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 - December 12, 2007
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Getting rid of King Ranch bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum)
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I ranch approximately 1500 acres of land seven miles southeast of Marble Falls , Texas . At present, the land is inundated with King Ranch Bluestem; which as you know, kills by smothering all other natural range grasses. The cattle will not eat it unless they are starving to death. Do you have any suggestions as to how I might get rid of the the King Ranch Bluestem and save my good grasses? Any information you have will be greatly appreciated.ANSWER:
Well, Mr. Smarty Plants has some bad news and some good news. The bad news, of course, is that it isn't going to be easy getting rid of KR bluestem. The good news is that we have a timely answer for you since we had a similar question less than a month ago about eliminating this pest, albeit on a smaller scale. However, large-scale or small-scale, the strategy is the same.More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
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Should the herbicide Ornamec 170 be used on unwanted grasses?
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September 11, 2013 - I am in Northeastern (coastal) Massachusetts and I am looking to replace my (currently high maintenance, water intensive, invasive species) lawn with a native, low maintenance species (or mix). Many o...
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Mowing Bouteloua dactyloides (Buffalograss)
July 05, 2014 - Dear Mr or Ms Smarty Plants,
Although I see you have posted some information about mowing Buffalograss it doesn't seem to answer my question. Will it hurt to mow the buffalograss flags off? Will t...
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Non-native bermudagrass in meadow in Allen TX
August 17, 2011 - What is the effect of not killing or removing bermuda grass when converting an area to a prairie meadow in Allen, Texas? Most articles describing how to create and establish a prairie meadow suggest ...
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