Free Metro Shipping, orders over $75
Australian Owned
Kikuyu Grass Seed
Kikuyu is highly drought-tolerant and thrives in sunny areas. It’s also very hardy, making it a great option for high-traffic areas or households with dogs. An exceptional choice for many locations across Australia.
Kikuyu is perfect for: Residential lawns, paddocks, coastal areas, acreage, sporting fields such as turf, playground establishments, airports, pastures, and caravan parks.
Contains: 100% PURE KIKUYU SEED
Seeding Rates
- New Lawns: 10 grams per square meter (1kg/100m2).
- Overseeding: 5 grams per square meter (1kg/200m2).
Please note: Seed may be coated for protection and to enhance germination. Batches may vary.
WA customers: Click here to order from our WA website. No additional quarantine fees apply when ordering from the WA website.
For more information see below tabs ‘Description’ and ‘Features’ to see if this grass suits you!
Blade
Broad
Colour
Medium
Growth
Runner
Growth Rate
Fast
Detailed Description
Kikuyu grass is a robust, warm-season runner variety known for its rapid spread through rhizomes and stolons. Native to East Africa, it is celebrated for its resilience, quick propagation, and self-repairing abilities, making it ideal for high-traffic areas. With a soft, bright green leaf, Kikuyu forms a beautiful lawn that requires minimal care to remain healthy.
Optimal pH
Kikuyu performs best in soils with moderate acidity (pH 5.5-7.0), but tolerates a pH as low as 4.5.
Sowing Tips
Kikuyu prefers fertile, moderately drained, light to medium textured soils. Broadcast the seed at, or very near, the soil surface and incorporate lightly with raking. To ensure best coverage and avoid seed wastage, we recommend using an appropriate seed spreader for the size of your area.
Optimal Planting Time
The best time for sowing Kikuyu is late Spring to late Summer. As long as the temperature is within the optimum range of 18-29°C, you can expect germination. For cooler areas of Australia, allow enough time after sowing for seedlings to establish to withstand the first cold days of Winter and frost. A guide for this is approximately 6 weeks post germination.
Germination
Within 10–21 days fine Kikuyu hairs should appear, condition and climate dependent.
Water
With the seed so close to the surface, it should be watered frequently with light applications to maintain consistent soil moisture until germination is complete. Once established, it tolerates low water and drought conditions well. It can tolerate some waterlogging as well as moderate salinity levels.
Fertilising
Kikuyu is particularly demanding for Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P). The McKays Slow Release Fertiliser is ideal for Kikuyu’s needs and can be used in combination with the seed when sowing.
First Mowing
First mowing should occur when the runners are approximately 20cm long (not high) and have taken root.
Mowing Frequency
Kikuyu should be kept to around 5cm in height to reduce thatching of the grass. It is one of the fastest-growing warm season grasses and will require increased mowing during the active growth phase in warmer months. During dormancy in winter months, growth slows significantly, reducing mowing requirements.
Disadvantages of Kikuyu
- Pasture dominated by Kikuyu is unsuitable for horses to graze.
- Requires more mowing than some other warm season varieties.
- Can be susceptible to diseases such as Kikuyu Yellows.
- Easily spreads into other vegetation and areas where it is not required. Grass clippings should not be used in compost as this can cause seeds collected via mowing to germinate.
Seed & Package Details
100% Kikuyu Seed
Independently Tested
85% Min Germination, 98% purity. A seed testing certificate is available upon request.
Ideal Usage
Residential lawns, paddocks, coastal areas, acreages, sporting fields, playgrounds, airports, pastures, caravan parks.
Locations
Season
Warm season grasses thrive during the warmer months in Spring and Summer and may go dormant in cooler climates through winter.
Cool season grasses thrive during the cooler months in Winter
Seed information
Shade tolerance (Weather)
- Full Sun
- Part Shade
- Heavy Shade
- Full Shade
Drought tolerance (Weather)
- Moderate
- Good
- Excellent
Traffic tolerance (Weather)
- Moderate
- Good
- Excellent
Frost tolerance
- Poor
- Moderate
- Good
- Excellent
Average days to germination
- 2-3 Weeks
- 2-4 Weeks
- 3-4 Weeks
Free Metro Shipping On All Orders Over $75
We provide free standard delivery shipping for all orders to "metro" zones, where the total cart value exceeds $75.00.
Otherwise, to metro zones it's a flat rate of $9 (for orders under $75).
Non-Metro Zones
Standard Delivery
Australia Wide (except Western Australia), at cost from Australia Post.
Orders are dispatched within 24 hours via regular Australia Post (3-5 business days).
Express Post
In a hurry? Express shipping is available at checkout for both Metro and Non-Metro Zones. Priced according to shipment weight.
WA Customers
Due to quarantine restrictions, we have a different product range available for Western Australia.
If you are shopping for delivery to WA, please view our WA site here
Pick-up Not Available
Sorry, we are not able to offer local pick-up.
International
Unfortunately we are not able to ship internationally.
We’ve had some disappointment with seed in the past, and also expensive turf. We’ve moved from the country where the soil is rich, to the Central Coast where we basically have sand
Our new turf over two years has all but died off, and the seed that I purchased since has so much other stuff in it, basically looks like weeds - very disappointing.
Enter McKay seeds. I did a quick search online and found McKay seeds rated highly.
I am familiar with the robustness of Kikuyu, and how it bounces back after drought, so I thought I’d give it a go.
Straight out of the packet, after I had scattered a few handfuls of seed on the bare ground (some topsoil there) and kept it watered over the last two weeks in March and April, it responded.
It appears every seed has germinated immediately, and is sprouting and growing well.
I’m really impressed. This is clearly why McKay seeds get 5 out of 5 stars.
I’m hoping I get more success in drier months than I did from my Sir Walter Buffalo turf - that cost me a motza to put down two years ago - or the combo seed options from the big hardware stores.
Will update again post Winter and Spring 2025.
After doing a LOT of research I landed on McKays grass seeds, specifically the kikuyu seeds. Our backyard was a giant mud patch following construction works and I despaired of having a green backyard again. We followed the instructions meticulously and within weeks have been rewarded with the most lush, amazing lawn you could hope for. It’s growing so fast we almost can’t keep up with it (photo shows the lawn due for a mow, two months after planting!). Super happy that we went with mckays, the quality really is exceptional and I also really appreciated how helpful their wonderful customer service team was when I was working out what grass to get and how to sow it. We also used the mckays slow release fertiliser and wetting agent which I also really rate.
Kikuyu Grass Seed
Just look
Still waiting for t he seed to arrive troubles with Australia Post hard to give a rating
As always McKays kikuyu seeds and slow release fertiliser are in my opinion the best on the market. Hard to find seed as pure as theirs anywhere else.
Kikuyu Grass Seed
