Dichondra repens – the favourite alternative lawn!
Dichondra repens is a stunning, small leafed, Australasian native groundcover which makes a wonderful alternative lawn.
It has a beautiful, dense thatch of delightful, lily-pad shaped leaves that become smaller and tighter with increased light intensity.
Happy to take full sun and traffic, Dichondra repens is even used on some bowling greens in New Zealand.
It has become a favourite with Childcare Centres as, not only do children love the cool, soft feel of the leaves under their feet, Dichondra repens, unlike grass, does not give them “itchies” after rolling around on it.
Imagine! A lawn that does not require mowing!
See a YouTube video showing a Dichondra repens lawn that has not been mown for 8 years! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkgyHrNJPSw
Dichondra is happy in dappled shade and is an excellent choice for living green cover under trees where traditional lawn will not survive. In shady areas, the Dichondra repens leaves will become larger and higher as the plant seeks light for photosynthesis.
Not affected by frost, this Australian native is hardy under most conditions, staying green through winter.
The height will vary between 2 and 100 mm depending
on the environment: traffic, soil, water and light available to it.
Why use bark chips as mulch when this delightful array of miniature lily pads will further enhance your garden? Dichondra is wonderful as a living mulch as recommended by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.
Dichondra repens Plant Tiles are fabulous to put between paving stones. Simply cut the Tiles to shape to provide instant infill between the pavers, softening the hardscape.
Another gorgeous way to use Dichondra is to grow it at the top of a retaining wall or in a large pot to provide a striking, weeping effect over the edges.
Snapshot for Dichondra repens
- Full sun or dappled shade
- Green, small lily-pad like leaves
- 2-100mm in height so usually considered no mow
- Low maintenance
- Low to medium water use once established
- Once established has moderate drought and light frost tolerance
- Fertilise in Spring with a long acting fertilizer or more regularly with a foliar spray such as Seasol
- Soft, non-itchy so great for kids to play and roll around on.
Uses for Dichondra repens
- No mow lawn. See a video from a happy man who hasn’t mown his Dichondra repens lawn for eight years! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkgyHrNJPSw
- Fantastic between pavers forming a low growing, green mat that softens the hardscape
- Wonderful for difficult to mow areas
- Use in rockeries as a striking groundcover
- Will grow in shadier areas where usual grasses struggle
- Great around the base of specimen trees in a courtyard
- Perfect for green roofs or rooftop gardens
- Low maintenance is great for commercial areas
- In pots or garden beds as an alternative living mulch.
Establishment of Dichondra repens Plant Tiles
How to get the best out of your new Dichondra repens lawn? Ensure it has good quality media in which the plants can set root. When established in a good depth (100-200mm) of quality, friable media, the plants handle moderate traffic well, actually becoming lower and denser with pressure making it an ideal alternative lawn for average household use.
Dichondra repens can be grown from pots or plugs but this can take a long time to achieve total coverage and you most likely will have to undertake weeding between the plants.
Plant Tiles work wonderfully as we have done the hard work for you!
No digging holes and waiting for pots to grow together. You can just place the Plant Tiles next to each other on your prepared media to achieve instant full coverage!
The Plant Tiles are grown in only 22mm of media so will require frequent small waterings until the roots penetrate the media on which they are placed. A fertiliser such as Seasol is useful to encourage root growth. Once established, water more deeply and less frequently.
