Native Plants

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Thursday - December 04, 2014

From: Claremont, CA
Region: California
Topic: Turf, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Alternative for HABITURFŽ in Los Angeles County, CA
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

The Habiturf brochure has a map indicating appropriate locales for growing this lawn. Excluded from the appropriate range is Southern California, where I live. Is Habiturf not recommended for this region? And if so, might you be able to recommend an alternative? Thank you for your assistance.

ANSWER:

Habiturf™ was developed for Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and some areas of Arizona. It would not thrive in Claremont. However, UC Davis has developed a buffalograss called UC Verde Buffalograss that is geared towards California soils and climate. In some areas of California it thrives quite well. You can see photos of UC Verde Buffalograss lawns growing in several Southern California cities on the website. It requires plenty of sunshine to do well—it does NOT thrive in the shade. The UC Verde Buffalograss webpage has instructions for preparing your site for a new lawn.

The City of Santa Barbara has an article, Water Wise Lawn Alternatives, that has three possibilities for grasses/grass-like plants that will grow in the San Francisco area:

Agrostis pallens (California Bent Grass) Here is more information from University of California Cooperative Extension Sacramento County.

Bouteloua gracilis (Blue grama) Here is more information from Las Pilitas Nursery in Santa Margarita and Escondido.

Carex pansa (Sanddune sedge) Here is more information from Bay Natives in San Francisco.