Perennial Peanut
A replacement for Your Lawn
By Joe Wolf
Polk County Master Gardener
Do you want to remove the turfgrass from
your yard and replace it? A good option is
to go with a Florida Friendly yard which
uses easy to grow and maintain plants that
grow well in this part of Florida, are cold
hardy, and drought and heat tolerant.
Many but not all of the Florida Friendly
plants are natives. Florida Friendly yards
use some turfgrass but also shrubs, bunch
grasses and alternate ground covers. One
of the best ground covers for sunny
locations is perennial peanut (Arachis
glabrata).
Perennial Peanut
Perennial peanut is really easy to take care of. You don’t need to water it (except in extreme
droughts), you might mow it once or twice a year, and it produces its own nitrogen so it needs a
minimal amount of fertilizer. It has beautiful yellow flowers in the summer, which are edible,
that grow about two inches above the sod. There are no known insect, disease or nematode
problems. Walking on it will not be a problem; however it will not take heavy foot traffic. It
may die back in a winter frost or freeze, but quickly grows back with the return of warmer
weather.
Perennial Peanut
There are a number of different varieties so you will
need to be a little careful of the variety you buy.
There are two major types: one with a stem that
grows under the ground called a rhizome and the
other with a stem that grows above the ground
called a stolen. You will want to get the first; the
one with the rhizome. This type is extremely
drought tolerant. There are several varieties that
have rhizomes and are good in a yard: “Ecoturf”,
“Arblick”, “Needlepoint” and “Waxy Leaf”.
“Ecoturf” is the most common and
the easiest to find. Be careful not to get confused
with the other two other varieties that have
rhizomes: “Florigraze” and “Arbrook”; these will
grow 12 inches tall or more and are used for
feeding cattle but not for lawns. A common variety
found in retail garden centers is called “Golden
Repens Glory”. This cultivar has stolons and prefers
wet areas with some shade. Don’t confuse this one
with the more drought tolerant varieties with
rhizomes.
Perennial Peanut
Perennial peanut is available as a sod (large rolls), as individual plants (4” pots, 1 quart and 1
gallon) or sometimes as rhizomes. The rhizomes are the least expensive but also take the
longest to make a lawn. They are not recommended for homes. Sod can be cut into 8” to 10”
strips and planted in rows. Sod can also be cut into smaller squares and used as plugs. Plugs
and potted plants can be planted as close together as you want but should not be planted more
than 18” apart. Rhizomes are placed under the ground (not more than 2” deep) in a hole or in a
trench.
During the establishment period perennial peanut needs to be irrigated, but not afterwards.
Unless sod is used, weeds can be a problem during establishment but they will eventually be
crowded out by the peanut. During establishment if weeds start to shade out the peanut they
can be mowed down or treated with one or more herbicides includingPerennial
Fusilade®,
Poast®,
Peanut
Select® or Prism®. Basagran® works on yellow nutsedge.
Once the peanut is established irrigation and mowing are only necessary to keep a really thick
canopy; irrigate only in very dry spells. Mowing once a month in the summer can be useful to
help the peanut renew itself, but is not necessary. You will need to edge the borders to keep
the plant from spreading.
It can be difficult to find the rhizomal varieties in local stores. The primary suppliers in Florida
are Ecoturf Sod, LLC (http://ecoturfsod.com/Home.html) and Sunset Specialty Groundcover
(http://ornamentalpeanut.com). Sunset Specialty Groundcover has “Ecoturf”, “Needlepoint”
and “Waxy Leaf”.
Perennial peanut can be a great substitute for turfgrass.
For further information see: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/EP/EP13500.pdf