Thread: Grass for erosion/salinty?

This is a long shot but the following website maybe worth a read about fire retardant plants: http://www.ozbreed.com.au/download/f...ant_plants.pdf

Gary

That's a great little resource for bigger plants. Many thanks.

It has confirmed for me that planting some agapanthas would be a good idea. I've collected a bunch of seeding heads from the ones at home with the intention of using them in house gardens at the block but now I think I'll put them in the ground around the place instead and let them go wild.

Well here in the blue mountains agapanthas is classed as weed and hard to get rid of once established
My $0.02 worth
Alternative Planting

Native Plants
Spiny-headed Mat Rush (Lomandra longifolia)
local native flax lilies (Dianella species)
Saw-sedges (Gahnia species)

Exotic alternatives
Pride of Madeira (Echium fastuosum)
from
Agapanthus - Weeds of Blue Mountains Bushland

Curses. Foiled again. I would have got away with it too if it wasn't for you pesky kids

A quick look has revealed that yes, aggies are an environmental weed in these parts too. While I'm happy for them to go a little crazy on my place, I wouldn't want them to affect the surrounding areas so I'll scratch that idea. There are low seeding variations but it's still not worth the risk.

I'll have a squiz at the other suggestions and also see if I can identify exactly what I've already got.

Thanks for the heads-up

This paper is a great resource ( Ozbreed - Erosion Research ) with lots of data, pretty numbers and definitive suggestions in a reasonably short read.

Couch grass and Kykouri are both runner based grasses that will thrive on an unprepared clay base. However they are very dominant and will spread beyond the boundary, and need to be cut regularly to keep them from getting long enough to climb the trees/shrubs on site and strangle them or become an arial fire hazard. Can grow from 50mm high to 500mm high in a couple of weeks with a bit of moisture and sun, will penetrate under the bark of eucalypts, wattles etc and climb, breaking out and setting up overhead shoots etc.

Definitely not stopped by concrete or steel barrier materials as they will go over them if left unattended, or or send runners at least 600mm underground to go under then emerge on the other side.

Alot of our back yard was cut and filled a few years ago, so large areas were bare. Remnant grasses recovered bare areas within 18months without any intervention.

Can be classed as a weed in some areas, and definitely needs regular cutting to keep it low, but meets your other criteria.

I've been doing a bit more research and found a really great grass similar to Kikuyu but not as invasive, softer, requires much less care and has a much stronger root base. Its family is Zoysia and in particular the Zoysia Japonica looked the best suited...except the region I'm in is too cold for any of them

I pretty sure one of the grasses I already have there is a Wallaby and have found a place that sells the seeds ready to go for a whopping $150 per kg (Native Seeds - Has some good general info on the varieties)

The other option I have been considering is pillaging next season's seed heads, preparing them and planting them out in time for the next growing season. The seeds take quite a few months from picking to being ready to plant. So besides the time it will take, that seems like a good "natural" idea too.