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a question of poopy-doop
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Posted by kkelley z8bFl (My Page) on Wed, Jun 29, 05 at 18:13
Will some of you who have had to work with such things please share with me your experiences with septic tank drainfields? For north FL's sandy coastal soil the environmental health department specifies no shrubs and trees (duh) nearby and not much else. One county says they only recommend grass to be planted on the drainfield. Another county has a wealthy community whose regulations don't allow grass on the drainfield.
I've designed landscapes using muhly grass, dune sunflower, wedelia, perennial peanut, asiatic jasmine, and lantana on the drainfields. I think love grass might be a nice choice. I would love to plant saw palmettos back on them, but I don't think that would be smart.
Having mowed a septic drainfield or two in my day,I know they are all different in different areas, not all like our FL coastal high-rise mounds. Do any of you have problems with them, or plant anything other than sod on them? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: a question of poopy-doop
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- Posted by Cady 6b/Sunset34 MA (My Page) on
Thu, Jun 30, 05 at 9:40
| Bamboo has a shallow root and rhizome system, covers everything and you can get species that are groundcover height (10" to 3') and shrub height (3'-6'), such as Pleioblastus viridistriatus, P. distichus, P. chino "Elegantissimus", P. simonii or . And, bamboo is a member of the grass family, so you are in keeping with the recommendations of the env. health department concerning planting only grass. ;) |
RE: a question of poopy-doop
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| Thanks Cady, I would never have thought of that!! The short groundcover bamboo grows well here, in fact I think it may be native to this area. I'll post this over at the landscape design forum and see if anyone else has ideas, but I sure thank you for that one! |
RE: a question of poopy-doop
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- Posted by Cady 6b/Sunset34 MA (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 1, 05 at 22:47
| The one bamboo native in the US is Arundinaria gigantea (canebrake) and its subspecies, "tecta." Both are taller than groundcover. Tecta gets to about 6' and the species can get to 20' or taller. Pleioblastus is native to Asia, but is commonly used as groundcover to the point that it probably has naturalized in warm areas like yours. It does really well here in southern New England and is easy to maintain by mowing once a year (spring in cool climates, fall in warm) to encourage fresh colorful growth. |
RE: a question of poopy-doop
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Poopy-doop?
That's gross! |
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