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
Sunday - July 24, 2005
From: Milan-Italy, Other
Region: Other
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Alkalinity-tolerant grasses
Answered by: Nan Hampton and Joe Marcus/Mark Simmons
QUESTION:
Dear Sirs - Are you aware of any grass species that could survive in strongly alkaline soils (ph from 10 up to 12) Thanks a lot.ANSWER:
Our focus and expertise is on plants native to North America and we know of no North American grasses that will grow on such extremely alkaline soils.We did find a couple of grasses, one from Australia and one from New Zealand, that tolerate alkaline soils. Vetiver zizanioides, used in Australia for mine rehabilitation, is reported to be highly tolerant of extreme soil conditions including heavy metals and pH levels from 3.0 to 10.5. You can read more about this grass on the Vetiver Network webpage. Another grass reported to grow on strongly alkaline soils is Australopyrum calcis, a grass endemic to New Zealand.
With such extreme pH readings it sounds as if you might dealing with mine tailings or some other toxic waste site. If so, we can direct you to several sources that address this issue:
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Phytoremediation Research
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Federal Remediation Technologies (FRTR): Phytoremediation
EPA and RTDF (Remediation Technologies Development Forum) Phytoremediation Bibliography
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Should wait to trim Inland Sea Oats until all seeds have been dropped from Austin
March 18, 2011 - Regarding Inland Sea Oats: I trimmed the stalks that have lost all the seeds. Should I trim the rest of the stalks or wait until all seeds have dropped?
view the full question and answer
Resourses that are being taken away - Tiffin OH
April 03, 2013 - What are resources that are being taken away from humans and organisms?
view the full question and answer
Native grasses for horse grazing in Wichita Falls, TX
September 08, 2009 - What are the best horse grazing grasses to plant in the Wichita Falls, Texas area?
view the full question and answer
Grasses for a pasture in Hays County, Texas with horses
March 20, 2015 - I intend to sow grass seed over a few acres of pasture on which I'll have a couple of horses in Driftwood, TX. I'd like to know what variety of seed(s) would be most beneficial to the land - and th...
view the full question and answer
Plants for streambank area in Oregon
September 14, 2012 - I am ready to replant a streambank area with native plants..what do you recommend for the Willamette Valley in Oregon? Thanks much!
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |