Prevent Annual Wildgrass on Hillside

[Sarahfrances]

Hello,

We bought a new house in San Diego (very mild winters, warm summers) in December which has a large hillside with a retaining wall on the bottom. When we moved in the hillside was completely barren, but as the rainy season started (January - March) grass overtook the hillside and got as tall as three feet and seeded.

By late March the grass died off (lack of rain and more sun) and it took a considerable amount of energy and labor to clear the dead grass off the hillside. Since then, we planted various trees and shrubs for erosion control and appearance, but we want to do everything possible to prevent the grass from growing back next winter.

Ideally I'd mulch the hill (we get free mulch from the city) but I'm worried about it eroding during the rainy season. We haven't had much luck with ground cover growing quickly enough--jasmine and ivy so far--(it's not irrigated so we're unable to reach all of it with a hose) except for ice plant, but I don't want to use too much of that since it isn't very attractive and is extremely invasive in southern CA.

Any help identifying 1) what grass this is, and 2) what to do about it, would be very helpful.

Thanks!

Also, I can't figure out how to post a picture?[/img]

[Kisal]

Welcome the forum, Sarah! It's nice to have you with us!

I'm sorry that I can't help you with your questions about grasses, but you can find instructions for posting images, along with a lot of other useful information, at the link below:

Helpful Gardener's Tips & Suggestions for New Members

[Sarahfrances]

Thanks.

Here it is:

[tomf]

I do not know if mulching would be good as you want some kind of root system to hold the soil from coming down. Maybe a ground cover and some kind of bushes would work.