Have you heard of dichondra repens as an alternative to traditional grass? In fact, it is one of the most used and popular grasses due to all the advantages it offers. But it also has quite a few disadvantages.
When deciding whether or not to plant dichondra repens in your garden, you should know the advantages and disadvantages of dichondra repens. Can we help you with this?
What is dichondra repens
Before we introduce you to the advantages and disadvantages of planting dichondra repens, how about we tell you about this plant? It is known as dichondra, but it has an even nicer name: fairy finger grass. We are talking about a slow-growing perennial plant. Its origin is in Australia or New Zealand, in temperate or subtropical zones.
Categorized as a creeping plant, it is used to cover the ground, hence it is a good substitute for grass in gardens. In addition, due to its bright green and rounded leaves, it looks very pretty visually.
Its growth is not so much vertical as horizontal, which makes it look like a carpet of greenery.
Advantages of dichondra repens
If you finally decide to plant dichondra repens in your garden instead of traditional grass, you will find that it has many advantages. We will tell you about them below.
The first of all is the low maintenance. And that is that It is not a plant that grows too much, it usually stays at 5-10 centimeters in height, which means you don't have to cut it regularly like you do with grass.
In fact, you will also get rid of the appearance of weeds because, being a dense plant, they do not have much space.
Furthermore, it does not require abundant watering, as grass does. Dichondra repens is a plant that tolerates drought quite well and this way you will not waste so much water in your garden.
One of the aspects that can give you the most advantages of dichondra repens is the fact that, when sowing it, You will notice how a uniform and dense green tapestry is formed. Its rounded leaves give it an ornamental appearance that cannot be achieved with grass. And if you add to that the fact that it has an intense green colour and, if the climate where you live is temperate, it will have this colour all year round.
The next advantage of dichondra repens is the softness and comfort it offers. Although this has a not so good part that we will explain a little further down. But, if you are one of those people who likes to go barefoot, then you will notice that they are very pleasant to the touch.
Regarding its location, Dichondra repens is a plant that can grow both in full sun and in semi-shade and even live in more complicated climatic conditions, although its ideal is a temperate climate.
In terms of pests and diseases, it is much more resistant than traditional grass.
Disadvantages of dichondra repens
You know that not everything is good. And that is what happens with dichondra repens. Despite the many advantages we have mentioned before, the truth is that, when deciding on it, you must have weighed up the disadvantages of planting this plant.
For example, one of the most important drawbacks is the fact that It does not resist trampling very well. We explain, it doesn't mean that if you step on it once you will have a mark and it won't go away, no. But if you step on it constantly, it can get damaged and even create small bald spots in the areas that are most frequently stepped on. Compared to grass, it lasts less in this sense.
We have already told you that it usually adapts to any location, whether full sun or semi-shade. But we need to go into more detail. And that is that the sun tolerates it, but not when it is in a very hot climate. This will cause it to turn yellow or even dry out if you don't water it enough, and the tips may burn.
And just as the sun is harmful, Frost can also cause yellowing or dormancy. Some are even completely lost and you would have to replant them again in spring.
Another disadvantage of dichondra repens is the fact that it does not grow as fast as grass. It can sometimes take a while to cover the entire soil, and if we are talking about damaged areas, they are slower to recover. This is why, at first, the appearance of weeds is normal, because it does not have the necessary strength to prevent them.
In fact, at first you may have to Apply herbicides to prevent weeds from stealing energy from the plant so that it develops properly and covers the entire soil.
Financially, investing in dichondra repens requires a larger budget than investing in grass, especially if the surface to be covered is quite large. When planting it, you can opt for seeds, which are cheaper but will take longer, or seedlings. The latter will need to be monitored so that they adapt well to the soil and the area and can grow easily.
Finally, although we have told you that it is much more resistant to pests and diseases, when you have just planted it or it is adapting to the climate, and this is not suitable for the plant, pests and diseases may appear, especially in more humid climates or if you overwater it.
As you can see, there are many advantages and disadvantages of dichondra repens. The final decision must be made wisely, and considering whether the place you want to put it will meet all the requirements that this plant needs or, on the contrary, the disadvantages may make it not the perfect substitute for grass. What do you think?