Perennial Peanut - a great sod alternative in Tampa Bay Florida
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 Arachis Glabrata other wise known as Perennial peanut is a great turfgrass alternative in an area that recieves little traffic, is either sunny or partially shaded, and is well drained. Why is it such a great sod alternative? This groundcover has a high degree of tolerance to the stresses of Florida's environment. Which translates into a reduction in irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticide. We generally do not think of turfgrass and flowers, but this perennial produces an abundance of small yellow flowers throughout the growing season. So on top of being great for the environment it is beautiful. The structure that allows the plant to perform so well is known as a rhizome. Rhozomes are an underground system of stems that store energy allowing it to survive a drought, and attract bacteria produces nitrogen known as Rhizobium bacteria. The important thing to know is not all plants labeled as perennial peanut are the rhizomous type. In fact thought they look quite similiar, there are other varieties that grow from stolons and tend not to function the same way. Refer to the councilgrowers.com link for pictures of the two types. In central Florida, in fact primarily around the Tampa Bay area this other variety known as Golden Glory is sold at a number of outlets. The variety we sell is known as Ecoturf. This structural difference makes a big difference when either of these is planted in the landscape.
Ecoturf, like Perennial Peanut has numerous advantages in maintenance cost over traditional turfgrass such as Floratam St. Augustine.
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 As mentioned above, the water use, fertilizer use, and the use of pesticides is greatly reduced, but the biggest savings lies in mowing. Mowing is only necessary to promote uniformity and flowering. Your lawn can achieve a maximum height of 6 inches. A few mowings a year should work quite well. Peanut sod can be planted via sprigging with rhizomes, containers planted in a plug type fashion, or as sod. Sod typically requires professional installation as it is typically laid in big rolls. There is a multitude of places to plant Ecoturf in the landscape. This low maintenance groundcover can be used in parks, highway medians, around commercial establishments and homes to name a few. Visit these links for more information on one of the friendliest of Florida friendly plants. |
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| Here are few links for more information on using Perennial Peanut: |
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