On Jul 26, 6:29*am, "symplastless" wrote:
"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 Biologisthttp://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.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Quoted from
http://www.au.gardenweb.com/forums/l...80011033..html
Hi Everyone...
I have a relatively new couch lawn (about 9 months old), the trouble I
have is that Kikuyu grass is slowly invading the lawn and taking
over.
I spoke to the man at the local nursery who told me that since Kikuyu
is a type of lawn then most of the lawn weed killers will not kill the
Kikuyu (because it's a grass not a lawn).
I've tried to remove it by hand, but it's quite a large lawn and it's
always beats me (ie it grows faster than I can pull it out).
The other option I have read about is to mow it very low and it will
die. Trouble is that this will definitely kill my couch lawn too,
which is more delicate than the Kikuyu. And I know from experience it
burns badly if cut too low.
Does anyone have any ideas? Ideally I'm after a spray I can use that
will kill broadleaf grass like Kikuyu but not kill the couch. I have
seen a product advertised in the US called "Turflon Ester" but I'm
unsure if it is ok to use on Couch and also unsure about where/if I
can get it in Aus.
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Note: The above link has a lot of annoying popups!
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There are some weed twisting tools that work well on removing
crabgrass and bermudagrass, which grow by runners much like Kikuyu.
Unfortunately, these tools may not be available in Australia.
Search the web for "crabgrass removal" for more ideas.
Best of luck!