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Saturday - September 18, 2010

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Transplants, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: When to move eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides)
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I have a huge Eastern gamagrass clump that I need to move. What is the best time of year to transplant native grasses

ANSWER:

Tripsacum dactyloides (Eastern gamagrass) is a warm season grass which means that it begins growing late in spring, grows through the summer and is still growing and producing seeds into the fall in Texas. Your best bet for moving it and having it survive is to wait until well after the first frost when the grass begins to go dormant and the leaf blades turn brown. For Austin that would be in December or January. Before you move it you will want to trim off the brown leaf blades. You can divide the grass if the clump is large enough (and it sounds as if it is) and spread it out a bit. It does like lots of moisture so take that in mind. Also, the more roots you get, the better off it will be for its survival.