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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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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!

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Wednesday - February 25, 2009

From: Pflugerville, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Invasive Plants, Non-Natives, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Top soil dressing for bermudagrass
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Need to apply top soil dressing to bermudagrass. Can you suggest any type? This area is heavy clay soil and need to even out the lawn as well as feed the grass.

ANSWER:

Cynodon dactylon (bermudagrass) is a non-native invasive grass and therefore out of our range of expertise. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center we are dedicated to the promotion of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. This University of California Integrated Pest Management article on Bermudagrass will explain some of the reasons we don't like this grass. We also have no particular knowledge on top soil lawn dressings. You might get some help from this article by Richard L. Duble, Turfgrass Specialist of Texas Cooperative Extension on "The Sports Turf of the South."

 

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