Kikuyu
The watering of Kikuyu can be neglected from time to time or even if it’s left to turn brown or dry out, once you start watering it, it will revive itself in about a month and become green again.
The growing tempo of Kikuyu slows down slightly during winter time, but not that much compared to the cultivars indigenous to South Africa. The lawn texture differs from how it is maintained. The more you mow your Kikuyu lawn, the thinner your grass blades become and the finer your texture will be.
Kikuyu is normally a very soft and comfortable lawn to walk, lie or play on and is bright green in colour.
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A vigorous grass, light green in colour |
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Domineering and hard-wearing |
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If cut regularly, produces an excellent lawn |
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Quick cover |
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Coarse leaf texture |
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Grows in a varienty of soil types |
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Needs regular mowing |
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Cannot handle heat with humidity |
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Needs full sun |
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Goes dormant on the Highveld in winter |
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Requires a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day to thrive |
Kikuyu was imported to South Africa in the 1950s from Kenya and is used to grow sports fields, because of its fast-growing tempo. The recovery time of grass after heavy traffic and damage was kept to a minimum. Kikuyu grass became very popular across South Africa, professionally and domestically.
Until today, Kikuyu (named after a tribe in Kenya) is still the most popular and affordable lawn, because of this reviving quality. The downside of Kikuyu is, because it comes from a semi-tropical and warm climate, it cannot handle shade or semi-shade areas. Over a short time it will fade away in such conditions. It also needs more water than other grass cultivars which is understandable, considering its fast-growing tempo. Compare this to a person with a higher metabolism that needs more food, because he burns it much faster. Kikuyu also needs to be mowed regularly – at least once every two weeks or if you want your lawn to always look good, once a week.