Choosing the best grass for the lawn

Feb 03, 2014

It is the perfect ground cover that many want to see embracing their house exterior. If well attended to, a lawn increases the value of the home. However, do you know the type of grass most suited for your compound and its pros and cons?

By Harriet Birungi

 
It is the perfect ground cover that many want to see embracing their house exterior.  If well attended to, a lawn increases the value of the home. However, do you know the type of grass most suited for your compound and its pros and cons? 
 
Zaifa Rutonyi, a horticulturalist and operations manager of the Grand Flora, a landscaping company in Sseguku, Wakiso district, takes us through some types of grass for lawns and how to take care of  them. 
 
Seasore/cape royal
This type is popularly known as Zimbabwe, but, its origin is South Africa. By far, it is the best to have for a lawn. It gives a carpet-like feel and look, when well-tended to. 
 
However, it requires a lot of water. During the dry season, it should be watered twice a day. 
 
Also, pests have found it palatable. Hens love it, too. If you can afford, it can be laid like a carpet in one day. However, if you cannot, plant one rhizome at a go, giving a spacing of one inch. It may take the grass up to two months to cover.
 
For a lush green look, this grass needs manure. For organic manure, use cow dung and chicken droppings. Avoid using human or animal manure; they come with a lot of diseases, which that affect the lawn. 
 
You can use fertilisers like NPK, a seed-like kind of fertiliser for a month or once in three months, depending on the appearance of the lawn. If yellowing, you can apply to the lawn immediately.
 
You can use boost, a liquid nitrogen fertiliser, which you can mix and spray on the lawn. The more you slash, the finer the leaves become. During the rainy season, you can slash the compound every week to achieve a good look.  
 
Termites are the commonest pests that attack this type of lawn. But termicides can be used to eradicate them.
 
Weeding is a must. The lawn is usually attacked by axalis (kanyebwa) and couch grass.
Seedlings/rhizomes can be got at between sh15,000 and sh30,000.
 
Paspalum
It is the most common and low-maintenance grass for a lawn. It wears out with time.
During planting, it needs one inch spacing. Once established, it grows faster than Zimbabwe and may require slashing three times a month for a finer lawn. 
 
It is more resistant to weeds, dry spells and pests, thus no need to spray, except to remove termites. 
Paspalum needs regular watering after planting. During the dry spell, it can be watered twice a week. To make a green lawn, manure must be added. 
 
A sack of paspalum rhizomes costs between sh12,000 and sh15,000.
 
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The Kifuta grass at Sheraton Kampala Hotel. Picture by Harriet Birungi
 
Kikuyu
It is wild and requires regular slashing for a fine look. It is a low-maintenance grass and more resistant to pests. 
Unlike other grasses, the Kikuyu grass has seeds which can be planted. The seeds cost sh40,000 per kilo and they can be bought in Container Village, near Nakivubo in Kampala.
 
Pemba
It is another of the beautiful grasses for the lawn. Like paspalum, it requires low maintenance. 
It looks better than paspalum and is more resistant to pests than Zimbabwe. 
 
Pemba grass can be seen around the swimming pool at Serena Hotel in Kampala. A sack of Pemba costs sh15,000 and can be got at Wankoko, near national water offices.
 
Kifuta
This can be seen covering the ground adjacent to the bar at the entrance of Sheraton Kampala Hotel, stretching all the way past the fountain. This grass does well under the shade. 
It requires a lot of watering when it has just been planted and handles heavy traffic well, unlike other lawns. 
 
Peaches
Whereas there is a temptation to have it for a lawn, this grass is better used as a flower bed. It cannot be a lawn because it cannot handle traffic. When stepped on, it dies. It is a ground cover and better planted to add beauty to the exterior. Kanyebwa can be seen gracing the drop-off point at Sheraton Kampala Hotel.
 
Carpet grass
It looks like Zimbabwe, but it is more resistant to pests and interference and grows slowly. A sack costs sh40,000. However, it is rare to get this kind of grass.
 

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