-growing, which means less frequent mowing.
• Warm-season: it can brown off and go semi-dormant in cool or very dry spells and greens back with warmth and water. In PH lowlands it stays green most of the year.

Growing Conditions in the Philippines

• Sun: full sun is ideal; tolerates light shade better than bermuda. More sun, denser turf.
• Water: moderate; drought-tolerant once established. Deep, infrequent watering beats frequent shallow watering.
• Soil: adaptable; prefers well-drained soil; tolerates sandy soils.
• Salt: salt-tolerant, suiting coastal and near-shore lawns and erosion control, a real advantage over many turfs.
• Traffic: forms a tough, wear-resistant turf; handles foot traffic well, which is why it is used on golf courses and lawns.
• Establishment: by sod (squares or rolls), plugs, or sprigs, not usually by seed in PH practice. Slow to establish and to knit in compared to bermuda, so expect patience and weed control during fill-in.

Lawn Use in the Philippines

• Residential lawns where a fine, manicured look is wanted
• Subdivision common areas, clubhouse and amenity lawns
• Resort and hotel grounds
• Golf course fairways and tee areas (zoysia is a classic golf turf)
• Slopes, embankments, and erosion control
• Coastal and near-shore lawns, leveraging salt tolerance
• Premium landscape projects wanting a denser, finer turf than bermuda or carabao grass

How It Compares to Other PH Turf Grasses

• vs Bermuda (Cynodon dactylon): blue grass is finer, denser, slower-growing (less mowing), more shade- and salt-tolerant, but slower to establish and usually pricier. Bermuda is faster, cheaper, more aggressive, needs more mowing and full sun.
• vs Carabao grass (Axonopus compressus): carabao grass is the cheap, coarse, broad-leaved PH default. Blue grass is far finer and more refined, a clear upgrade in look.
• vs Frog grass (Axonopus compressus, dwarf carpet grass): a completely different plant, despite the loose trade names. Frog grass is the dwarf, shade-tolerant, no-mow carabao-grass form with broad soft blades, laid as sprigs and slow to fill in. Blue grass is the fine, sun-loving zoysia laid as clean blocks for an instantly uniform lawn. Sunny and want it clean and quick, pick blue grass; shaded and want no-mow and cheap, see the frog grass page.
• vs the no-mow ornamental (Z. pacifica / “tenuifolia”): that one mounds into puffy hummocks for ornamental and Zen-garden use; it is not a flat play lawn. Different product.

Pricing

Sold by the square meter as turf squares or rolls, plant material only:

Soil preparation, delivery, and installation (laying and rolling) are quoted per project based on site access and ground condition. Zoysia prices above bermuda and well above carabao grass because of its finer texture and slower production.

Care Highlights

• Mowing: low and infrequent thanks to slow growth. Keep it short (roughly 2.5-4 cm); a reel mower gives the cleanest cut.
• Water: deep and infrequent once established.
• Feeding: light. Balanced fertilizer in the growing (wet) season.
• Thatch: dense zoysia can build thatch over years; dethatch if it gets spongy.
• Weeds: few once the turf closes; main weed pressure is during the slow establishment window.
• Pests/disease: generally tough; watch for large patch (fungal) in wet conditions and grubs.

Sources