"YMC" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Need some advice on how to remove kikuyu from the lawn. My backyard has a
large lawn section where the kikuyu grass has taken over.

Its located on a terraced bed above the paved courtyard. Quite a tricky
location to get to actually as there are no steps leading to it - only big
rocks. A real bugger to carry the lawn mower there.

I thought of removing the kikuyu grass all together and mulching the whole
area - and placing drought resistant plants there.

But one worry is that during Summer - when the area gets hot and dry - the
wind will blow the debris down into the courtyard - where we hang our
clothes to dry after washing.

Whats the best way to remove them - considering its winter in Melbourne
Australia now?

I thought of spraying the area of roundup - then laying down newspaper -
followed by mulch - and later adding the plants.

Any ideas please?

Thanks.


First as the mulch would become incorporated in the soil it should not blow
around too much. Also the news paper idea never went over very well, I
brought that idea up many years ago with Dr. Shigo and did not find favor
for the treatment. If you cut the grass low with a mower or string trimmer
(watching not to injure trunk flare of trees with trimmer) and place 3-4" of
mulch (composted tree trimmings, not fresh chips) on top, it should give the
results desired. Also if you do have trees in this area you would want to
keep the mulch away from the trunk flare at least 6". I was wondering if
you had any pictures of the area? Are there any root zones of trees in this
area you are treating? The Kikuyu apparently grows on runners.

Turf grass topic. Often in USA people make the mistake of using non-native
turf grass in once fertile forest. It does address erosion control but is
not in the interest of the trees of the forest. Kind of like putting a
tourniquet around the neck for a nose bleed. Or digging fire trenches in
Euc. groves for fire control..

Oh, yeah, is Kikuyu native to your area?


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.