Paspalum Grass – The Environmental Sponge

We live in a world where recycling, reusing and repurposing products is becoming fashionable. We are also looking at reducing the use of many products, and our dependence on some services. Solar power, solar hot water and recycling our vegetable waste into compost are all approaches that many take. There are many home owners that are also looking at ways to recycle their waste water, particularly the water from the laundry and the bathroom. Paspalum grass is one grass type that is a perfect match for recycled water.

Often labeled as Seashore Paspalum, there are several varieties that will grow in all warm climate zones. It has a high salt tolerance and will readily accept saline, brackish and recycled water – just be sure to use 100% biodegradable products in your laundry and bathroom. A settling tank can also be useful rather than placing the water directly onto your lawn.

As a lawn, paspalum looks great. If you look at many of the golf courses around the country, paspalum has been the turf of choice for both fairways and putting greens. It likes to be cut short – in fact, putting greens are often cut twice a day at 1/8 inch. For lawns, cut to around 1 inch is best although anywhere from 1/2 inch to 3 inches is okay.

Paspalum is not well suited to heavy shade areas nor is long term drought tolerant. It can certainly survive short periods without water with little noticeable effect. Paspalum is a very thick grass so the first thing you will notice is a lack of invading weeds – if anything, Paspalum will take over any other grass. It is not renown for being a high traffic tolerant grass (although golf courses don’t seem to suffer) and, in most instances, will recover from any damage quite quickly.

If your Paspalum lawn does suffer, and it can be intolerant of pests and fungus, then a lawn repair tool can quickly repair the damage. Paspalum is available as a seed and there are many varieties around ranging from a medium green in color to a bluish-green. If you are interested in recycling your water then consider Paspalum grass. It will accept recycled water like a sponge and stay green all summer while everyone elses turns to yellow.