Exploring Sustainable Alternatives: A Guide to Grass Replacement Plants

Grass is one of the most widely used plant elements in landscaping and has become very popular these days due to the so-called luxurious effect it gives to the space. Despite their history and brilliant performance in the field of green space design, these beautiful plants unfortunately bring with them numerous problems and require quite a lot of care due to their sensitive nature. Therefore, in recent years, designers have suggested using grass replacement plants in order to reduce the costs of lawn care.

In this article, I intend to introduce the most suitable plants and the best grass substitutes and take a detailed look at their specifications and features. So if you also want to have a professional design with grass-like plants, we suggest you don't miss this article.

Problems with using grass in landscaping

Before we move on to introducing alternative plants to grass, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the problems with using grass in landscaping. As you know, beauty in any field is costly, and this cost can manifest itself in various ways, such as financial, time, and so on. Using grass in landscaping also has its own costs and problems, some of which are:

·???????? Expensive installation and implementation costs

·???????? ?Difficult maintenance process

·???????? Requires frequent and regular watering

·???????? Requires pruning followed by the purchase or rental of lawn mowers

·???????? Vulnerable to climate change

·???????? Susceptible to plant pests

·???????? Requires expensive nutrients and pesticides

These are just a few of the difficult issues that can arise when using grass. Therefore, for a smart and green design, the best idea is to use ground cover plants instead of grass.

Introducing 9 Grass Replacement Cover Plants

The most suitable plants for replacing natural grass are creeping cover plants. In addition to their appearance similarity to grass, these plants do not have the same problems as grass and are very cost-effective. Below, we will examine several plants suitable for replacing grass.

Carex

The most suitable ground cover plant to replace grass is undoubtedly the Carex. Due to its bushy and dense form, this plant covers all empty spots on the ground, just like regular grass. Carex is an evergreen plant, which is one of the main reasons for choosing it for area design and landscaping projects.

Unlike regular grass, Carex does not require much watering and only needs water when the soil becomes extremely dry. Of course, we recommend watering the grass about 3 times a month to prevent the soil from drying out.

Another positive feature of Carex is its high resistance and adaptability to various types of substrate. In fact, the type of substrate does not matter to this plant, and only moist soil is sufficient for planting and growing grass.

Frankenia

The second grass alternative is Frankenia. This attractive plant is actually an evergreen perennial and is considered the best grass alternative due to its exceptional resistance to drought.

Frankenia grass requires full sunlight to grow and, unlike regular grass, will grow in even the poorest soils. It is also worth noting that this grass does not require fertilization and, since it is resistant to most plant diseases, does not require pesticides or herbicides.

In addition to all these advantages, another wonderful and rare advantage of Frankinia grass is its fragrant, pink flowers that appear in the spring and create a beautiful area with a delightful aroma. In general, if you are looking for a beautiful and evergreen lawn, Frankinia can be the best choice for you.

Dichondra Grass

Another alternative to grass is Dichondra grass or African grass from the ivy family. This plant is also known as "ornamental clover" due to its resemblance to clover. Dichondra grass grows extremely quickly and its leaves can reach 5 centimeters in diameter. The most outstanding feature of the Dichondra groundcover is its extraordinary resistance to cold and heat. Despite its delicate appearance, this plant can easily withstand temperatures of -6 degrees Celsius, and due to this characteristic, it is considered one of the most popular plants in the field of landscaping.

Note: Please note that for the Dichondra grass to grow evenly and cover all areas of the ground, be sure to clear the ground of weeds that prevent growth before planting, and remove any stones and clods in the growth path.

Lysimachia nummularia

Another example of the most common grass substitutes is Lysimachia, also known as "golden grass" due to the yellow color of its flowers. This plant crawls on the ground as a ground cover and covers even the smallest empty spots due to the special shape of its leaves.

