8817 Centipede grass

No idea about centipede grass; however, in Queensland (Australia) we grow couch grass (cynodon dactylon) which is extremely drought-tolerant and heat-resistant. It would need a bit of watering in summer, though. It also maintains an even turf during winter, even in dry weather. It is also very resistant to heavy traffic, wear and close mowing. I have seen in French nurseries some seeds which come directly from Australia. Have a look in any nursery in your area, they may have them in stock. Good luck!

Hi Dixi
I was just wondering whether your couch grass is the same as in the UK and here in Italy. It sends out roots that seem to grow 300mm a week :smile:
its the scourge of all English gardeners and a real problem to get rid of, every piece of root survives, I was even contemplating leaving some in a wild part of the garden and cutting like a lawn.

Red Tulip
If this stuff is the same, I'll send you some :winki:

Stribs

[quote=Stribs;82944]Hi Dixi
I was just wondering whether your couch grass is the same as in the UK and here in Italy. It sends out roots that seem to grow 300mm a week :smile:
its the scourge of all English gardeners and a real problem to get rid of, every piece of root survives, I was even contemplating leaving some in a wild part of the garden and cutting like a lawn

Stribs[/quote]

I think that originally it is the same type of weed; however, it has been adapted to and grows under very tough conditions, which I think is what you will have in the case of the Southern, dryer part of Italy. You can not grow an English lawn in an arid or semi-arid region of the world. Well... possibly you could, if you insist, but it will need lots and lots of water and TLC.

[quote=red tulip;82887]..........I have a small area measuring about 6 by 10 metres and want to be able to lie on it in the sun so am looking for something suitable to grow which withstands traffic-any ideas?[/quote]

If you want to traffic over the area then there are several plastic [and concrete] grid systems that you can use. They basically consist of interlocking grids that you cover the area with. The grids consist of solid 'sides' and open ended 'holes'. You fill the holes almost to the top with soil and then grass seed them. The grid allows vehicles to cross the area [on the sides of the grid system] without crushing the grass and killing it.

This is the easy bit - finding the right grass is the hard one.

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Or you could concrete the area over and use a roll of green plastic grass.
[Don't laugh - I've seen it done and it isn't as daft as it sounds]

.

From the bringer of doom - beware of lying directly on the grass as harvest mites can make a meal of you. I speak as one with experience!

About finding the right grass, I am currently away from home and I do not have my garden encyclopaedia with me which makes recommendations on that subject; however, I will be returning at the end of the week and I will post a list of suggested types of grass for warmer, semi-arid positions. I think that this is what you are after, Red Tulip? Correct me if I am wrong.

Yes,some informed recommendations would be great.I do enjoy all the other exotic plants which grow in the hot south but if possible i want to lie down and maybe have a paddling pool on a patch of grass.Like many second home owners ,my visits are infrequent so i would like something that does not need TLC-the holy grail of grass.

[quote=Gala Placidia;82894]No idea about centipede grass; however, in Queensland (Australia) we grow couch grass (cynodon dactylon) which is extremely drought-tolerant and heat-resistant. It would need a bit of watering in summer, though. It also maintains an even turf during winter, even in dry weather. It is also very resistant to heavy traffic, wear and close mowing. I have seen in French nurseries some seeds which come directly from Australia. Have a look in any nursery in your area, they may have them in stock. Good luck![/quote]
Frightening :-) I have spent the past three years trying to erradicate couch grass from my younger vineyards (where the roots compete in a strangulation way with the vines as they try to establish themselves.

If anyone wants some - I can offer a free pick your own service (each bit of root will happily grow back to a serpentine monster).

Red Tulip, you might want to consider Trifoglio nano or nanissimo (type of clover grass).There are different varieties but it hardly ever needs cutting, needs very little water, stays green and withstands hot and cold temperatures - so I understand. I need to sort out the garden on my next trip and would like a large area of grass. I'm no expert but from what i've read up on recently, this looks like the grass for me as my house is for holidays and I don't want to spend time cutting it.

Back home and armed with my encyclopaedia, I give you the list of recommened grasses for hot and warm climate zones:

COUCH GRASS (Cynodon dactylon)... as already mentioned.

CARPET GRASS (Axonopus affinis) for coastal areas, it grows very quickly and forms a dense but coarse-textured grass. Very resistant to traffic and wear and any bare areas recover quickly.

ZOYSIA GRASSES (Zoysia) grown as lawns in China, Japan, Taywan and the Philippines (they are natives of those areas). A bit of a problem to establish it but it makes an attractive lawn requiring minimum maintenance. Extremely resistant to traffic and wear. Slow growing but resistant to weeds, pests and fungus. It is also used as a ground cover in rockeries, around trees and between paving in patios.

BROAD-LEAVED CARPET GRASS (Axonopus comprssus). Grows better in coastal areas.

