ABOUT KIKUYU Grass

ABOUT KIKUYU Grass

Kikuyu is a full sun tolerant lawn and known to be very aggressive growing. It establishes very easily and is therefore a common and recommended choice. It requires regular mowing in summer and is not tolerant to frost in winter and may turn brown in the colder months.

Kikuyu was imported to South Africa in the 1950s from Kenya and is used to grow sports fields, because of its fast-growing tempo. 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. It also needs more water than other grass cultivars, considering its fast-growing tempo.

Kikuyu MAINTENANCE

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 wintertime, but not that much compared to the cultivars indigenous to South Africa. 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.

KIKUYU Features

• A vigorous grass, bright green in colour

• Domineering and hard-wearing

• If cut regularly, produces an excellent lawn

• Quick cover

• Coarse leaf texture

• Grows in a variety of soil types

• Needs regular mowing

• Cannot handle heat with humidity

• Needs full sun

• Goes dormant on the Highveld in winter

• Requires a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day to thrive