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.
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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.
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Wednesday - July 01, 2015
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Turf, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Best grass for the shade in Austin, TX.
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
What is the best grass seed for shade in Austin?ANSWER:
Although you did not specify in your question, we are supposing you're asking about the best turf grass for shady situations for Austin, TX. If not, then we can highly recommend Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) for shady locations, although it can become a bit aggressive for some situations.
If, as we suspect, you're asking about lawn grasses then we must first say that the focus of our research and the extent of our expertise is limited to North American native plant species. Thus, turf grasses typically found in the Austin area such as Bermudagrass, St. Augustine Grass and Zoysia Grass are outside our area of study and we cannot recommend them. However, St. Augustine Grass, a heavy water-user, is most often used in shady situations in your area. Unfortunately, none of the native grasses that can be used in lawns, such as Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides), Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and Curly Mesquite (Hilaria belangeri) are suitable for shady areas.
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Removal of non-native zoysia grass from Burgettstown PA
September 12, 2013 - What is the most effective method of killing zoysia grass? We bought a house that sits in the center of four acres of mature zoysia. It looks beautiful, however, despite our best efforts at "weeding...
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Native Hill Country grasses, flowers for April garden show
March 17, 2005 - I will be a first ever (!) exhibitor in my garden club's garden show this April 7. Our theme is The Passion of Texas - my specific category is The Hill Country. Help!!! All materials I use must be al...
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When to plant grasses on Long Island, NY
December 06, 2009 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants;
Are there any grass seeds that I can plant NOW, early December, on Long Island, NY? The planting environment is on and near a sandy bluff on a bayshore, where it can be windy ...
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Care of buffalo grass after wet season
August 15, 2007 - I'm asking for your advice on what to do with my buffalo grass lawn. With
all this rain, I've managed to pull the weeds as they pop up in my
front yard, and it looks good, except for a couple of...
view the full question and answer
Native, full-sun, 4-in. evergreen grasses for Leander TX
November 07, 2011 - Help! I need a native Texas evergreen sedge/grass/ground cover for full-sun/hot/dry area between sidewalk and street. The plants will need to be kept about 4" high, if growth is higher it must be mow...
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