A lush green lawn is still the dream backdrop for most Indian homes, terraces, and housing societies. But behind that soft green carpet is a very practical question: which grass should you plant? Two options commonly offered by nurseries today are carpet grass (ready lawn rolls) and Paspalum grass (often pronounced and sold locally as “prosopyllum”). Both are green and beautiful, but they behave very differently once they are in your soil.
Carpet grass: Instant lawn for harsh sun
Carpet grass is what most people picture when they think of a “ready-made lawn”. It usually comes as pre-grown slabs or rolls, often around 6 ft X 1 ft in size, that can simply be laid on a prepared surface of red soil. Within a day, your bare patch of earth can look like a finished, manicured lawn.
These carpets are ideal for areas with intense, direct sun — open terraces, front lawns without trees, or building entrances that get full-day light. Many common carpet varieties are based on warm-season grasses like Bermuda or Korean carpet lawn, which love strong sun and can handle heavy foot traffic.
However, the same lawn that looks so perfect on Day one has one big weakness: water stress. Ready carpets need regular irrigation, especially in the first few weeks when they are trying to bond with the soil below and extend their roots. If watering is neglected and the carpet dries out badly, large patches can die off. Once that happens, they usually do not bounce back on their own — those dead sections must be cut out and replaced with new pieces, which means extra cost and a patchy look for some time.
In short, carpet grass is like instant photography: beautiful and quick, but it needs consistent care to stay that way.
Paspalum (Prosopyllum): Slow starter, strong survivor
The second option, Paspalum lawn grass, behaves very differently. Instead of arriving as a ready carpet, it is typically planted like paddy — small seedlings or clumps are dibbled into the soil at regular spacing, and over time they spread and knit into a continuous lawn. Paspalum prefers bright light but not the harshest, full-day sun. It does well in areas with a few hours of shade, such as between buildings, under light tree cover, or east-facing gardens that get morning sun and softer afternoon light. Modern Paspalum varieties are known for their good drought and salt tolerance and their ability to recover from stress once water is available again.
As climate extremes and water shortages become more common, Indian gardeners will increasingly need to match grass not just to aesthetics, but to sun, soil, and water reality on the ground. A little understanding at the time of planting can save a lot of money, heartache, and replanting later — and keep our cities greener, sustainably.
Which one should you choose?
Think of these two grasses as two personalities
Carpet grass
Carpet grass is the showstopper for new projects that need an instant
finished look
Perfect for full-sun sites like terraces and open lawns
Best for homeowners or societies ready to commit to regular watering and maintenance
Paspalum
Paspalum is the practical workhorse for semi-shaded or bright-but-not-scorching spaces
Best for plots where water supply may be inconsistent
Works for people willing to wait a few months for coverage in exchange for a more forgiving, come-back-from-stress lawn
This is the crucial difference
If a carpet lawn dries up, the dead patches usually need to be replaced. If Paspalum dries and turns brown, the root system often survives; with improved watering, the grass can regrow and fill in again over time.
While Paspalum doesn’t give you that instant “before-and-after” photo in a single day, it rewards patience with better resilience and lower replacement costs in the long run, especially where water supply is uncertain.