Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
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Friday - May 13, 2005
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Native, durable, drought tolerant grasses for Amarillo, TX
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Are there any kinds of native grasses that are drought tolerant, durable and able to survive heavy foot traffic, and native to the Amarillo, Texas area?ANSWER:
Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides) meets all your criteria except "heavy" foot traffic. It is, however, durable and will tolerate "moderate" foot traffic. It also requires lots of sunshine and does not do well in too much shade. Buffalo grass is drought tolerant, requires little maintenance (mowing once or twice a year), and can be started from seed, from "plugs", or installed as sod. You can read more about creating a native lawn using buffalo grass in "Native Lawns" from the Native Plant Library. This article is a 3-page PDF-formatted article that you can download. You can search for Nurseries or Seed Companies in Texas that specialize in native grasses and wildflowers by visiting the National Suppliers Directory.More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Source for information on Habiturf from Utopia, TX
February 25, 2014 - During a recent Central Texas Gardener TV show, someone from the Center mentioned that your Habiturf was going to be available as sod from someone in the San Antonio area this spring. Is that true an...
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Encouraging native grasses to flourish
August 23, 2007 - We have been trying to restore the yard around the house with native grasses and forbs for the last two years. The soil is clay and nothing seems to grow. We have distributed 5 truck loads of mulch, p...
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Care of buffalo grass after wet season
August 15, 2007 - I'm asking for your advice on what to do with my buffalo grass lawn. With
all this rain, I've managed to pull the weeds as they pop up in my
front yard, and it looks good, except for a couple of...
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Replacing grass on steep hill in Georgia
June 16, 2009 - I live near Atlanta, Georgia. My yard is a steep hill, which makes mowing VERY challenging. If possible, I would like to remove the grass and plant something hardy that does not require mowing. What p...
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Stabilizing a lakeside slope from Bracey, VA
May 24, 2012 - We are trying to beautify and stabilize a relatively large lakeside steep slope with a southern exposure in central Virginia. The soil is characterized by red clay and shale rock. How can we turn this...
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