malvernmugadzikwa
Andrew Mangwarara
FOR any greening efforts to come to life, one needs to select a good lawn or turf to beautify the landscape.
In Zimbabwe, we have various lawns that suit our climate.
To establish a lawn, one must first prepare the soil.
Dig to a minimum depth of 20cm, removing any large stones and creating a fine tilth to hold the roots of the lawn.
The next step is to add manure, which should be sterilised beforehand to eliminate weeds, soil diseases and pests.
In Zimbabwe, we have different types of lawn, such as Durban grass (dactyloctenium australe) from South Africa, Kikuyu (pennisetum clandestinum), Bahia grass (paspalum notatum) and Buffalo grass (bouteloua dactyloides). We also have many varieties of couch grass (cynodon dactylon), which are mostly used in golf courses.
These include the Cape royal, maadi river, magennis, sauermanns, Australian evergreen, tifdwarf and tiflawn.
Durban grass is a great lawn to consider for your greening projects because it is quite versatile, soft, durable in the sun and the best shade grass available.
It responds well to feeding and watering, producing a vibrant green, attractive lawn surface. It is quite easy to cut and grows much slower than other grass species.
Kikuyu is another good lawn but is very robust, requiring regular mowing to produce a good surface.
Any slight neglect, especially during the rainy season, could spell disaster as it grows very fast. It is a full-sun grass lawn.
Bahia is another turf grass, though not very common in local gardens due to its slower rate of growth. It is, however, valued as an erosion-controlling soil stabiliser, as well as for its productivity, ease of establishment and persistence.
It makes a relatively low-maintenance turf with its tolerance for minimal maintenance, drought tolerance and less disease and insect damage than some of the other warm-season grasses.
Buffalo grass is a warm season lawn native to North America.
Its low maintenance and drought tolerance make it a good alternative to other types of turf grass. It is a handsome grass worth having in a garden as it has its own unique texture.
It grows much slower, making it ideal for low-maintenance settings.
It can tolerate some shade.
Finally, we have couch grasses, which are very drought resistant and need frequent mowing as they grow very fast.
They are mainly full-sun grasses that will struggle in shade but make very beautiful, smooth surfaces due to their small stolons.
Choose your grass wisely and make your space the envy of the neighbourhood.
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