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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - October 31, 2013
From: Fort Worth, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Planting, Seeds and Seeding, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Annual ryegrass and Habiturf from Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
We've decided to put Habiturf in our freshly cleared back yard that was overgrown with sticky burs and crabgrass, but now that it is fall, would you recommend putting in a cover crop of annual ryegrass to keep weeds from growing during the winter? If so, could we simply seed Habiturf on top of the fading ryegrass next spring?ANSWER:
We would like to refer you to an excellent previous Mr. Smarty Plants answer on the use of ryegrass as a winter cover. From that article you will learn that we would not only not recommend it because it is not a native of North America, but that it really does not work well as a winter lawn cover, and could very well reseed in your Habiturf, threatening it.
Next, since Habiturf was developed right here at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (home of Mr. Smarty Plants) we certainly do recommend Habiturf, and have extensive material on it to answer your questions. Please follow this link to get answers to your questions: Habiturf The Ecological Lawn and any other links in that answer. Be sure and pay attention to the information on preparing the site for your Habiturf, as that will involve removing the unwanted plants. We hope you will be very happy with this water-conserving grass.
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Planting of Habiturf from Smithville TX
March 25, 2012 - Are Habiturf and Thunderturf the same?
and, how late in the year can I plant Habiturf?
view the full question and answer
Plantings for beneath a red oak in Lubbock TX
February 23, 2012 - What would you recommend to plant in a two tiered raised bed facing west, totally blocked from the east, thus receiving only the afternoon sun? A 21 year old red oak sits in the middle of the upper ra...
view the full question and answer
Plants for pool area in Fort Worth
April 20, 2010 - We have a new pool in our backyard, and now also quite a bit of bare land to go with it. Looking for native grass suggestions and also shrubs/trees that I can plant around the pool area for privacy an...
view the full question and answer
Native fescues and sedges for turf in New York
July 25, 2006 - Hello,
Came across your contact info while googling and hoped you could help answer a question or direct me to another resource that can.
I am looking to redo my entire landscaping with native NY ...
view the full question and answer
Irrigation of landscaping project after 1 year in San Antonio
November 10, 2010 - Hello, I am working on a project in San Antonio where the following vegetation types have been specified: cedar elm, bald cypress, 'Tifway 419' bermuda grass, mountain laurel, esperanza, and lantana...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |