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

Tuesday - February 25, 2014

From: Smithville, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Planting, Seeds and Seeding, Soils, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Native grass mix for Bastrop County, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I plan to put in a small lawn on a tract of land near Rosanky, TX in Bastrop County. There are scattered oaks but the yard space will be mostly open. Soil is basically sandy. Is there a good native grass/mix for this location?

ANSWER:

Frankly, there is only one NATIVE grass seed mix for Central Texas, and that is Habiturf, developed by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Please read this previous Mr. Smarty Plants answer on growing in sandy soil. Then, please read this previous answer which we just published about 10 minutes ago. This answer has links to a recent Central Texas Gardener radio television program with an interview with one of the developers of Habiturf, Mark Simmons, as well as to our own website on how to prepare your soils and plant this grass.