Re: kikuyu, aka? (or St. Augustine Grass?)

I wanted to thank you all for answering my unasked
question about how to distinguish between Kikykyu
Grass and St. Augustine Grass, now I know that most of
the lawns I have been seeing here in the San Francisco
Bay Area are actually Kikykyu.  I know this may sound
heretical, but this is a useful and very low water
using lawn grass here, and where it already exists, it
makes since to conserve it, as it can get by in cooler
yet mild areas like Berkeley and Oakland with
virtually no summer irrigation and remain presentable.
 I don't find it nearly as invasive as Bermuda Grass
as far as seeding itself around, or invading
nnaighboring planting areas.  It is rather easily
contained by a good 6" by 8" deep concret mowband, and
is also easily pulled up, as compared to the much
deeper runners of Bermuda Grass.  The other major
virtue as I see it, is that it can be mown only
monthly and look presentable as well.  It is one of
the only true drought tolerant subtropical grasses in
California, and looks much better than Bermuda Grass
or the Tall Fescue Hybrid lawns with truly minimal
summer irrigation.

For narrow street medians which are difficult to
efficiently mow, irrigate and maintain, I think this
grass has its uses, and is a lot less energy intensive
than the alternatives.  For those people who will be
outraged by the whole idea, not to worry, as it is not
commercially  available as sod, so is not a real
alternative to St Augustine or hybrid Bermuda Grass.






--- "Sean A. O'Hara" <sean.ohara@groupmail.com> wrote:
> At 09:44 AM 2/21/01 -0800, Jan Smithen wrote:
> >P. clandestinum ? !  So ominous! Whoever named that
> monster was right on. It
> >rapaciously spreads while you sleep!
>
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >Jan Smithen,
> >Upland, California
> 
> Here in California, St. Augustine Grass is a common
> turf grass and often 
> goes under the name of Kikuyu.  It is Stenotaphrum
> secundatum (perhaps not 
> so scary a latin name).  One of the big differences
> between this and tru 
> Kikuyu is that it is stoloniferous rather than
> rhizominous.  St. Augustine 
> stolons are well known locally, where they climb up
> walls, in between 
> fenceboards or into hollow posts, only to sprout out
> somewhere high 
> up!  You can grasp the stolons and pull them up from
> the ground, giving you 
> long ropes of the stuff.  It make a tolerable turf,
> though very coarse.  It 
> seems to like water, though it will endure some
> drought.  Its virgorous 
> growth will smother everything around it, so it is
> not a good choice for 
> small home gardens with border beds or areas where
> less vigorous species 
> are planted.  I have not seen it escape into
> wildlands, but would be 
> interested to hear if it has.
> 
> Roberto Burle-Marx, the famous Brazilian
> artist/landscape designer, once 
> planted a huge lawn of the regular green form of
> this plant along with the 
> white variegated form (sometime grown as a
> houseplant).  The planting areas 
> were defined by some sort of benderboard border and
> each kept in its 
> respective place.  The overall design was an
> abstract modern design, 
> undulating, and puzzle-like, the two tones of the
> grass creating the 
> effect.  Quite stunning!
> 
> True Kikuyu (Pennisestum clandestinum) has pointed
> leaf blades which are 
> more open or flat that St Augustine Grass.  They
> also have slightly hairy 
> stems and leaf sheaths.  St Augustine Grass' leaf
> blades are rounded at 
> their tips, and not finely hairy on the blade,
> sheath, or stem, but they do 
> have a fringe of stout hairs on the sheath top, just
> below the leaf 
> blade.  The sheath also tends to be compressed.
> 
> Regards,
> Sean O.
> 
> 
> h o r t u l u s   a p t u s     -    'a garden
> suited to its purpose'
> Sean A. O'Hara        fax (707) 667-1173    
> sean.ohara@groupmail.com
> 710 Jean Street, Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
> 


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