Crabgrass as Lawn?

10 years ago

During our extended attempt to prepare our bare soil for some sort of ground cover, my husband has discovered what he thinks is crabgrass (pic attached) growing in a different part of our backyard (near some recently-planted citrus trees). He wants to let it grow and become our lawn, but I think that just has to be a bad idea. E.g. it could kill the other plants living back there, or trip up our kids as the run around, etc. Has anyone tried this? Why is it a bad idea? Thanks!

Featured Answer

hawksster .

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Bermudagrass. Nothing you will plant there will grow. Bermuda rules all.

Edit: You can grow other grass there, but the bermuda will always be a thorn in your side. If you want to grow bermuda I will bring you a pound of seed on Tuesday. It will help fill the area faster.

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Comments (6)

M C
Original Author
10 years ago
Oh by the way, we live in the Oakland Hills in California in case that matters.
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reeljake
10 years ago
There is only 1 or 2 Crabgrass plants I see in there, the rest is pasture/hay type or giant Bermuda grass runners. Leaf size is a bit big for a lawn, but it would do much better than crab. Crab just looks terrible, even when it's a whole field of it. There's no consistency to it at all. Your husband sounds like a prime candidate for a synthetic lawn & the state of CA may even help you pay for it. Last I heard they were paying $3 a square foot for people to replace their lawns with more sustainable landscape. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but it's worth checking out. Synthetic turf is not terribly expensive, it's the labor to install it that gets pricey fast
M C thanked reeljake
M C
Original Author
10 years ago
Whoa, my mind is blown. THAT is Bermuda?! Wow. I think I have to throw out all of my preconceptions about lawn design now!

Ok. So, if it's drought-resistant, that's fantastic. Is there a worry about kids tripping over it because it's kind of vine-y? And is there a worry about keeping it away from other plants, e.g. the citrus trees we have in our yard? Or can it peacefully co-exist with other plants?

SO many thanks for the help!!
M C
Original Author
10 years ago
Also, follow up questions:

1. when I look at pictures of "Bermuda lawn", they do not look like the vine-y grass I see in our lawn. Is there any chance there are two Bermudas?

2. Is Bermuda (the one we have) mow-able, or does it just keep low to the ground and not need mowing?

3. The area where we plan to plant our lawn abuts a raised bed vegetable garden. Should we be concernd about it taking over that area too, or will we just have to be diligent about weeding but it'll be manageable?

Many thanks!!!
reeljake
10 years ago
It will root into the ground once you let it out of that woodpile... The Bermuda lawns you see online use a finer blade hybrid, that's a hay type in your picture. There's a lot of different Bermuda types out there, it's used everywhere from hay fields to golf courses. The one you have now is mowable, but again the leaf size is not optimal unless you're a hungry bovine or a goat. And yes, you will certainly have to work to keep it out of your beds if the border is not adequate. It's not too hard to remove if you stay on it.
M C thanked reeljake