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
Tuesday - July 25, 2006
From: Sparkill, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Native fescues and sedges for turf in New York
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Hello, Came across your contact info while googling and hoped you could help answer a question or direct me to another resource that can. I am looking to redo my entire landscaping with native NY plants. I have been able to find some good resources for wildflowers and plants/trees. I am having a hard time finding any information about native grasses though. I am reducing the amount of 'grass/turf' on my property substantially, but do have one or two areas that I need to have a turf type grass on, for kids to play, etc., and small front yard area. I would like to know what my best bet is, if there are any grasse native to the area that would form a turf type lawn for these areas. I have seen some mention of gramma and little bluestem, etc., but they seem to have their drawbacks as well as benefits. I live in southern Rockland county, and my soil is very sandy, as the development was actually previously a commercial type sandpit years ago. Thank you for any recommendations or further resources you can recommend.ANSWER:
There are a couple of possibilities that come to mind. One is the native fescues (Festuca spp.) that are low maintenance, require little mowing, and thrive in poor soils. Red fescue (Festuca rubra) is native to New York. There are other Festuca spp. native to New York that might also be suitable.Another possibility is a sedge (Carex spp.) lawn. Of the five sedges named in the article, "Sedge Lawns for Every Landscape", two are native to New York—Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) and Texas (or Catlin) sedge (Carex texensis). Besides those named in the article, there are many other Carex spp. native to New York that also might be suitable.
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Reseed Buffalograss in Early Spring in San Antonio
January 14, 2011 - When is best time to put down Buffalo grass seed in 78260 area. How much dirt should I put over existing sodded buffalo grass, which is now sparse?
view the full question and answer
Problems with non-native St. Augustine lawn from Austin
October 06, 2013 - We have St. Augustine in our front lawn. There are some patches where the grass has entirely died but mixed in with the dead areas are little clumps of living grass. It seems to be spreading througho...
view the full question and answer
Drainage pond plantings from Mason MI
April 23, 2012 - We have a drainage pond in our back yard. It has a large muddy bank and some steep sides where erosion has started to take its toll. We are looking for some Michigan/Mid-Western native plants that w...
view the full question and answer
Can Habiturf be planted by hydroseeding from Austin?
February 04, 2012 - We are thinking about seeding our lawn with HABITURF. Could you provide any input on whether HABITURF can be planted by hydroseeding? Thanks!
view the full question and answer
Plants for a Steep Bank in Wisconsin
March 21, 2010 - We live on a lake with many white and red pines. The steep bank needs something not adversely affected by a buildup of pine needles to hold the sandy soil in place. The bank faces west and the pines ...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |