How to Grow Couch Grass
It’s not easy being green. If you’ve ever been stuck at the nursery, faced with packet after packet of lawn seed, scratching your head and thinking to yourself, “Grass is grass, isn’t it?”, then you’re not alone. It can be overwhelming to choose between the various types of grasses on the market. And while you might be thinking any grass will do, if you get it wrong, then at best, you’ll end up with a patchy high-maintenance lawn that’ll have you pulling your hair out.
Lucky for you, at Love the Garden, we love our lawns, and we love sharing our knowledge with amateur and pro gardeners alike.
So, what do we think of couch grass, the popular backyard staple? It’s a winner in our books (there’s a reason it’s a popular choice for golf courses!). Hardy and perfect for hot and dry climates, it’s a great-looking grass with a fine leaf and a beautiful bright green colour. It can be a little higher maintenance than other grasses, but with a little TLC, you’ll be rewarded with a lush, dense lawn that’ll leave your neighbours green with envy.
What is couch grass?
Common couch grass is a warm season grass species acclimatised to the warmer climatic regions of the world. “Warm season” means it loves warm weather and can tolerate heat and dryer conditions really well.
Here are some other traits of couch grass. Cause hey, the more you know, the more you grow!
- It’s hardy: Couch grass can handle high amounts of foot traffic, meaning it’s a good option for families with kids and pets.
- It’s easy to repair: Couch grass has a strong ability to recover and repair itself.
- It grows and spreads quickly: Couch grass grows and spreads quickly and aggressively, which is great if you want a dense turf or need to fill gaps in your lawn, but it can also be invasive so take care around garden beds to avoid infestation (garden edging is critical).
- It needs a lot of mowing: Because it’s a fast grower, you’ll likely need to mow pretty frequently.
- It loves sun: Couch grass needs at least five to six hours of direct sunlight each day. Some varieties need up to eight hours a day.
- It hates shade: Couch grass doesn’t perform well in shady areas, so if your backyard has a lot of shady spots or heaps of tree cover, you might want to choose another type of grass.
- It can be cut short: Unlike other types of grass, couch grass can be mowed to a length of just 4mm, so it’s great if you love a well-manicured lawn.
How to grow couch grass from seed
Ready to grow like a pro? Follow these step-by-step instructions to master the art of a lush lawn—because even a green thumb needs a game plan!
1. Get the timing right
Couch grass likes it hot, and so do the seeds. They’ll only germinate in soil temperatures above 18 degrees, so if you live in a tropical or sub-tropical area of Australia, you’re good to go year-round. For cooler areas, sow in late spring or summer.
2. Measure the area
The sowing rate for couch grass is 1kg per 100sqm, so measure your area to make sure you have the right amount of seed.
3. Check your soil
As already mentioned, make sure your soil temperature is above 18 degrees. No need for fancy gadgets - you can use a meat thermometer to check this!
Couch grass likes soil with a pH between 6 and 7.5. Pick up a soil pH test from your local nursery. If your soil is not quite right, you can adjust the pH level by adding things like compost, manure, sulphur or lime.
4. Rake and fertilise
Use a rake to clear the area of any rocks, debris or old patches of dead grass, and add a slow-release fertiliser. If you’re using a lawn seed product that includes a fertiliser, like Scotts Lawn Builder™ Seed & Feed Couch Lawn Seed, then you can skip the fertiliser.
Use the rake to create shallow grooves less than 6mm deep. You’ll want to sow your seeds to about this depth to allow the seeds enough light to germinate.
5. Sow your seed
Spread out the lawn seed evenly across the surface, either by hand or using a seed spreader.
6. Top dress the surface
Add a couple of millimetres of topsoil. This will keep birds from eating the seed and stop it blowing away.
7. Water in
Use a hose to mist the area gently (we love the enthusiasm but blasting it with water might wash the seed away).
8. Keep the area damp
For the first six weeks or so, water daily (or several times a day in hot weather). The key is to always keep the soil damp. You should start to see growth about two weeks in, but it’ll take about six to eight weeks for roots to take hold.
Caring for couch grass like a greenkeeper
From go to grow, here’s how to keep your couch grass looking lush.
Sunlight
Couch grass loves sun. Make sure it gets at least six hours of it a day. Avoid planting couch grass in shady spots, such as areas with lots of tree cover.
Mowing
Couch grass grows fast, so in the peak growing season, you’ll probably want to mow at least once a week.
Couch can be cut as short as 4mm in length (which is why it’s a popular grass for sporting fields), or it can be kept long, up to 20mm in length. Whatever length you choose, the general rule of thumb for green thumbs is to never cut your grass more than one-third of the leaf length during a single mowing. Cutting too much off in one go can stunt the grass’s growth.
Watering
Water couch lawns infrequently but deeply. This encourages deep roots that can tolerate hot and dry conditions. In hot weather, water once or twice a week. If it’s cold and wet, water less frequently.
Feeding
Fertilise your lawn about three times a year with a balanced slow-release fertiliser like Scotts Lawn Builder™ All-Purpose Slow-Release Lawn Fertiliser.
Overseeding
Overseeding involves sowing a cool-season grass, such as rye, into your couch grass lawn. That means when your couch grass starts to slow its growth during the colder months, your cool season grass will kick into gear, keeping your lawn looking lush and green all year round.
FAQs
What is couch grass?
Couch grass (Cynodon Dactylon), is a type of warm season grass native to many areas in the Eastern Hemisphere. Sun-loving couch grass thrives in warm climates and can tolerate heat, drought and high amounts of foot traffic.
What types of couch grass can you find in Australia?
Popular varieties of couch grass in Australia include Wintergreen, Santa Ana and Nullarbor.
What does couch grass look like?
Couch grass is an attractive grass with fine blades and a deep dark green colour. It grows quickly so it’s lush, dense and vibrant. Couch grass can tolerate very low mowing, so you’ll often see it looking trim and tidy.
What's better, couch or kikuyu?
Couch or kikuyu? It’s a question that’s sparked debates among great gardeners for eons. But even in the Love the Garden office, there’s no clear-cut winner. Both are popular backyard staples that love the sun and can tolerate heat, drought and high amounts of traffic. Both types of grass can take a beating from pets and kids and are great at repairing themselves.
Couch grass tends to tolerate heat a little better than kikuyu but needs a little more maintenance. Couch can turn yellow quickly, whereas kikuyu keeps its colour year-round. Kikuyu is a cheaper option and is a bit more of a “set and forget” grass.
Really, it comes down to your specific needs! Think about your budget, your climate, how much sun your lawn gets, and how much time you want to spend on maintenance, and then choose the grass that meets your needs best.
How long does couch grass take to grow?
Couch grass is a fast grower. If you’re growing from seed, it takes about two weeks to germinate. Once it’s established and growing, it spreads quickly, meaning it’ll quickly spread to fill bare patches. Couch grass goes dormant in winter, so it’ll stop growing for a period until it warms up again.
Will couch grass spread?
Yes! Couch grass loves to spread, for better or worse. Some gardeners absolutely love its fast growth rate because it means a dense and lush lawn. But on the flipside, it can be invasive, meaning you’ll need to keep it in check to make sure it doesn’t spread out into areas you don’t want it in, like garden beds.
What kills couch grass in lawns?
If you’ve got a couch grass problem, like it’s spreading into unwanted areas or it’s infested your non-couch lawn, then you’ve got a few options. If it’s a small infestation, try weeding it by hand (dig up the plant and remove as much as the white rhizomes as possible). If you’ve got a heavy infestation, strip off all the turf, dig out all couch grass rhizomes, then re-turf or re-seed the lawn.
What’s the best fertiliser for couch lawns?
The best couch grass fertiliser is one with a high nitrogen content, such as Scotts Lawn Builder™ Extreme Green Slow Release Lawn Fertiliser. The fertiliser acts quickly because the nitrogen is highly soluble. It also has the benefit of slow-release technology, meaning it’ll slowly release nutrients over a period of three months, rather than dumping all the nutrients in one go. Apply during the growing seasons (spring and summer).
For repairing your lawn, use a Seed & Feed specifically designed for couch grass like Scotts Lawn Builder™ Seed & Feed Couch Lawn Seed. It’s formulated with couch seed and slow-release fertiliser to restore couch lawns to their former green glory.
