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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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.
rate this answer
Wednesday - June 16, 2010
From: Carthage, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Native grasses for East Texas that require no mowing or watering
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
What native grass can I grow in deep East Texas that would require no supplemental watering and no mowing?ANSWER:
Bouteloua dactyloides (buffalograss) is the perfect grass to meet your criteria—once established it takes no supplemental watering and only rare, occasional mowing. Unfortunately, it is not a grass that one thinks of as growing in deep East Texas. However, the USDA Plants Database distribution map shows it occurring in Marion County just north of Panola County and also in Caddo Parrish in Louisiana just across the state line from Panola County. One thing I do know about East Texas is that the soil can be very sandy there. If the soil is sandy where you live, buffalograss will NOT do well. Also, if the site you want to grow it on is very shady, it will not do well. You can read our article, Native Lawns: Buffalograss, to learn more about it. You can also read about the research that the Wildflower Center has done on Native Lawns. Unfortunately, neither of the other two short native grasses, Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama) and Hilaria belangeri (curly-mesquite), are native to East Texas.
There are no other native turf grasses that meet your criteria but there are several grass-like sedges that have been used as substitutes for grass lawns. They are evergreen, require little or no mowing, some will grow in both sun and shade, and some will survive without supplemental watering. The ones listed in the article linked above that are native to Texas are Carex perdentata (sand sedge) and Carex texensis (Texas sedge).
If you are just looking for plants to cover your lawn area, we can recommend several that require little water, do not grow tall and/or can be occasionally mowed to maintain your desired height.
Here are several ground covers recommended by the Wasowskis in Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region that do well in the clay soils of the Dallas region:
Artemisia ludoviciana (white sagebrush) is evergreen (maybe evergray is a better descriptor) grows 1 to 3 feet but can be mowed.
Calyptocarpus vialis (straggler daisy) grows less than 1 foot high. It goes dormant in cold winters.
Geum canadense (white avens) grows from 4 inches to over 3 feet, but can be mowed. It is evergreen if watered in summer.
Phyla nodiflora (turkey tangle fogfruit) grows 3 to 4 inches high and is evergreen to dormant in winter.
Rivina humilis (rougeplant) grows 1 to 1.5 feet and is evergreen to dormant in winter.
Salvia lyrata (lyreleaf sage) grows 4 to 18 inches or more, but can be mowed and is evergreen if watered in summer.
Packera obovata (roundleaf ragwort) grows 3 inches to 2 feet but can be mowed and is evergreen.
Here are photos of the above plants from our Image Gallery:
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
How to eliminate Sawgrass from a small lake in Lindale, TX?
February 23, 2015 - We live on a small acre lake (about 65 acres) and the majority of the lake is surrounded by what the locals are calling saw grass. From the description on the website, I believe they are correct. The...
view the full question and answer
Grass for a Miniature Garden
July 18, 2013 - Please let me know what kind of grass is nice and short and tight for a miniature garden in a wooden box. I want to grow this grass in the box and I also want to know if I need to drill holes in the b...
view the full question and answer
Grassburs in native lawn in Utopia TX
June 22, 2010 - I recently planted native Texas grass (Buffalograss, blue grama & curly mesquite) at my new house in the hill country. I had to bring in all the top soil. The grass is doing great, but in one area o...
view the full question and answer
Native plants that are dog-proof in South Texas
July 13, 2008 - I live in Odem, Texas and would like to use only native plants in my front and backyard. I have two puppies who love to dig. What plants should I use that require minimal attention from me and will no...
view the full question and answer
Native Grasses for Quebec
August 21, 2014 - I saw an article in the Martha Stewart magazine on native grasses. I live in Canada in Rimouski, in the province of Quebec. I am wondering if native grasses would grow here in the region? Our hardine...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |