Landscape Architect Magazine

Landscape Architect Magazine on November 2015 issue covers Kurapia shows Utility as Low-Water use Groundcover on its industry trade magazine for commercial landscape specifiers nationwide!

To read full article, click here and specify page 178.

ASA CSSA SSSA 2015 MEETING

 Effects of Commonly-Used Herbicides on Establishing and Mature Kurapia (Lippia nodiflora L.)  study was jointly done by Cole Thompson1 and Jim Baird2

 1Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA, 2University of California – Riverside, Riverside, CA 

American Society of Agronomy
Crop Science Society of America
Soil Society of America
2015 ANNUAL MEETING
With the Entomological Society of American

 The study was jointly done by SCal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA and University of California – Riverside, Riverside, CA 

Kurapia (Lippia nodiflora L.) is a broadleaf groundcover selected and developed in Japan that has recently been recognized for its low water use and salinity tolerance characteristics.  Kurapia use is now increasing in California landscapes, but little is known about its tolerance to pre- and postemergence herbicides during or after establishment.  Our objective was to evaluate Kurapia tolerance to 15 commercially available herbicides at various stages of establishment.  Kurapia plugs were installed in March 2015 in two California locations (Riverside and San Luis Obispo).  All herbicides were applied at labeled rates at 1, 6, or 12 weeks after planting Kurapia plugs in each location.  Kurapia injury was visually estimated at 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks after treatment for each herbicide timing, and percent Kurapia ground cover was visually estimated every two weeks from March through July.  Metolachlor, prodiamine, and fluazifop were generally the least injurious at each application timing in San Luis Obispo and Riverside, whereas triclopyr, indaziflam, halosulfuron, 2,4-D + MCPP + dicamba + carfentrazone-ethyl, and thiencarbazone + foramsulfuron + halosulfuron were most injurious.  Kurapia response to isoxaben, sulfosulfuron, mesotrione, quinclorac, clopyralid, MCPP, and thiencarbazone + iodosulfuron + dicamba was variable among application timings and between sites.

See more from this Division: C05 Turfgrass Science

See more from this Session: Turfgrass Science: II

Scripps Women's College News

Weathering the Drought

Click here to go to the actual publication.

According to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly 95 percent of the State of California is currently experiencing severe to exceptional drought, and future prospects for relief look grim. It is no longer optional to cut back on water use; for the first time in state history, the governor has directed mandatory water reductions in cities and towns across California to reduce water usage by 25 percent.

In response to Governor Jerry Brown’s executive order, the City of Claremont has passed a resolution limiting watering to two days a week for 15 minutes at a time, which is a more than a 50 percent reduction of the College’s current watering schedule. The resolution further limits watering during colder months. To ensure Scripps College’s compliance with the water usage reduction mandate, the Board of Trustees approved funding to implement landscaping projects, showerhead replacements, and a new pool filtration system.

While these actions will result in some changes to the appearance of Scripps’ grounds, the College is committed to preserving the natural beauty of the campus. Work has begun in many areas, including Revelle House, Jaqua Quadrangle, East-West Allée, Sallie Tiernan Field House pool area, south of the Rose Garden, and south of the Routt Apartments. In addition to replacing grass with hardscape and drought-tolerant plants, the College is planting groundcovers that will keep the campus green with less water. Some of these include:

• tall and fine fescues, standard grasses that stay green year-round and do well in shade
• Bermuda Princess 77, a grass that stays green longer than other Bermudas, but is dormant in cold months, tolerates high foot traffic, stays tight to the ground, and does well in full sun
• Lippia Kurapia, a groundcover with inconspicuous spring flowers that stays green year-round, does well in sun/part shade, and accommodates moderate foot traffic

For the past two decades, Scripps College has adopted a broad range of sustainability initiatives as part of its charge to protect and preserve the environment. Scripps’ commitment to water conservation and sustainability includes implementation of the following measures:

• Removed more than 80,000 square feet of lawns and replaced them with drought-tolerant plants
• Replaced large, visible lawns in the center of campus with drought-tolerant grass, which will reduce water usage by 30 percent
• Upgraded the central irrigation system to reduce water waste caused by leaks and/or overwatering
• Intentionally planted eucalyptus, olive, oak, and sycamore trees, which require little water to maintain
• Limited the use of fountains during the drought to three of the 21 total on campus
• Hosted a free, public conference on water scarcity in 2013 to raise awareness of the statewide drought

The Claremont Colleges have responded appropriately to the drought as well, with each campus adapting to the current situation by removing turf, switching to drip systems, and replacing lawns with drought-tolerant or California native plants.

