Dichondra Repens: How to Grow as A Ground Cover

Essentially, there are two types of Dichondra (botanical name Dichondra spp.) found in gardens across the United States.

There’s Repens, also referred to as Pony’s Foot or Kidney Weed, and then there’s the Falls variety, usually used as cascading habit.

The cascading habit makes the foliage look great in pots or on garden edges. The botanical name is Dichondra argentea.

There are the Dichondra Emerald Falls and the Dichondra Silver Falls in the latter group.

The Silver Dichondra, or Dichondra argentea Silver, is from the Argentea family.

What is Dichondra Repens

This article will look at growing Dichondra Repens as a groundcover, not as an ornamental drape.

Just a word of caution: the Dichondra Repens is officially classified as an invasive plant, so handle the seeds with care.

The Dichondra Repens is a bright green perennial that loves full sun, partial shade, and moist soil – preferably with a pH of between 6.1 and 7.8, though it tolerates poor soil.

Dichondra plants are part of the morning glory family and have similar creeping stems.

Dichondra Repens grows about 2-inches tall, choosing to expend its energies growing wide – up to 36-inches for a single plant.

It has round leaves and flowers from late spring to early fall. The flowers are small and white or greenish-white, so they don’t stand out much.

The Dichondra is a fast-growing, warm-season ground cover.

It is adapted to warmer climates but will retain its striking bright green color during winter temperatures as low as 20 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit – USDA Hardiness Zones 7 through 11.

Planting Dichondra

Prepare the planting bed by digging it up and removing all weeds.

It can be challenging to remove weeds from established Dichondra plants, so the initial effort will be worth it.

Your planting bed should consist of clod-free and well-drained soil that can retain some moisture.

Adding compost and peat moss will help in increasing the ground’s water-retention abilities and break up clay soil.

If you leave tilled soil for a month or two before planting, latent weeds will emerge for the plucking.

Try to ensure that weeds don’t mature and seed during this time by removing them as they emerge.

Before planting, you may want to add a layer of germinating soil over the top of the bed – between 1- to 2-inches thick.

Do not plant the Dichondra Repens lawn seeds deep.

Because the seeds are so tiny, consider mixing them with sand or lime to make spreading easier and more visible.

Use about half a pound of Dichondra seed per 500-square feet.

Once spread, lightly rake over and water thoroughly, but take care to avoid any runoff.

When raking, remember that tiny seeds will not germinate if planted too deep – they must be covered with a light layer of soil.

Throughout the first week, keep the seedbed soil moist but not soggy. Seed sprouts perish without water.

Closely monitor the soil’s humidity and water as needed, especially on warmer days.

You might need to water as much as four times a day.

Dichondra plants require warm soils to germinate, specifically in regions where the temperature reaches between 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime and 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

Planting is, therefore, generally done from summer to early fall.

Dichondra seeds sprout somewhere between 7 – 14 days, depending on the soil temperature.

The first leaves will be narrow and long, nothing like Dichondra in the beginning.

After the seeds have all sprouted, you should let the ground dry out in-between waterings.

Water Dichondra ground cover plants once a week thoroughly and allow the soil to dry out in between soakings.

Constant wetness encourages shallow roots and makes the plant more susceptible to disease.

Each irrigation should add one inch of water to the soil. Use inch-deep fish cans on the lawns to measure your watering.

To fill 1-inch of the soil generally takes 30-minutes of irrigation.

how to Care for & Maintain Dichondra Lawn

Fertilizing

Apply a monthly feed of between 0.5- to 1-pound of nitrogen to your Dichondra lawn for a rich green color.

Apply the fertilizer to a dry lawn and water after the application, ensuring the nutrients get to the roots.

Mowing

Dichondra is often a low-maintenance option for lawns in full sun and partial shade.

If you want a manicured look, consider mowing Dichondra to its natural height during peak growing season.

This will create a lush lawn-like ground cover that is a delight to walk on bare feet. Natural growth height is between 1.5- and 2-inches.

In winter, you can reduce the cut to just under an inch but never cut more than a third off in a single cut; this applies to most plants, grass, ground cover, and tree pruning in most cases.

Mowing your Dichondra shorter in the winter encourages a dense, small-leaved turf and helps keep weed seeds out.

Weed Control

A healthy lush Dichondra is more effective at controlling weed growth.

Once Dichondra is established, you may use pre-emergent herbicides to control weeds.

Pre-emergent herbicides keep any seed from germinating, so ensure that your Dichondra is well established.

Stop using herbicides approximately eight weeks before overseeding your Dichondra.

Use post-emergent herbicides for grassy weeds like crabgrass and quackgrass too. Using a 2-4D containing herbicides on our Dichondra will kill it.

Broadleaf weeds are best removed manually by pulling them up when the soil is damp.

Insects and Disease

Dichondra is a pest-resistant ground clover – except for cutworms, weevils, and flea beetles.

Eradicating these with pesticides is easy, but consider the impact on birds. Keeping Dichondra healthy is super simple:

• Don’t mulch Dichondra clipping into the lawn
• Avoid over-watering – water when the soil is dry and then only single watering of an inch.
• Use spoon-fed fertilizing – smaller doses are given more often. A monthly feed of half a point per 1,000 square feet is sufficient.

Other types of grass to consider

If you are looking for other varieties of grass to grow in your yard, check out our other related posts:

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