Kikuyu
Vigorous, hard-wearing and fast to knit together in full sun. It recovers well from traffic, which makes it the default for family lawns and sports-style use.
The trade-off is appetite: it wants sun, water and regular mowing, and it will invade beds if edges are not maintained.
LM (Berea)
The shade specialist. LM handles filtered light and dry conditions that would thin Kikuyu out, and needs less mowing.
It is softer underfoot but far less tolerant of heavy traffic, so keep it out of goal-mouth areas and dog runs.
Buffalo
A middle ground: reasonable shade tolerance, broader leaf, slower growth and lower mowing frequency than Kikuyu, with better wear tolerance than LM.
It is a sensible choice for mixed-light gardens where neither extreme fits.
Quick selection rule
Match the variety to the light first, traffic second, and appearance last.
- Full sun, heavy use: Kikuyu
- Shade, light use: LM
- Mixed light, moderate use: Buffalo