Native Plants
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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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Thursday - July 18, 2013
From: Bucks County, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Grasses for Pennsylvania
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
What type of grass does the best in my area?ANSWER:
Assuming you want information about lawn grasses, the article, Turf Grass Species for Pennsylvania from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences is an excellent source of information for lawn grasses in your area. It is obvious that they have done lots of research and provide detailed information about hardiness, diseases, fertilizing and much more for several lawn grass species. Many of the species they talk about are introduced species but they do list a couple of native grasses. It should be noted that those two native grasses also have introduced varieities. Since our mission here at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is "to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants and landscapes," I won't be recommending that you plant non-native grasses. That doesn't mean that the introduced species are necessarily bad—it just means we hope you will consider planting native species. The two native species recommended in the article from Penn State are:
- Poa pratensis (Kentucky bluegrass) Here is more information from Missouri Botanical Garden.
- Festuca rubra (Red fescue) Here is more information from Missouri Botanical Garden.
Here are some very wise tips from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for maintaining your lawn no matter what grass you decide to use.
If you are looking for grasses for meadows or fields or for ornamentals in your garden, you can go to our Native Plants Database and select "Poaceae (Grass Family)" by scrolling down the list in the Family: slot. This will give you a list of all grasses in our Native Plant Database, but you can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to limit the list to Pennsylvania grasses by selecting your state from the Select State of Province slot. You will then have a list of 164 grasses native to Pennsylvania that you can scroll through, many with photos. You can use other criteria (e.g., Light Requirement, Soil Moisture, Height) to narrow this list even further.
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Identity of grass-like plant with white or cream flowers in The Woodlands, TX?
May 16, 2015 - What is the name of the tall grass-like plant with small white or cream flowers that is planted in most esplanades in The Woodlands, TX.?
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Grass lawn from Durham NC
October 08, 2013 - Durham, NC. Want to plant a small front grass lawn, full sun, dry. Willing to mow. Not good about watering. Advice?
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Erosion control from Lakeland FL
November 03, 2012 - What native Ground cover is best for erosion control on slope of lake-front? Prefer not too invasive for this northern facing area behind a seawall and near large Oak tree.
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Should the herbicide Ornamec 170 be used on unwanted grasses?
March 15, 2012 - I have a lovely wildflower garden in a field behind my house; unfortunately, the wildflowers are being smothered by grasses. I understand that Ornamec 170 can be used to control grasses in wildflower...
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Grasses for area under pecan tree in Tennessee
March 26, 2009 - I have two big pecan trees in my yard and would like to know what kind of grasses would thrive in the shade and also survive for my area of the country.
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