Would you like to have a lawn that looks great even if it gets a lot of footfalls throughout the day? If you answered yes, do not hesitate: the herb known as pennisetum clandestinum is the ideal one for you.
And it is that, not only is it very resistant, but also withstands drought quite well. In fact, it is popular in places like Australia or South Africa, so you don't have to worry about a thing. Do you want to know her better? Let's go there!
Origin and characteristics
Our protagonist is a perennial rhizomatous herb native to East Africa whose scientific name is pennisetum clandestinum. It receives the common names kikuyo, quicuyo, thick grass or African grass. It grows as tufts of laminar leaves which measure between 11 and 15cm in length.
Its growth rate is very fast. It is also very adaptable, so much so that it could behave as invasive. For this reason, if you want to have a lawn, you can only sow its seeds; mixtures with other species are strongly discouraged.
What are their cares?
If you dare to have grass with the pennisetum clandestinum, we recommend that you provide the following care:
- Location: full sun. It can also give you a bit of shade at some point of the day without problem.
- Irrigation: start the drip irrigation system 2-3 times a week in summer and every 5-6 days the rest of the year (in case of prolonged drought and / or extreme heat, use it more often).
- Subscriber: it is not necessary, but if you want it can be fertilized with organic powdered fertilizers such as chicken manure (if you can get it fresh, let it dry for at least a week in the sun).
- Cutting: every 10-15 days in summer, and once a month the rest of the year.
- Siembra: late winter / early spring.
- Rusticity: it is ideal to have in gardens that enjoy a warm-temperate climate, with weak and occasional frosts of up to -4ºC.
What do you think? 🙂