What is a grass replacement for Zone 9?

Question

My lawn is most dying because of the drought conditions in this part of the country. It does not seem rational to water the lawn when year after year there are months of drought conditions. What ground cover could I replace it with?

Answer 1

You can try Achillea millefolium (yarrow). I makes a great lawn sub and is drought tolerant. Just mow to prevent flowering and you will have a soft feathery, drought tolerant lawn.

You can order seeds, here is a link (any millefolium type will do) or you can plant liners or 4" pots, but seeds are more economical: http://www.gardenguides.com/seedcatalog/flowers/yarrowwhite-bulk.asp

"Planting
In the months prior to planting, the existing grass lawn was sprayed with repeated applications of Roundup and then physically removed. The soil was tilled and rolled to form a loose flat surface. The yarrow seed, mixed with a coarse sand, was applied next using a hand spreader. We used 1/8lb of both Achillea millefolium (white) and Achillea millefolium 'Rosey Red'. In using all of the seed in our 650 square foot area we slightly exceeded the recommended rate of application of 4 ounces per 1000 square feet. The surface was then top dressed with Kelloggs Topper applied with a wire roller and lightly irrigated. Then the newly planted area was kept damp until the yarrow began to germinate in the second week after planting. Once the surface was covered with the emerging seedlings, the intervals between watering and the duration on watering were steadily increased.

Irrigation and fertilizer
Once the yarrow was established we watered it only when it began to show signs of water stress which was about every two to three weeks. This long interval between watering is partially due to our loamy soil and the shade from the afternoon sun that the trees overhead provide. The planting was fertilized twice a year during the growing season with Grow-Power (5-3-1) at a rate of about 25lbs per 1000 square ft. During the winter months the surface remained green but little growth occured and there was no need for irrigation, feeding or mowing.

Mowing
The first mowing was done 8 weeks after planting and every 6 weeks thereafter from April through November. If the surface was not going to be walked on and more flowering was desired, the mowing intervals could be greatly extended. Even though the mower blade was set high (4"), the surface had a mowed, but not unattractive look that lasted for 1-2 weeks."

Hope this helps you. Good luck! (And I'm in zone 9 too)

Answer 2

My daughter was petrified of the the first time. If I stood her on the grass she would purposley fall over onto her hands and scream and then roll onto her back but still be screaming. It was weird. Really nice fresh soft grass too. Her next encounter was a picnic. She sat at the edge of the blanket and would look at the grass and when it was coming time to go home she bravely started plucking bits of grass from beside her. The next time we went to the park a few days after she was all over the grass and couldnt care less! Just takes some getting used to I suppose. Dont worry, your little one soon wont care either. My daughter still likes to pick bits of grass now and throw it around!

Answer 3

Asian Jasmine, Trachelospermum asiaticum, is an excellent groundcover for your zone. It does a good job filling in quickly, takes occasional mowing to keep it neat if you wish, and is drought-tolerant once established. It will grow in shade or sun. It stays deep dark green all year, and there is also a variegated version available.

Answer 4

You should try zoysia grass. It originally came from Africa, requires very little water once you get it established, and never or hardly ever need mowing. It also will choke out weeds and spreads pretty fast.

http://www1.zoysiafarms.com/