Kikuyu lawn care and maintenance Tips are a must for lawn mowing contractors, landscapers and home owners. Kikuyu Grass, like a lot of recreational turf grasses, is classified as a Warm Season turf. Warm Season grasses are different to Cool Season grasses in the way they grow.

Cool Season grasses are plants that grow from seed with a single stem. These include various Rye grasses and different Fescue varieties.

Warm Season grasses, on the other hand, are those that grow by runners. All of these grow with Above Ground runners (technically referred to as Stolons), and then a sub-group grow or spread with BOTH Above Ground runners (Stolons) and Below Ground Runners (referred to as Rhizomes).

Those grasses with both Stolons and Rhizomes include Green Couch (Cynodon dactylon), Kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinem) and others like Zoysia, Durban and Seashore Paspalum. Kikuyu and Couch (also known as Bermuda Turf) are commonly used in sports and playing field situations, and are well known for their quick recovery after heavy use through the Australian winter.

Those turfgrasses with Stolons ONLY include Buffalo (St Augustine turfgrass) and Queensland Blue Couch. These are mostly used in recreational and domestic situations, and never used as playing field turfgrasses.

Kikuyu turf, like all warm season turfgrasses, needs to be mowed frequently in the growing season. In the summer, you should be mowing your kikuyu lawn every week and the mower should be set to cut the grass at around 25 to 35 millimetres high. Your Kikuyu lawn needs to be fertilized at least at the start of Spring and again in Autumn. You can lightly fertilise your lawn in Summer - not too heavy otherwise you will be mowing more than once a week.