RE: Kikuyu grass

I think the critical factor is the gardener.  My overrun mess in Pacific
Grove had been amply watered with winter rain and summer fog drip, but
hadn't been mowed or in anyway confined. And yes, where it could reach
it tried to head under the shingles.  But the So. Cal planting is
confined and dry all summer - all the advantages, only becomes a
nuisance when neglected.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
[o*@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of david feix
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 9:04 AM
To: stevefrenchla@comcast.net; Doobieous
Cc: medit-plants
Subject: Re: Kikuyu grass

I suspected that I would be out of step with most people's opinion of
Kikuyu grass, as I haven't been able to persuade garden
clients,(including my own brother), who already have it in the garden to
keep it.  On the other hand, the complaints about how difficult it is to
mow or eliminate are exagerated in my opinion.  It was removed and has
not come back in several gardens I designed and periodically maintain,
and if contained with a good mowband, is certainly less invasive than
Hybrid Bermuda grass, and is not going to seed around as does Bermuda.
Bermuda Grass, on the other hand, is in my opinion highly overated as a
drought tolerant grass, (it will look like crap with no water all
summer, as compared to Kikuyu), and my number one most hated invasive
grass to deal with in a garden bed.

If I still had a lawn, and if it were in full sun, I would still
consider using Kikuyu grass for the water saving qualities, and the fact
that it can be left unmowed for up to a month without looking ratty.
Try that with Bermuda of Tall Fescue!  We also get so little frost here
in Berkeley/Oakland, that it is green all year round, with no water or
fertilizer needed...

--- Steve French <stevefrenchla@comcast.net> wrote:

> I agree with this opinion. I was a horticulture student and gardner in

> the east bay; Oakland, Berkeley, in the 70's.
> This grass was
> everywhere - extremely aggressive, taking over. I also saw it growing 
> up under house siding and pushing off the shingles.
> I remember not
> being able to mow it with my small power mower. I had to rent a 
> larger, more powerful mower just for that grass. It reminds me of 
> waste, neglected places.
> 
> I think it's wrong to plant it anywhere - and around a Frank Lloyd 
> Wright house - that's pathetic.
> 
> Steve French
> Sebastopol
> 
> On Sep 20, 2006, at 11:46 PM, Doobieous wrote:
> 
> > I detest this grass. Probably because I spent
> every weekend pulling
> > it from the flower beds as a kid. It was the grass
> of choice when
> > they planted the lawns here in my neighborhood
> (Marina, CA, a few
> > miles north of Monterey). When I decided to get
> rid of it and
> > change the look of the garden, I was digging up
> blocks of it a foot
> > deep. It had been in ground for probably 30 years
> at that point.  
> > The stolons had so tightly packed that underneath
> the sand was
> > hardly compacted. It' still coming up here and
> there. I remember it
> > vividly trying to get into the garage, and pulling
> out nearly 6
> > foot long stolons that had snuck up in between the
> house and the
> > siding. I once threw a piece of it into a pail of
> water, and a
> > couple weeks later it was acting like a water
> plant. In the back
> > garden we still have a strong infestation. I've
> pulled it, but the
> > winter rains revive it, and it's still trying to
> take back over. If
> > the stolons are near the surface, they're easy to
> pull, but they like
> >  to go deep, and become a hassle to get rid of.
> You occasionally
> > have to use a pitchfork to loosen the soil and
> uncover deep
> > stolons. The stolons can also have a "spiny" feel
> as the I guess
> > root buds dry and harden off with a point. It was
> never a pleasant
> > grass to walk on as the leaves are rather coarse,
> and I remember
> > coming away itchy after rolling around on it. The
> one weed which
> > could co-exist with it was Medicago polymorpha -
> Burr Clover, which
> > was nasty, and made playing on the lawn
> unpleasant.
> >
> > It's also somewhat drought tolerant, as it can
> stand an entire dry
> > season and come back with the rains, which only
> makes it stronger.  
> > I have seen cold weather kill the tops off, but of
> course, anything
> > insulated by soil just comes back. Glyphosphate is
> effective with
> > it, but sometimes it takes a few applications to
> really get the
> > stolons good and dead. I personally would rather
> go with a tall
> > fescue lawn over this grass any day. I'd even
> probably go with
> > Bermuda grass before this one because at least
> Bermuda grass isn't
> > as devilish when neglected (we have some on the
> north side of our
> > property, but it's sparse and tends to stand
> upright, rather than
> > creep).
> >
> >
> >
> 
>
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