Perennial Peanut Could Be the Solution to Your Turfgrass Woes

Article By:
Audrey Durr
Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program Coordinator

As drought conditions persist throughout the area, it's becoming more and more important for us to examine our water usage in the landscape and to use this vital resource as efficiently as possible.

Water efficiency does not mean sacrificing the landscape that you love. Converting your yard to a Florida Friendly Yard may be as simple as making sensible changes in the way your yard is maintained. The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program, administered by the Citrus County UF/IFAS Extension Service, is your source for Florida friendly, green landscaping consultation; we are here to assist in the development of your Florida friendly yard.

Expanding mulched ornamental plant beds and only watering plants when they exhibit signs of drought stress (folded/curled leaves) is one solution. Incorporating compost (worked into the soil or used as a top dressing for established turfgrass) can increase the soil's capacity to hold water, thus reducing the frequency of irrigation.

And then, there's an amazing little plant that:

• happily tolerates extended drought, salt exposure, and blazing full sun
• fixes its own nitrogen from the air (which means it does not require nitrogen fertilization)
• produces edible yellow flowers
• is similar in appearance to turfgrass
• only grows to six inches tall

Perennial or ornamental peanut (Arachis glabrata) can be a wonderful replacement for high-input turf areas in sunny, well-drained spots that do not receive excessive traffic. It is adapted to droughty, infertile sands and thrives in a soil pH of 5.0 to 7.5 (sound anything like Citrus County soils?)

First introduced from Brazil in 1936, no insect, disease, or nematode pests have been identified that cause economic loss. That means no battles with chinch bugs, mole crickets, gray leaf spot disease, etc. Perennial peanut can be an excellent choice for areas where the look of turfgrass is desired but the persistent pest and drought problems are not.

Perennial peanut can:

• stabilize soil on inclines
• suppress weeds with its dense growth
• reduce nutrient leaching
• add nitrogen and organic matter to the soil
• control erosion

Solid set sod, sod strips and sod plugs are best planted from January through March, although planting may be successful anytime up to mid-July. Containerized plants can be planted throughout the year.

During the first growing season, irrigation, fertilization and weed control are important to successful establishment and maximum plant density. Once a root system has developed, irrigation is unnecessary except during prolonged drought periods. Fertilization requirements are limited to phosphorus (2/3 of Citrus County residents already have abundant soil phosphorus levels), potassium, magnesium and sulfur. Weed control is best achieved through mowing.

Perennial peanut costs more to establish than St. Augustinegrass, however given the estimated savings in annual maintenance costs, perennial peanut would offset the higher establishment costs within 3.2 years. For every year afterwards, you would actually save $300 per year for every 1,000 square feet, mainly due to decreased mowing frequency.

Its limited disadvantages include that:

• it tolerates less traffic than turfgrass
• it requires full sun (or tolerates partial sun with a decrease in its quality)
• it browns during the winter, although it greens up again at the same time or before St. Augustinegrass.

While there are no miracle plants – native or exotic – that can solve every landscaping dilemma, perennial peanut can be the right plant when given the right place.

For more information on perennial peanut, refer to the University of Florida articles, "Guide to Using Rhizomal Perennial Peanut in the Urban Landscape" and "Establishment and Management of Ornamental Perennial Peanuts". These articles and many others can be accessed at www.SolutionsForYourLife.org or can be obtained from the UF/IFAS Citrus County Extension Service.

The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program of the Citrus County Extension Service is a public education and outreach program of the University of Florida, funded jointly by the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners and the Coastal Rivers and Withlacoochee River Basin Boards of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

All programs and related activities sponsored for, or assisted by, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are open to all persons with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions, or affiliations.

For persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations, please contact our office at least five working days prior to the program so that proper consideration may be given to the request. For hearing impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Center at 1-800-955-8770 (voice) or 1-800 –955-8771 (TDD).

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