KIKUYU GRASS (Penisselum clandestinum). Actually, it is a weed but if you control it it can be made to form an attractive, even trouble-free lawn. Very resistant. You can get seed for this one of the varieties known as "Whittet" and "Breakwell".

QUEENSLAND BLUE COUCH (Digitaria didactyla)... This one is not resistant to traffic.

BUFFALO GRASS (Stenataphrum secondatum) It whitstands salt spray near the coast and is very ressistant.

SOUTH AFRICAN COUCH (Cynodon transvaalensis) Very resistant. It becomes brown and dormant in winter.

There are also some low-maintenance ground covers which could be useful. Let me know if you wish to have a list.

I remembered Lyn (of Alex and Lyn) mentioning sowing a sort of grass and actually went to have a look at the lawn she had sewn. This is the post she made at the time

Dichondra Repens..aha..that's got you !!

Our lovely lady in our Garden Centre advised us to put the above down instead of grass seed...she says it suits the Puglia climate better and doesn't need watering or much cutting

Sadly, Lyn is now longer with us but you could look up the name of the grass she was recommended.

Well - never having heard of the stuff, I googled it.

[url=http://www.centipedegrass.com/]Centipede Grass - Lawn, turfgrass seed and care of Centipedegrass - Seedland.com[/url]

Now, this sounds very like the stuff which just sort of 'arrived' on a bit of cleared earth in one of my Italian gardens. It was great in the summer, but, as the website mentions, it just gets brown and horrible in the winter. For a holiday home this is probably not an issue, so it could be a good solution.

certainly looks to create a nice looking lawn

[url=http://www.seedland.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Seedland&Category_Code=CEN]Seedland.com: Centipedegrass[/url]

[B][I]Dichondra repens [/I][/B]is really a weed used as ground cover. It's English name is Kidney Weed or Mercury Bay Weed. It is used a lot in the North Island of New Zealand as it tolerates dry summers.
It is really a creeping perennial with a single kidney-shaped leaf on a short stalk and it produces a tiny white flower.
Kidney weed tolerates heavy traffic and it recovers very quickly.

[quote=scatterbrain;83309]I remembered Lyn (of Alex and Lyn) mentioning sowing a sort of grass and actually went to have a look at the lawn she had sewn. This is the post she made at the time

Dichondra Repens..aha..that's got you !!

Our lovely lady in our Garden Centre advised us to put the above down instead of grass seed...she says it suits the Puglia climate better and doesn't need watering or much cutting

Sadly, Lyn is now longer with us but you could look up the name of the grass she was recommended.[/quote]

Thankyou to everyone for the helpful replies.I thought about dichondra but it is a bit slow to establish.It seems that centipede grass is good at stopping weeds growing once established and only grows 3-5 inches high if it is not over fertilised with nitrogen which is a big plus if you do not visit your house often.The only problem i forsee is getting it established if i am not around much to give it TLC at the start.I am planning to sow some in April so i will let you know if it works in due course.

In one of our Italian gardening magazines Dichondra Repens was recommended as an easy maintenance 'grass' suitable for central and south Italy. Apparently it does not tolerate ice or heavy frosts and only needs water when very hot as it can tolerate short periods of drought. It grows quickly but does not need cutting. However, they do say that as the leaves are easily damaged it is not suitable for an area that will be walked on alot so unfortunately may not be ideal for your area.

[quote=anne2;83334] It grows quickly but does not need cutting.[/quote]

So how does that work then??

No idea! Just quoting the 'experts'!

Apparently, the stalk is short. I think that the "growth" is related to the way it spreads. I have seen it growing in gardens around Australia and it is quite low. My encyclopaedia says that during the summer, with adequate moisture it needs to be mowed only three to five times to keep the surface neat and level.

Biagio what you are suggesting is an excellent idea but it isn't grass...it's tiny clover! Looks good but needs watering to begin with.

if you are pulling up couch grass roots put them in a large bucket of water for a few weeks as they are said to make a very benificial liquid feed for any type of plants.

Hopefully the soaking may killl off the roots too?

Yes would like more info from anyone who has actually grown these grass substitutes as lots of people know about them but haven't actually used them.

Hi
Yes I have seen this used to great success and it stays quite green too. It isn't actually grass as such but is tiny clover plants with small round leaves - very sweet and nice to sit on.

If I can dig out (sorry) any Italian names to ask for in the garden centre will post them asap
Good luck
Michael

Red Tulip did you proceed with your plan to sow seed? If so can you share the results?

What about low growing thyme. It is a plant that loves heat and I have used it in a very sunny area of my garden to create a garden seat and it has worked perfectly. Also one gets this wonderful aroma from it. It also needs very little cutting. I think you can also get creeping Chamomile but I don't know whether that would work in such hot conditions.