Native Plants
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Sunday - October 05, 2014
From: San Francisco, CA
Region: California
Topic: Turf, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Alternative to Habiturf™ for San Franciso area
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Will Habiturf thrive in San Francisco? My current sod lawn is dying because the soil has become extremely hard. I'll replace the top couple of inches but underneath is a mix of sand and clay.ANSWER:
Habiturf™ was developed for Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and some areas of Arizona. It would not thrive in San Francisco. However, UC Davis has developed a buffalograss called UC Verde Buffalograss that is geared towards California soils and climate. In some areas of California it thrives quite well. You can see photos of UC Verde Buffalograss lawns in the San Francisco area on the Houzz website. It requires plenty of sunshine to do well—it does NOT thrive in the shade. The UC Verde Buffalograss webpage has instructions for preparing your site for a new lawn.
The City of Santa Barbara has an article, Water Wise Lawn Alternatives, that has three possibilities for grasses/grass-like plants that will grow in the San Francisco area:
- Agrostis pallens (California Bent Grass) Here is more information from University of California Cooperative Extension Sacramento County.
- Carex pansa (Sanddune sedge) Here is more information from Bay Natives in San Francisco.
- Carex praegracilis (Clustered field sedge) Here is more information from Pacific Horticulture.
The University of California Cooperative Extension's Santa Clara Master Gardeners has an article, "Rethinking Your Lawn" that recommends the grasses and grass-like plants named above as well as other suggestions for alternatives to regular water-intensive lawns.
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Plant to stabilize river bank in Wisconsin
July 10, 2011 - We live along the Chippewa River in Pepin County WI and are looking for a blooming plant to help "hold" our river bank and also look attractive..it must be strong enough to take the spring flood.
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Dead, brown Habiturf lawn
July 07, 2015 - I planted Habiturf seeds last fall and had a good lawn all winter. Now the grass is brown and dead. Did it drown with all the rain we have had? If so, what should I do now? If not, what should I do...
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Controlling weeds in Habiturf lawn
May 16, 2015 - What's the best way to get rid of weeds in a Habiturf lawn? Habiturf seems like a great idea, but even with no extra water and no fertilizer, it seems the weeds take over - K.R. Bluestem and various...
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Best Time for Dividing and Transplanting Native Bunch Grasses in Jarrell, Texas
February 02, 2011 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
What time of the year is the best for dividing and transplanting native bunch grasses like Gulf muhly, and Miscanthus?
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Seed Habiturf on top of existing St. Augustine from Austin
January 26, 2012 - We don't want to rip up an existing St. Augustine lawn (potential HOA problems), but we'd like to go native grasses (like Habiturf?). Is there anything we can just seed on top of our present lawn a...
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