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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Thursday - March 08, 2012

From: Houston, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Planting, Turf, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Planting Habiturf in Houston, TX>
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

First, I want to say thank you for such an informative site. You say that the Buffalograsses tend to do well in drier and well drained soil. My house has a lawn that drops about 10 inches in about 20 feet. I live in Houston and the predictions for this year are that we will have below average rainfall. What would be your take on the chances of Buffalograss lawn doing "well" in these conditions? Thank you,

ANSWER:

Thank you for the kind words. There are some truly dedicated workers, both staff and volunteers, here at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

First lets clear up a mis-conception; when we talk about “well drained soil” we are talking about the water percolating down through the soil, not running down a slope. Here are a couple of links that illustrate this point:
walter reeves.com

acupofhot.blogspot.com

As more and more people are looking at Buffalo grass and Habiturf for their lawns, we are getting more questions about these grasses. Here are a couple of previously answered questions from Houston that may be helpful to you.

#7752

#7750

Native Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

rate this answer

Thursday - March 08, 2012

QUESTION:

ANSWER:

More Planting Questions