Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Bouteloua dactyloides (Buffalograss) is a dioecious plant with male and female reproductive structures on separate plants.  (Occasionally, it is monoecious with male and female reproductive structures on the same plant, but in separate flowers.)  Please look at the 6 photos below from our Image Gallery.  The first three are from the female plants and you can see that the flowers are on a very short stalk down within the grass leaves.  The last three photos are the male plants with their pollen producing flowers on tall stalks that are elevated well above the leaves of the grass.  What you are seeing as flags on your buffalograss are the male, pollen-producing, reproductive structures.  If you search within the leaves of the grass you will probably find the female, seed-producing flowers.  If you read our How to Article, Native Lawns: Buffalograss, you will see that the recommendation is to not cut the buffalograss shorter than three inches.  Also, read the mowing suggestions in Native Lawns: Habiturf® a Multi-Species Mix for North, West and Central Texas.  By now the pollen from the flags on your grass has probably reached the female flowers and it would not affect seed production to mow the flags off.  You should be able to mow to 3 or 4 inches without mowing off the female flowers and seeds and affecting seed production.   However, you can check the height of your female flowers and decide how high to mow.  You should remember, too, that mowing the wildflower blossoms before the seed has been set and dispersed from them will affect the propagation of next season's wildflowers.