With the approach of fine weather, exposing your garden can become a source of pride… Or of disillusion when drought comes your way. To green a yellowed lawn, “grass paint” is a cost-effective solution. Marketed by the Toulouse company EdenColor, it applies to all types of plants: grass, but also boxwood, palm trees or cedars. “Aesthetic repair is very simple, whereas changing a damaged hedge can be a real headache,” explains Bertran Brasselet, development manager.
On the professional side, the company works mainly with communities, sports clubs and landscapers. The town halls see it as a help to manage their water resources: Béziers, often in a restricted zone, limits its watering by coloring part of its lawns during the summer.
Fighting the effects of climate change
The product is also used regularly in the rugby world, especially during the final stages of Top 14 and pro D2. For TV, the field must be bright and painting is sometimes the last resort. Like recently in Brive, where the grass turned from green to brown in two days. In question, blast of the lawn, a disease linked to a fungus and on the increase since 2019 due to climate change. If the case arises, Romain Andréac, intendant of the Toulouse Stadiumeasily admits that he would not hesitate to paint the lawn of Ernest-Wallon.
The professional already uses the EdenColor dye for synthetics and plans to extend to natural turf: “In summer, with rugby union matches and rugby league matches, this could allow me to keep a satisfactory pitch without using chemical products. I also see other perspectives, for example to color the sand. »
fifty shades of green
The buyer has the choice between green (38.5 euros for five liters) and dark green (66 euros); the two products can be mixed and the company provides tailor-made advice to those who want to find the exact shade. Sold only online, in the form of a concentrate to be diluted then sprayed, the solution is applied on a dry surface for optimal adhesion. Then, coloring is only limited by regrowth: “Exactly like at the hairdresser! laughs Bertran Brasselet. If the grass recovers, its roots will appear with its natural color. Three choices are available to the gardener: leave as is, recolor or pass the mower. »
Tested by the independent French laboratory LaboSport, the dye consists of 90% water and natural vegetable pigments based on algae. “The rest are preservatives, the same as those used in the cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical industries. In addition to the aesthetic aspect, the paint improves photosynthesis and helps the plant to start again, except of course if it is too much attacked”, specifies the person in charge. By freeing itself from the phytosanitary industry, EdenColor has the legislation for it: on July 1, 2022, the use of chemicals and other pesticides, already prohibited in private individuals, will be prohibited in all public and collective places.