The San Diego Union-Tribune

Low-water alternatives for turf

Click here for actual article

Kurapia is a quick-growing ground cover developed for drought conditions. Kurapia, Inc. photo

Several low-water-use plants are ideal to replace traditional turf lawns. An interactive, web-based gardening tool at WaterSmartSDLandscaping.org is a great place to begin your search for plants that meet your criteria. The tool asks questions about how much sun the plants will receive, how tall you want them to grow, and what type of soil is in the planting area. 

Based on your situation, consider silver carpet, Kurapia, woolly thyme and sand strawberry. If you’d like to see these turf alternatives and many other drought-tolerant plants in person, the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon offers free guided tours at 10 a.m. on Saturdays. The garden is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for self-guided exploration. More information is at thegarden.org.

Submit your question about water conservation (along with your name and town of residence) to Dear Drought Fighter at the San Diego County Water Authority, droughtfighter@sdcwa.org. The first five people who submit a question this week will receive two tickets to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

Pasadena - Walden School Parents Dig In

Walden is a Pre-K through sixth grade co-educational independent school in Pasadena, California.

Jump to Walden School Blog

Over the summer, the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street along the front of Walden School was replaced with Kurapia (Lippia nodiflora). This new low-water groundcover was developed for drought conditions and is tolerant of a range of soils and harsh conditions.

UC Davis completed a multi-year study of drought tolerant plants and Kurapia was one of the top three performers. Dark green with small, white, sterile flowers, the groundcover plugs spread their leaves to fill in next to each other, but the plant is non-invasive, because it does not re-seed.

Walden parents recently dug in to help the newly planted plugs by pulling weeds from the bed. Once the plugs have fully matured, weed invasion will be minimized. “Garden work is always a good way to start the day,” said one Walden parent. Teaching that we all have stewardship for the world in which we live is a cornerstone of Walden’s mission.

Several years ago, Walden dance teacher Daphne and her husband, John, replaced their traditional lawn with Phyla nodiflora, a close relative to the Lippia nodiflora planted at Walden. Daphne praised the plant, saying, “It’s a tough-as-nails, no-mow, drought tolerant ground cover, that unlike a lawn, is ornamented with pretty white flowers. Even if the plant dies back from drought or too much winter cold, it springs back from the rhizomes.”

KESQ TV News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2

New plants can replace your lawn

Turf farms cutting back on watering

To watch broadcasting, click here.

Joe Galli, KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2 Reporter

PALM DESERT, Calif. -The water crisis in California continues to reap downfalls, now causing turf-growing companies to cut back on their water usage.

West Coast Turf, a Palm Desert company that implements grass in stadiums throughout California from Dodger Stadium to the Rose Bowl, reduced how much and how frequently water is used on the turf at their Indian Wells farm.

Danielle Scardino, director of marketing and communications at West Coast Turf, informs that it is imperative to water during the early hours of the morning, which is what they carry out on their farms.

Along with West Coast Turf doing their share to preserve water, nearby, "The stadiums are using recycled water. They're watering at the right times in the morning probably between 5 and 7, so they're doing their part. Stadiums are no longer power washing their seats and they're not watering their grass when there is not an event, so the stadiums are taking an active role in saving water."

New substitutes for lawns are now available as well. Kurapia, imported from Japan, uses anywhere from 50-60% less water.

Scardino also explains, "[Kurapia] has been known to go without irrigation for 56 days. It's brand new on the market, we're selling that. We're also selling a couple new native varieties to save water as well. It's a ground cover, but it looks a lot like grass, so that's going on the market."

Additionally, all-organic turf colorant is available to spray over lawns to increase aesthetic appeal while cutting back on water. 

Overall, water preservation still needs improvement.

