Southern Papers Please Copy

A type of grass that Southerners are hailing as the ideal verdant sward was reported from Louisville last week. It grows a lush, vivid green in the hottest, dryest weather, rarely needs to be mowed (it seldom grows more than four inches tall), does equally well in sun or shade, is so tough that an automobile skid does not scar it. In the south, it has been found ideal for airfields, golf tees, parks, and as a general ground cover. For northern areas, there is a hitch: the grass does not grow very successfully in cool climates, and frost turns it brown.

The grass is Zoysia matrella (Manila grass), an oriental variety with which U.S. horticulturists began to experiment five years ago. Park Superintendent Leo Goss of Louisville has covered four acres of Seneca Park with Zoysia, spread its fame among U.S. greenskeepers. Propagated from runners* instead of seed, Zoysia spreads quickly, crowds out even crab grass. It has already been planted in a number of Southern airfields and country clubs. ^

* Like a strawberry plant, Zoysia, planted in one-inch plugs, puts out stems that spread over the ground and take root.

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