Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
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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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Monday - March 22, 2004
From: Dallas, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Low maintenance native plants for sun in Dallas
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
What low maintenance ground cover would you recommend for a sunny backyard in Dallas?ANSWER:
Dallas, TX is in the heart of a region known as the Blackland Prairie, and buffalo grass would literally be right at home. It is drought tolerant, requires full sun, grows to about 6 inches high and can be mown infrequently. To learn more about buffalo grass, you can read and download an article about Native Lawns from our Native Plant Library. Other plants ground covers that may work for you include shade tolerant plants: Pigeonberry (Rivina humilis), Texas sedge (Carex texensis), meadow sedge (Carex perdentata), and cedar sedge (Carex planostachys). Find out more information by researching through our Native Plants Database, a service of our Native Plant Information Network.More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Low plants to cover bank too steep to mow
June 26, 2008 - I have a bank along the road that is too steep to mow. This bank faces east and only gets 2 - 4 hours per day of sunlight. I'd like to try ground cover to prevent erosion, however visibility is a p...
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Will Habiturf thrive in Houston?
July 31, 2012 - Will Habiturf grow in partial sun? My lawn is surrounded by trees so that there is only about an hour each day with direct overhead sun. The rest of the day there is a light shade.
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Using bamboo as a filter for odoras from a wastewater treatmen plant in College Station, TX
November 16, 2014 - My wastewater treatment plant is considering planting bamboo to create a filter for odors between it and the neighborhood. Are there any native plant alternatives that would function as well (if not b...
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Is sulfurous well water affecting leaves on trees in Belton TX
November 07, 2011 - We installed an irrigation system for our buffalo grass lawn last spring. The grass is fine but the leaves on the trees are burned where the water hits them. I suspect that the well we are using fo...
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Native grasses for central Georgia
August 06, 2011 - We've just bought a 1990 circa house in Dallas, Georgia. It sits on a .62 acre lot. One half of the lot is woods, the rest is lawn. The lawn is covered mostly with weeds and wild strawberries.
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