Planting for weed control
Poa labillardieri cv Eskdale and Lomandra longifolia cv Cassica planted at density, and making it near impossible for weeds to compete. Four years after planting it is still performing well.
Unfortunately many smaller native grasses are often planted, with generally the same result. After one or two years the weeds take over. Usually these smaller native grasses are also short lived, which ads to the failure. Here Danthonia have been thinned out by weed invasion. In the back ground some of the larger grasses are doing well.

Golden Rule

Note: For specimen planting where weed maintenance is possible, lower planting rates are possible. A good example of this is high maintenance garden planting.
When planting natives grasses, there is only one golden rule to keep in mind! Will they work long term? To achieve long term success the native grasses must not only be long lived, they must be able to out compete exotic weeds.
To do this they must be large enough or vigorous enough to out grow the competitors.
Small native grasses such as Danthonia, Bothriochloa and Microlana can not usually out compete weeds.To achieve long term success and weed control you must plant larger native grasses. Grasses such as Poa labillardieri cv Eskdale, Poa poiformis, Pennisetum alopecuroides, Themeda australis, and grass like plants such as Lomandra longifolia and Dianella. Often the improved varieties will grow larger(eg: Eskdale) and provide better weed control.
Now that you have chosen the right plants, you must plant them at the correct density. If you plant Lomandra longifolia at 1 per square metre, it will soon become riddled with weeds, but if you plant them at 6 per square metre, they will outcompete weeds. See left for recommended planting rates on some varieties for outcompeting weeds.

For native grasses to make the list in the above table, they must be able to out compete weeds, they must look good, and they must have proven performance on projects for at least 4 years.

Planting rate guide when weed control is important
Variety Size Plants/sq mtr
Poa labillardieri cv Eskdale        VC, VT, pot      15 to 25/sq m
Poa poiformis cv Kingsdale         VT, pot     15 to 25/sq m
Poa poiformis cv Courtney          VT, pot     15 to 25/sq m
Lomandra longifolia cv Cassica    VC, VT, pot     6 to 15 / sq m
Lomandra longifolia cv Katrinus    VC, VT, pot      6 to 15 / sq m
Lomandra longifolia cv Tanika       VT, pot     8 to 15 / sq m
Pennisetum alopec. cv Nafray     VT, pot     10 to 15 / sq m
Pennisetum alopec. cv Purple lea    VT, pot   10 to 15 / sq m
Themeda australis cv Mingo        VT, pot     10 to 20/ sq m
Eragrostis elongata cv Elvera     VC, VT, pot     25 to 35/ sq m
Isolepsis nodosa cv Arida         VC, VT, pot     15 to 25/sq 
Dianella spp. elongata                       VT, pot     6 to 15 / sq m
For technical information &
assistance please contact:
Phone: 02 4774 2811
Fax: 02 4774 2911
Email: info@abulk.com.au
Address: 2300 Silverdale Rd
Silverdale NSW 2752