Explore Plants

Share

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
    
 

Can't find the answer in our existing FAQs, submit a question to Mr. Smarty Plants.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Saturday - November 03, 2012

From: Llano, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Meadow Gardens, Seasonal Tasks
Title: High mowing equipment for Llano TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

We're trying to follow your wildflower meadow recommendation "if your meadow has tall, warm-season native grasses, wait until late summer or early fall to mow, allowing them to elongate, flower, and set seed. Never mow mid to tall-grasses below six inches." when strip-mowing a meadow of about 20 acres. Can you suggest a type of equipment that will mow this high? Everything we find seems to be made for lawns and cuts 4" max. What do we ask for? Thank you!

ANSWER:

We're afraid that hardware is a little out of our line. This sounds to us like a piece of equipment you might only use one or two times a year, and therefore a good candidate for rentals as opposed to purchase. We would suggest the nearest Home Depot or Lowe's or even a tractor supply company. We did try to find something online in your area that might help you, but didn't do too well at that. Our suggestion is to go into the nearest business that provides rentals, and inquire what they have or suggest.

 

More Meadow Gardens Questions

Seeding rates for Florida.
April 09, 2008 - What formula do you recommend for seeding Florida Native Wildflower meadows? I recently read in a text on Western U.S. Wildflower Meadow seeding that: a) ratio would differ if sowing a monoculture ver...
view the full question and answer

When to reseed wildflowers in a drought year?
October 18, 2011 - My acreage with extensive wildflowers was mowed in 2010 before annuals had seeded. Only a few returned this year. Considering the predicted lonterm drought should I postpone reseeding this fall?
view the full question and answer

Non-native bermudagrass in meadow in Allen TX
August 17, 2011 - What is the effect of not killing or removing bermuda grass when converting an area to a prairie meadow in Allen, Texas? Most articles describing how to create and establish a prairie meadow suggest ...
view the full question and answer

Mowing frequency of native lawn from Georgetown TX
August 18, 2012 - I have a native grass and wildflower lawn. At what frequency and when should the lawn be mowed?
view the full question and answer

Early, middle and late blooming flowers for pollinators in East Texas
July 05, 2010 - On our farm in northeast Texas we are participating in a Conservation Program through the NRCS. We have to plant 4 acres for pollinators--early blooming, middle blooming, and late blooming. I need t...
view the full question and answer

Smarty Plants's Facebook profile Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.

Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends.