LM Grass (Instant Lawn) – 1m2

LM Berea lawn has an outstanding reputation for shade tolerance. It is a medium coarse textured creeping grass and is a lighter shade of green than most lawns. It is well suited to shady areas and has excellent tolerance of drought and heat. It has moderate traffic tolerance and is a fast growing lawn.

LM Berea:
Other common names:

Durban grass/Coast grass/Natal crowfoot/Sweet Smother grass.

LM grass is indigenous to South Africa. Found predominantly on the Natal coast and Mozambique. It is a stoloniferous perennial which forms a dense sward and is dark green under ideal growing conditions. It is fairly broad leafed and its leaf margins have a twisted appearance. It performs very well in shady and semi-shade conditions. LM grass also performs well in full sun. This grass has a creeping growth habit but is far less invasive than kikuyu.

LM grass is relatively heat tolerant and can recover from drought and heat stress by means of its creeping growth habit. LM grass is well suited to home lawns, office parks, rough areas on golf courses and shade areas. It should not be mown shorter than 30mm in full sun and 50mm in full shade. In frosty areas the grass should not be mown during winter. It avoids cold damage by exposing the upper leave growth to frost.

Establishment

When?

Full sun.

Spring and summer in frosty areas.  In frost free areas, all year round, other than the coldest times of the year.

Shade and semi-shade.

Only Spring and Summer.

Remove existing grass if the area is in full sun and other grasses were growing there before, it is important to get rid of them properly before establishing a new lawn.  The underground runners of creeping grasses can be very persistent so you can’t simply dig it out.

It is best to spray the existing grass with a non-selective weed killer.

Soil preparation

• If the soil is dry, water the area thoroughly a day or two before you begin soil preparation.
• Spread Super Phosphate at a rate of 50g* per m² over the entire area (50 g is approx. one medium sized handful) *This is a general recommendation, made in the absence of a soil test.
• Dig the area over incorporating the Super Phosphate to a depth of approximately 15 cm.  At this point you could dig in some compost.  This is not generally necessary and can cause problems if the compost contains weed seeds and is not well rotted.  Never leave compost as a layer on top of the soil as it dries out far more easily than soil does, and will not allow the seed to stay moist enough during the critical germination period.
• Break down clods to create a fine seedbed
• Spread a balanced fertiliser such as 5:1:5 or 3:1:5 at 30 g per m² and rake into the surface of the soil.
• Compact surface by rolling lightly.