"In fact, grass doesn't waste water, people waste water," Scardino begins. "Last week it was raining and people are watering their lawns still. That's wasting water. You go down the streets and people are watering their sidewalks."

Apart from entirely converting lawns from grass, there are still other ways people can budget their water usage, as long as they know how to water responsibly.

• Copyright 2014 Gulf California Broadcasting. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Los Angeles - Property Owners Association

Property Owners Association in Los Angeles recommended Kurapia as a Water-Wise Parkway Landscape Alternatives.

0. Water Issues
   

   •   California is in a historic drought. Depleted aquifers can take decades to replenish.
     
   •   What we pay for scarce water in LA can be viewed as cheap. This will not last.
     
   •   Municipalities have been increasing both water restrictions and the cost of water.
     
   •   Even if El Niño 2015 brings heavy rains, it will not end California’s drought problems.
     
   •   We need to conserve water in every way possible, for the environment, and our budgets.
     Parkways
     

   •   The turf that remains on most of our parkways (and lawns) in not water-wise.
     
   •   Because of water restrictions, many residents have stopped watering their parkways which are now
     browning or dead.
     
   •   Even though LA parkways are City property, homeowners are required to maintain them.
     
   •   Consider replacing parkway grass (and, possibly, front lawns) with better choices.
     
   •   LA maintains a limited list1 of selected approved plants for parkways. Using other plants or using other
     cover (bark mulch, rocks, decomposed granite, synthetic/artificial turf, etc) is not recommended by us, may
     be dangerous and requires permits and meaningful permit fees.
     
   •   Property owners are of course free to leave existing parkway plants in place or contract for their replacement as each owner sees fit, within City guidelines. Replacing lawns at the same time would, presumably, involve cost efficiencies.
     
   •   There are several ways to remove existing turf. We suggest avoiding herbicides which run off into the ocean. We are informed that the simplest method is to first stop watering and allow the grass to die, then water the parkway (to soften the soil) one week prior to grass removal with a pick and shovel. Prior to installing any new plants, homeowners may wish to investigate additional water efficiencies afforded by surface or sub-surface drip irrigation as a modification to existing sprinklers. Re-planting in late October or November at the earliest is preferable as it should be cooler and therefore less stress on new plants. Note that even drought tolerant plants will need regular water until established.
     
   •   After extensive research, we feel the following groundcovers are the best city-approved alternatives which: require little to very little water; are suitable for our local soil; do well in various sun/shade exposures; take some foot traffic; are low enough (or can be mowed/trimmed) to allow car doors to open; do not have winter or summer dormancy (turn brown); and, will keep the neighborhood attractive year- round. Plants appear alphabetically:
     

   o Beach Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) - a California native.
   o Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - several California native cultivars are available. o Kurapia (Lippia nodiflora ‘Kurapia’) - in the form of the Kurapia patented cultivar.
    Existing street trees need special consideration. Please note that, whatever plants you choose, they are best left about 24” from the base of street tree trunks and, whatever irrigation you use, street trees need to be provided with appropriate water or they will eventually die. 

Kurapia (Lippia nodiflora ‘Kurapia’)
IRRIGATION once established	DROUGHT TOLERANT?	MAXIMUM HEIGHT	FOOT TRAFFIC	EXPOSURE	EVERGREEN ?	CALIFORNIA NATIVE
LOW	YES	1 inch	Light	Full Sun Part-Shade	Yes	No. Japanese drought-tolerant cultivar of a plant which is also native to California
Notes:   Kurapia is a newly developed, highly versatile groundcover.   This is a University of California tested drought tolerant turf alternative.   Once established, it requires little maintenance and little water.   Kurapia has a long bloom period and its white flowers are attractive to pollinators such as bees and butterflies.   Native California Lippia is an LA City approved parkway alternative, though it grows taller, so requires mowing, and uses more water than Kurapia. If you intend to choose Kurapia, please ensure you or your landscaper does not get non-Kurapia Lippia.
Selected Links: Kurapia Home Page http://www.kurapia.com/index.html

Featured on the Landscape Magazine.

First Kurapia® Groundcover Sod Project

Kurapia®  Groundcover Sod, installed in

residential front Yard in San Marino, CA

Mark Ohde
Photo by EcoTech Services