Panicum repens

Cultivation Details

Panicum repens is a plant of the tropics and subtropics, extending as far north as southern Europe. It can be found at elevations up to 2,000 metres in the tropics. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 18 - 26°c, but can tolerate 13 - 35°c^[1]. It is not very cold tolerant and can be killed by persistent frost^[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 800 - 1,800mm, but tolerates 550 - 4,300mm^[1]. Prefers a sunny position, tolerating light shade^[1]. Prefers a snady soil, tolerating heavy soils that are moist, and generally succeeding in most moist to wet soils of moderate fertility^{[1, 2]}. Prefers a pH in the range 4.5 - 6.2, tolerating 4 - 7.7^[1]. The plant is drought tolerant when growing in soils with a relatively high water table, and can also survive several days of standing water^[1]. A plant that can spread widely by means of its rhizomatous rootstock, Panicum repens has been introduced as a fodder crop in many parts of the tropics and subtropics. In most instances it has not proved to be invasive, but in some areas it has become a serious weed^[1]. It has proved to be a particularly difficult to control in southeastern N. America - it is listed as a prohibited noxious weed in Arizona and as a noxious weed in Alabama, Hawaii and Texas. In Florida it is designated an invasive exotic^[2]. The plant is resistant to fire, the rhizomes surviving and quickly sending up new growth^[2].