?Lysimachia grass does not grow tall at all and constantly grows in a transverse direction. Therefore, by using Lysimachia as a grass substitute, you can ensure that you will never need to mow the lawn.

Lysimachia requires relatively high light to grow, and therefore it is a very suitable choice for using it in outdoor spaces and landscaping projects.

Note: Unlike the previous cases, Lysomachia creeping groundcovers need moist soil to live, and dry soil can damage them.

Japanese Stiltgrass

Without exaggeration, Japanese Stiltgrass is the best alternative to natural grass. This Japanese plant is one of the most popular options in green space design and landscaping due to its permanent greenery and high resistance.

The most outstanding advantage of Japanese Stiltgrass is its self-healing ability. In addition to its high resistance to physical damage such as wear and tear, this grass can easily repair and regenerate itself. Therefore, we can say that by planting Japanese Stiltgrass, you will have a magical and eternal lawn.

Kiashito grows to a height of 5 cm at its best, so it never needs mowing. It is also worth noting that this grass substitute is resistant to various types of soil and tolerates acidic and salty soils well.

The positive points of this attractive ground cover plant do not end there; we should also add that Kiashito grass is a powerful superplant and does not die in any way. This plant easily tolerates temperatures of -5 ° C and, if the temperature drops further, it enters hibernation and wakes up again after the temperature conditions become favorable! So, if you want to have an immortal and eternal lawn, we recommend that you definitely go for Kiashito grass.

Baby Tears Plant

The sixth representative of the grass replacement plant group is the baby tears plant. This ground cover plant is also known as “bride grass” or “baby tears grass” due to its special shape.

Baby tears plant is introduced and used as a ground cover plant instead of grass due to its characteristics such as low irrigation requirement and high resistance to cold and heat. The only important point about baby tears plant is that unlike the previous ones, this plant needs pruning and so-called mowing due to its tall growth.

Note: Note that the ground cover plant Helxin prefers shade to sun, so try to use this plant as much as possible to design areas that are in shade.

Sedum acre

Another grass alternative is the Sedum acre, or "Thai grass." This plant is actually a member of the creeping ground cover plant family and, due to its dense structure, covers the entire surface of the ground after planting and propagation.

Thai grass needs watering approximately once a week, and the watering process should be such that the grass is soaked. Also, for better growth of the Sedum plant, it is not bad to use fertilizer once a month.

Another attractive feature of sedum grass that has made it the most popular ground cover plant as a substitute for grass is its ability to bloom. This beautiful pseudo-grass is filled with tiny white flowers in the summer, creating a heavenly view.

Ajuga reptans

The Ajuga plant is another natural grass substitute plant that has a beautiful appearance and is almost different from other grasses. Due to its special structure, this plant is classified as a drought-resistant and water-deficient plant and does not require a special care process.

The broad leaves of the Ajuga plant actually play the main role in ground cover and, with their high density, cover all empty spots on the ground. You may also be interested to know that Ajuga leaves need direct sunlight to become more beautiful.

The most beautiful difference between ajoga grass and other grass substitutes is its green-purple leaves with long purple flowers that grow in the summer and give your design a pure look.

Mondo grass

The last grass substitute we are going to look at is mondo grass. Just like other grass substitutes, this plant is resistant to drought and adverse temperature conditions and has an evergreen appearance; but the important point here is that unlike grass like kiashito, mondo grass is not very resistant to trampling and is damaged. Also, due to its high growth and relatively high height of the leaves, it will usually need pruning or mowing every few months.

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Creeping Groundcover Plants; The Best Alternative to Grass

As we mentioned earlier, despite the luxurious nature and luxurious look they give to a space, grasses bring with them many problems.

On the other hand, today, due to the serious water shortage crisis, using grass in landscaping projects is not very principled and is actually to our detriment. In other words, creating beauty with grass leaves us with exorbitant costs, so in order to reduce these costs and create green and beautiful designs, the best solution is to choose creeping ground cover plants as grass replacement plants.

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